Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Sal is a boy who has Type I Diabetes. He has to take medicine to control his diabetes. Sal is bullied about his disease, but Sal has a plan to get back at his bully. He uses his talent as a magician to put a dead chicken in the bully’s locker. Sal and Yasmany (the bully) are called to the principal’s office. Gabi, the student council president, first comes in the story as the “lawyer” of Yasmani. However, the chicken has disappeared from the locker by the time the janitor is called to clean it up, and Gabi isn’t able to prove that Sal had put the chicken there. Will Sal and Gabi be able to put their differences aside to become friends?

I really enjoyed this book. I especially liked how the author mixed in some Spanish words throughout the story to really make you understand how the characters talk. The characters’ personalities were each very different; Sal is sarcastic, and Gabi is a person who is very nice, but she lets her anger show at times. This story does a good job of showing how middle school really is.