M.T. Anderson has written quite a few books. I came at their work from the opposite end by reading the Pals in Peril series which are low difficulty middle grade books with wacky hijinks and weird adventures. I probably would have kept on with this book for longer if the audio hadn't included the choice it did on the goblin dialogue. Listening to that was like touching a burning hot surface and flinching back except that, rather than a blister, I had a sense of OMG, that's really, really racist.

I still have Sal and Gabi on my list of books to try again later. The waitlist is long, and I think it's something I'll need to take in small bites. I think that part of what tripped me up was that, when reading the stuff with the alternate versions of his dead mother, I empathized more with the adults than I did with the boy. It's a problem that I have with some kids' books.

As far as Gillian Bradshaw, I mostly prefer her Roman and Byzantine books.