A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking (2020) is a young adult fantasy novel by prolific American author T. Kingfisher (the pseudonym for Ursula Vernon). The novel tells the story of 14-year-old Mona who possesses a minor magical ability to manipulate bread. Though many others in her city possess far greater magical powers, she suddenly finds herself left to defend her home and her city against assassins and invaders using nothing but her minor magic, her wits, and her animated gingerbread men.

With T. Kingfisher’s signature mix of fantasy adventure and witty humor, A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking showcases clever characters placed in increasingly difficult situations and offers an exploration of themes such as Difference and Prejudice, The Obligations Associated With Power, and Leveraging One’s Talents. A Wizard’s Guide has won many literary awards including the 2021 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction, the Locus Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Dragon Award for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel, the Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature, and the Cóyotl Award for Best Novel.

This study guide refers to the 2020 paperback edition from Argyll Productions.

Content Warning: The source material uses outdated language regarding psychological conditions and mental distress. This is only replicated in quoted material in this guide. 

Plot Summary

Mona is a 14-year-old girl who works in her Aunt Tabitha’s bakery in the city-state of Riverbraid. When she arrives one morning to start baking, she discovers the dead body of a girl on the floor. Aunt Tabitha and Uncle Albert call for the constables. Everyone is shocked when Inquisitor Oberon, a member of the Council, accuses Mona of the murder because she is a wizard. 

Wizards, or “magickers” as some citizens call them, vary in power. Some are deadly, like the war-wizards in the army. Others have minor abilities, like Mona, who can only work with dough and other baked goods. Some non-magical citizens fear and hate wizards. Mona does not understand this, believing she is harmless. Except for accidentally bringing her sourdough starter, Bob, to life, she only does small things like make gingerbread men dance.

Oberon arrests Mona and takes her to the palace to face the Duchess, who rules Riverbraid. To Oberon’s annoyance, the Duchess releases Mona on the advice of Lord Ethan, the wizard in charge of the army. On the way home, Mona runs into Knackering Molly, another minor wizard who can make dead horses walk and wanders the city with her bone horse, Nag.

That night, Mona is accosted by a 10-year-old street thief, Spindle, whose sister, Tibbie, is the girl Mona found. Rumors lead Mona to suspect that Tibbie was killed by the mysterious Spring Green Man. Then, a few days later, the Spring Green Man attacks Mona, revealing that he works for Oberon. Mona throws Bob the sourdough starter in his face, and Spindle helps her escape. Together, they run from constables trying to capture Mona and hide in a church bell tower.

While in hiding, Mona experiments with her magic, bringing various dough creatures to life. She also keeps one gingerbread man with her, who has lasted days longer than her animated cookies usually do and has developed a feisty personality. Spindle warns Mona that Oberon has accused her of treason. He has also instituted a registry for all wizards, claiming that wizard spies in the city may be working for infamously dangerous Carex mercenaries. Many wizards have now fled the city.

With no other options, Mona and Spindle break into the Duchess’s room at the palace to ask for her help. Mona believes that Oberon’s plot against wizards may be part of a larger scheme to usurp the Duchess, especially now that Lord Ethan and his army have left the city to respond to Carex raids. The Duchess admits that she knows about Oberon’s scheme but feels powerless to stop it. Now, Mona and Spindle spur her to action. With assistance from royal wizard Master Gildaen, they capture the Spring Green Man (whose real identity is royal wizard Elgar) and banish Oberon. In the process, Elgar kills Gildaen, making Mona the last loyal wizard in Riverbraid.

With Oberon gone and Elgar in prison, Mona returns home. Everything returns to normal for a few days until the Duchess requests Mona’s assistance again, explaining that Carex invaders are two days away from the city walls while Lord Ethan and the army are at least 10 days away. Mona devises a plan to make giant bread golems to defend the city. 

The Carex make camp just outside the walls. Mona makes seven bread golems, as well as bad gingerbread men to sneak into the camp and cause chaos. The Carex attack, breaking down the gate with a battering ram, only to be blocked by the bread golems. In the chaos, Elgar escapes from prison to attack Mona. Thankfully, Spindle and Molly come to her rescue and kill Elgar. Then the Carex break through the bread golem defense. Mona plans to pour the last of her magic into a new defense, knowing it will kill her. However, Molly beats her to it, using the last of her strength to raise every dead horse in Riverbraid to trample the Carex and chase them out, saving the city.

Lord Ethan and his army arrive days later. The Duchess erects a statue in Molly’s honor and gives Mona and Spindle medals for their bravery. Lord Ethan offers Mona a position in the army, which she refuses. He warns her that “heroism is a bad habit” (304), and she will likely be called upon again. Until then, she is happy to stay in her bakery and make the gingerbread men dance.