Review: A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking

A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon kept trying to sell this to me, and even though Amazon isn't usually very good at recommending books I like these days (it used to be; not sure what happened), when the price dropped to 99c I decided to sample it, and based on the sample, decided to buy it.

I didn't regret my decision (as I have in similar circumstances before). It's funny, it's charming, it has a point (which, yes, it makes a bit too obviously), and it's well written.

The point is that, if a teenager or a child or several children have to sort out a serious situation - so, if you have the plot of basically any YA book - things have gone badly wrong, because multiple adults have neglected their responsibilities. For that matter, if heroes have to step up and fix a situation, the same thing can generally be said; multiple people have failed to prevent a bad situation from developing by doing their everyday jobs properly. What's more, getting rid of the bad guy doesn't, by itself, fix things.

The point is driven home just a little too hard, with Mona, the first-person protagonist, too repeatedly protesting that she's only 14, and just a baker, and she shouldn't have to be a hero. But it is a good point.

I spotted the villain fairly early, but there were still some surprises in the plot, and overall I enjoyed it. I've sampled a few of the author's other books and been put off by the dark tone. This certainly had dark moments, but I felt that overall it was hopeful, and not too dark for my taste.

I'm now considering reading the (apparently similar) Minor Mage as well.

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