if things go wrong in a siege you’ll all die horribly, and in formal weddings the stakes are much higher. Currently in Riverbraid, wizards are missing or becoming dead. There's a powerful assassin that's killing wizards and the magical community is leaving the city or going into hiding.

Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): not all YA stories are created equal. Most Some are crappy as fish, while a few others are bloody shrimping NOT. And that, my Little Barnacles, is a scientifically proven fact. I love that we grapple with the injustice of powerless groups having to be the ones who have to fix the mistakes of the empowered. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking is whimsical and dark and imaginative and fantastic. It gets my enthusiastic recommendation for readers both young and old.I think this book is meant for kids, but kids who are totally down with the original Grimm's fairytales. Bad things happen here, but there are also great and relatable lessons. The characters are enjoyable, the plot is fairly straight forward, so it's really the morals and the fun writing that carry this one I think. P.P.S. I really appreciated the author's thoughts on heroes. That gave me something to think about. Kind of supplemental to Mr. Roger's advice to look for the helpers maybe?

Young Mona has a way with bread. She can keep it from burning, or make it taste fresher (or staler, if need be.) She can even make gingerbread men dance the can-can. 'Cause she's a wizard, you see. A 14-year-old wizard who's about to have her life turned upside-down. I USED MY LIBRARY TO PROCURE THIS BOOK...THEN I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT ONE. A YA NOVEL ABOUT A TEEN. AND IT ***just*** WON A 2021 LOCUS AWARD!!

YA Buddy Readers'...: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher -- Starting July 12th 2023