Spoiler-free review:
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking is about Mona getting unknowingly involved into some serious trouble when she comes across a body and we see her try to figure out things in her head every single day. What could a 14yo girl manage on her own with a power that helps the sales of her aunt and uncle's bakery? Turns out, a lot! Mona truly acts and thinks like a 14yo, something that sounds easy, but often I feel that kids and teenagers are not really depicted right in books, but Kingfisher found a great balance on that. Her thought process and random little comments in her head just made sense and were never too much.
The rest of the cast is memorable in their own, quirky ways, though they are more stereotypical 2-dimensional characters, but handled in a great way that doesn't take you away from the story!
The book is short and the plot moves fast. This is not an EPIC ADVENTURE, but it sure is a hell of a memorable journey for a girl who only wanted to bake pastries and just didn't want to be involved in grown up business. Not everyone wants to be a hero and Mona really thinks things through and is very relatable with how she does things!
In general, it's a book with great balance between dark and light elements for middle-grade content and I give it 4.5/5, but rounding down to 4!
