BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSSal Vidón is the new kid at Culeco Academy of the Arts, a quirky magnet school for the arts in Miami, and he already has a reputation. Three days into seventh grade, school bully Yasmany Robles knocks Sal's diabetes bag out of his hands in the hallway, and Sal gets even with a trick that seems impossible, a raw chicken appears out of nowhere inside Yasmany's locker. The stunt lands Sal in the principal's office and pulls him into an unlikely friendship with Gabi Real, the fiercely competitive student council president and school newspaper editor, who refuses to believe Sal's trick was ordinary sleight of hand. She's right not to. Sal has a real, secret power: he can tear small holes into other universes and pull things through, a gift that traces back to the grief he still carries over his mother's death five years earlier. As word spreads that Sal might be some kind of brujo, he has to juggle a new school, a shaky truce with Yasmany, a budding partnership with Gabi, and a power he barely understands and can't fully control. And the more he uses it, the harder it gets to keep the universe from cracking open for good.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Sal and Gabi Break the Universe
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a boy look through the back of a locker into a chicken-processing plant?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
The rip Sal tore to grab the raw bird has not healed, so the locker still opens onto a factory in another reality with carcasses zooming past on a conveyor belt. That stubborn hole causes most of the trouble that follows.
- First half
In what book do parents secretly agree to punish their son by banning magic for a week?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Sal lies still in a hospital bed and eavesdrops on the entire debate, right down to their plan to hold hands and present a united front. Then he sits up and charms them out of it before they can finish the sentence.
- First half
In what book does a boy meet another version of himself who talks using his forehead?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Sal relaxes his way into a nearby reality and finds a Sal who has already mastered thoughtspeaking and greets him as spada. That other Sal cheerfully does him a favor that lands him in detention.
- Second half
In what book do silvery shadows of a woman appear on a screen in five poses?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Sneaking downstairs at one in the morning, Sal scans the house and sees his dead mami's leftover particles frozen where she stood, stirring a pot, dancing, and reaching for him as he fainted. She left 679 of them behind, which terrifies him.
- Second half
In what book does a phone announce "Yesss, master!" sixty times in a row?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Sal's text tone comes from a video game, and Gabi answers his one sympathetic message with a machine gun storm of texts about her baby brother's terrible night. American Stepmom watches the whole thing, completely hypnotized.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy brush his teeth in a school hallway in striped pajamas?
✓ Answer
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Yasmany has been living in the multipurpose room, so Gabi and Sal find him barefoot outside the first floor bathroom with a towel over his shoulders. He is embarrassed and defensive until Sal finds a very silly way to break the tension.
