Manu is an adorable book with rich cultural roots. Manu, Josephina, and Mother Dolores are great examples of love and family being born of bonds, rather than blood. I was expecting more strife to come from Josephina accidentally cursing Manu, leading to the loss of her magic, but the way the story is told and conflict is resolved it's better with the intended audience of the book. Manu being different at the end and still being loved regardless of whether she can do magic in the way that's expected of her is a really valuable message.