A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Content Warning: The source material uses outdated language regarding psychological conditions and mental distress.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

“I could tell right away that she was dead. I haven’t seen a lot of dead bodies in my life—I’m only fourteen, and baking’s not exactly a high-mortality profession—but the red stuff oozing out from under her head definitely wasn’t raspberry filling.”

The opening lines are attention-grabbing by incorporating the mystery of a dead body, while simultaneously introducing the first-person narrator, Mona. Vital information about Mona (including her age and profession) is conveyed quickly and efficiently, while also establishing the wry tone of her narration.

“Being a wizard is almost all like that—you don’t know what you can do until you actually do it, and then sometimes you aren’t sure what you just did. There aren’t teachers who can help you, either. Everybody’s different, and there’s usually only a couple dozen magic folk in any given city anyway. A few hundred if it’s a really big city. Maybe in the army the war-wizards get special training, but down here, it’s all trial and error and a lot of wasted bread dough.”

Mona explains some basics about how magic works in the world of the novel, which becomes important as the plot progresses. This passage also lends detail to the world-building. Additionally, it depicts Mona’s self-deprecating comparisons between herself and “real” (i.e., powerful) wizards, which contributes to the theme of Leveraging One’s Talents. As the story progresses, Mona learns it’s not about what one’s magic does but rather what one does with their magic.

“I knew immediately who it was. Lord Ethan, the Golden General. The wizard who led Her Grace’s armies into battle. […] You may think that I’m being ridiculous, mooning over how famous a man is when I’m being accused of murder, but—well—it was Lord Ethan. The closest we had to a living legend, like one of the heroes in the old stories who slew monsters.”

Though the Duchess is by far the more politically powerful character in this scene, the focus on Lord Ethan speaks to Mona’s character. Like many teenage girls would be, she is enamored with the handsome heroic figure of Lord Ethan, even while facing possible imprisonment. Establishing her hero worship is also important to set up the later disappointment she feels.