A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking Review written by the on November 4th, 2022. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking
Author: T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon)
Length: 308 pages
Age suggested: 12 and up
Release Date: July 21, 2020
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Humor
Warnings: Several instances of macabre imagery and humor, Loss of parents
Winner Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
Quick A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking Summary
Mona is a minor magicker. She can do bread magic – tell a roll to be soft or get a gingerbread man to dance. But one morning she finds a dead body on the floor of her aunt’s bakery and is suddenly thrust into fights she never anticipated (and doesn’t want). Where is this going to lead? And what can a bread wizard do? (even if she has dancing gingerbread men and a carnivorous sourdough starter….)
Why Read A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking
I love the author’s description, “A weird little anti-establishment book with carnivorous sourdough and an army of dead horses”. And your reaction to that alone will probably tell you if you are going to like this book or not. It is quirky and the humor can be on the dark side, but it is a really fun read. You will relate to the characters as the main characters are very well drawn, especially Mona. And there is one scene that I just sat and reread a couple of times, tearing up.
The author explores something we maybe do not see a lot. We have a 14 year old hero who saves the day, who wonders why she had to be the hero when so many adults had the opportunity to avert what was going to happen. Mona just really wants to be a baker, but as frequently happens, rises to meet a challenge. But then she goes back to baking. Not your typical MCU type of story (and while I love the MCU, it is nice to see something else).
Is A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking Appropriate?
As mentioned in the summary portion, Mona finds a dead body in her Aunt’s Bakery. There is also a lot of magic, some of which could be a bit confusing for younger readers. This ranges from darker magic to a sourdough starter that swallows up anything in sight (including rats). There is also a pretty significant subplot in which Mona is dealing with the grief over losing her parents. This comes out in mostly anger which has a direct effect on her magic. Overall, due to the more macabre nature of the book and some of the heavier topics dealt with, we suggest this to young readers 12 and up.
A Wizards Guide to Defensive
Baking Quotes
“It is nearly impossible to be sad when eating a blueberry muffin. I’m pretty sure that’s a scientific fact.”
“if things go wrong in a siege you’ll all die horribly, and in formal weddings, the stakes are much higher.”“Well… I have this… thing”. Saying I have a homicidal sourdough starter sounded much too bizarre.”
A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking Quotes
A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking Discussion Questions
Themes to Discuss: Responsibility, Friendship, Courage, Creativity
1. What type of magic would you like to have and why?
2. Did you get emotional at any point in the book (I teared up at one scene).
3. Power can easily corrupt people. Who was affected by power in this book? How did it affect them?
4. What was your favorite scene in the book? (how they get to the Duchess is quite amazing to me)
5. Does Mona want to be a hero? We get a constant stream of movies and books where kids seek to be heroes. What do you think about Mona?
Thanks for reading A Wizards guide to Defensive Baking Review. Before you go, check out these other posts:
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