Sal and Gabi Break the Universe is a novel written by Carlos Hernandez. It is a science fiction novel. It was published by Disney-Hyperion in March 2019. The book also won the Pura Belpré Award. Unlike other books Rick Riordan wrote or edited, this book contains no references to any kind of mythology. A short story by Hernandez about the Sal and Gabi characters are featured in the anthology book, The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities.
Synopsis Sal Vidón begins his first year at Culeco Academy of the Arts, where his unusual abilities and his type-one diabetes quickly make him stand out. On his third day, Sal becomes involved in an incident with bully Yasmany Robles when he tries to help Yasmany open his locker. After Yasmany knocks Sal’s diabetes bag to the floor and threatens him, a raw chicken mysteriously falls from Yasmany’s locker, causing a panic among the students. Yasmany blames Sal, who is known for his magic tricks, while Sal insists that the chicken was only an illusion. Principal Torres investigates and eventually concludes that the chicken was a magical illusion, although Sal is punished for causing the panic and must write a report about type-one diabetes. Gabi Reál, the student council president and newspaper editor, initially defends Yasmany but becomes fascinated by Sal after discovering that he can perform genuine magic. During a later lie-detector performance, Sal accidentally reveals that he can open portals to other dimensions and had actually placed the chicken in Yasmany’s locker. He later discovers that the locker contains a portal to an alternate-dimension chicken factory, beginning his deeper involvement with the multiverse.
Sal’s strange abilities become increasingly important as he struggles with school, friendships, and his family life. After remembering the car accident involving his mother, Sal returns home and is shocked to find her apparently alive and cooking with his family, only to faint and wake up in the hospital. His father, Gustavo, explains that he has been working on a machine that may help understand the strange events surrounding Sal and his mother. While in the hospital, Sal meets Gabi’s family and learns about her critically ill baby brother, Iggy, who has a severely weakened immune system. Sal becomes especially sympathetic toward Gabi because he believes it is unfair for someone so young to suffer so badly. At school, Gabi publishes an article called “Poultrygate!” about the chicken incident, which embarrasses Sal and strengthens his reputation as a magician or “brujo.” Although the two frequently argue and prank each other, they gradually become friends. Sal also discovers that the multiverse contains alternate versions of people he knows, including different versions of himself and Gladis. His attempts to help Gladis result in more trouble and detention, but he continues investigating the dimensional rifts and the mysterious “calamatrons” connected to them.
As Iggy’s condition worsens, Sal and Gabi become determined to help him. Sal discovers that Yasmany has been struggling with serious problems at home and begins to see him as more than just a bully. Gabi and Sal secretly return to school to investigate the portal in Yasmany’s locker, where Sal discovers that the rift contains numerous calamatrons. Eventually, Sal, Gabi, and Yasmany begin working together, and Yasmany repeatedly apologizes for his earlier behavior. Sal and Gabi also spend more time at the hospital, where they develop a closer friendship while trying to support Iggy and his family. Together, they create and perform an Everyman play called Death Always Wins: A Comedy!, with help from their families, friends, and hospital workers. The play becomes a major success and demonstrates how Sal and Gabi have grown from suspicious classmates into close friends who can rely on each other. Meanwhile, Yasmany receives help from Gabi’s family and social services and eventually finds a more stable living situation, showing that his behavior was connected to deeper problems rather than simply being cruelty.
Suddenly, Iggy’s immune system shuts down and he appears close to death. Gabi begs Sal to use his dimensional powers to save her brother by replacing him with a healthy version of Iggy from another universe. Sal refuses to simply replace him because he believes that would mean losing the unique Iggy that Gabi loves, but he agrees to search the multiverse for another solution. They discover alternate realities in which Iggy survives or dies from different illnesses, eventually finding a universe where an alternate family explains that Iggy’s condition may be caused by neonatal meningitis and suggests that the two versions of Iggy could potentially exchange what they need to survive. The story ends on a hopeful note: Iggy is alive and healthy, Yasmany has a stable home, Sal continues secretly removing calamatrons from the portal, and Gustavo and Bonita use information from another universe to advance their research. Gabi remains fascinated by the multiverse and plans to explore it further. Her adventures continue when she brings Iggy and a strange cat to Sal’s home, and the cat appears to use Iggy as a portal to another universe.
Characters Main characters include the titular Sal Vidón and Gabi Reál. Sal is a fun-loving magician who can reach into other universes. After the death of his biological mother several years prior to the start of the book, Sal has been known to find version of his mother from other universes and communicate with them, though they are always different from his version. Gabi, a girl who Sal befriends over the course of the first book and grows closer to in the sequel, can be described as the optimistic student president of Culeco Academy. Gustavo Vidón is the father of Sal, and a "calamity physicist", who remarried to a woman named Lucy Vidón after his first wife, Floramaria Vidón and Sal's mother, died. He is often referred to as Papi by Sal. Lucy Vidón, Gustavo Vidón's second wife, is often referred to as American Stepmom by Sal. Yasmany Robles is one of the book's primary antagonists, though throughout the course of the duology he is revealed to be kinder. He is a bully at school who has a hole to another universe created by Sal in his locker.
Supporting characters include Gladis Machao, a girl who attends Culeco Academy with Sal and Gabi. At one point in the book, she comes into contact with an alternative universe version of herself, prompting her to get mad-nine AI named Bonita, Lightning Dad, a weatherman, and Meow Dad, a fat cat from another universe. Gabi's true, biological father is never revealed. Ignacio "Iggy" Reál is the younger brother of Gabi. In the first book, Iggy is an infant, but progresses to the stages of being an early toddler in the second installment in the series. Iggy is critically ill upon his birth, so Sal is able to connect him to an alternate-universe version of himself so he can heal. Mr. Milgros is a janitor at Caleco Academy. In book two, he installs an artificial reality into a toilet. Aventura Rios is another girl who attends Culeco Academy, and Doctor Doctorpants is a silly teacher. The Entropy Sweeper is an artificial intelligence created by Gustavo.
Development Sal and Gabi Break the Universe was first published on March 5, 2019 as part of the "Rick Riordan Presents" publishing imprint and the first book in the Sal and Gabi duology. After the book's release, the editor and creator of "Rick Riordan Presents", Rick Riordan, dressed up as Colonial, Greco-Roman, purple wizard, and steampunk version of himself from alternate universes in celebration of the book. After the second book, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, author Carlos Hernandez announced that he did not have plans to write a sequel. A sneak peek from the next book was released in April 2020, prior to its release. The book is 400 pages long.
Sequel
A sequel, also by Hernandez, entitled, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe was published in May 2020. It continues Sal and Gabi's story as Papi's remembranation machine threatens to destroy the universe by closing the holes that Sal made in it. At the same time, Sal is visited by an alternate version of Gabi called FixGabi whose universe was destroyed by the remembranation machine.
Television adaptation In September 2021, it was announced that Disney Branded Television is developing a television series adaptation of the novel from Eva Longoria and her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment.
Reception The Laughing Place gave the book very high reviews, saying "This is a story about family, how Sal’s family moves on in grief and how Gabi’s family deals with the illness of the youngest member, Ignacio."
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