“There’s all sorts of bad advice out there about how to deal with bullies. Ignore them. Stand up to them. Tell a teacher, tell a parent […] The real way to deal with a bully is to stick a raw chicken in their locker.”

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe immediately sets the tone that it will sustain throughout, namely that Hernandez adopts a humorous tone to approach serious topics. In this case, he opens with the idea of using a raw chicken to defeat a bully. While this advice is impractical for most readers, Hernandez makes the subtle comparison that the other advice is often just as impractical.

“Fear is your body trying to tell your brain what to do. But the brain is the king of the body. It calls the shots.”

Papi gives Sal this advice after Sal’s mother dies. Sal’s reliance on this quote illustrates his approach to life. Sal refuses to be cowed by the circumstances surrounding him. Despite bullies and even his diabetes, Sal uses his brain to overcome the obstacles surrounding him.

“One of the quickest ways you can tell if an adult is quality people is if they’ll apologize to a kid when they’re wrong. Principal Torres was someone I could work with.”

Sal, a magician and a teenager, constantly needs to gauge his audience. In this exchange, one of his first extended conversations with Principal Torres, Sal finds the principal worthy. Principal Torres continues to impress Sal and the other students of Culeco as the story progresses.