I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for the opportunity.

Now, to get on to the review.

I had an interesting time reading this book. At some points the pacing was great, at others it dragged, and others it seemed too much was happening in a short space of time. And the characters, while diverse, didn’t feel as complete as they should. And the interactions were odd.

Example. Winston’s poor. His mom is the sole breadwinner, is trying to find a better job since Winston’s father has passed away. And it’s not easy, so of course, financially, they aren’t doing well.

Well, he’s got a friend who comes from a rich family. A Black kid. And the way he was described in the beginning, and his money, legitimately made me feel like he was going to end up being the villain. It was really uncomfortable. And it continued throughout the book to the point I wondered why they were friends to be honest. It felt very anti-Black because of it.

Next, there was a point where Winston’s things were being stolen and messed with due to the whimsies. And one of his friends said “It’s not like your stuff is Gucci.” in reference to why it was being stolen.

That was gross. We get it, he’s poor. But that line felt so unnecessary. It rubbed me the wrong way. I was a poor kid and reading this would have made me super uncomfortable. It just wasn’t good.

Next, there are far too many similes and metaphors. And when I say too many I mean like three to four a page. It was one of the things that slowed down the reading process. They weren’t needed. They all could have been removed from the page and it wouldn’t have change the story except to make it flow faster. And that’s really upsetting as a reader.

However, if teachers need an example of similes or metaphors in text, this book will be great for them because there are an absolute mess of them.

As far as the story, it was ok? Winston is angry after the death of his father from friendly fire in Iraq. He was a radio tech if I remember correctly. He’s got an older sister and a younger sister. The older sister is angry, curled up, left school. She’s hurting. His baby sister doesn’t remember their father and is a toddler. Not anything too different or crazy as far as the family is concerned.

He does love his sisters quite a bit, even with his older sister being as angry and hurt as she is. And part of the story focuses on his healing from his grief.

Unfortunately, the story left a lot of things undone. There’s a lot of things that don’t reach a resolution, and I thought it was setting up for a sequel but to my knowledge, this is a stand alone.

I wanted to love this book, I was so excited for it. But it’s getting 2 out of 5 stars from me. I just really didn’t enjoy some of the issues and they really made the process really annoying.

A delightfully different middle grade fantasy. There are so many levels to this story, from the family dealing with grief over their father lost to friendly fire in Iraq, to four friends who might have their differences but who always have each other's backs. Even the secondary characters have depth. Add to that some Chinese mythology intertwined with an antagonist who deals in very quirky "whimsies". Stacey Lee is an amazing writer and this book didn't disappoint.

This one was a good and interesting read. I was a bit confused towards the end when things were happening so quickly, but the story wrapped up pretty well. There’s definitely still some questions to be answered in the sequel.
Winston was a good character. His love for his family was great, and I liked his determination to rescue his sister. His friends were also good, and I liked the bond between the characters.
The plot was intriguing, but the pacing felt a bit off to me.
Overall it was a good middle grade read.

I voluntarily read an eARC off NetGalley and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with the eARC.

Winston Chu runs into an old man and is gifted with one item from his crazy shop. Unfortunately the item is a broom and dust pan that are not as they appear. When Winston's baby sister starts to change, Winston fears there's more going on than meets the eye and he enlists his friends to hep him sort through this magical Chinese folklore inspired weirdness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this DRC.
Mr. Pang is the owner of Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, a shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown, that appears and disappears at inopportune moments. When Winston Chu stops a robbery, Mr. Pang offers him any item in the store. But has impulse issues and grabs an old broom when distracted by a magpie. Winston is frustrated with himself, but this particular broom will take Winston on an adventure he’d never expect.
I loved this skateboard-fast, fun and furious tale, with silly enchanted objects, friendship and family.

#WinstonChuvstheWhimsies #NetGalley

Another great mythology-based fantasy from Rick Riordan Presents! Winston Chu's father was killed while deployed a few years ago and the rest of the family still hasn't recovered. On the third anniversary of his death, Winston and his friends foil a couple thieves in San Fransisco's Chinatown and are rewarded with a choice of magical objects from Mr. Pang's Whimsies. They had never noticed the store in all of their times going to the Boba shop next door, and it isn't there when they go back either. As with many magical "gifts," what Winston gets is not quite what he expects and when they begin to harm his family, Winston and his friends set out to put things to right. A fun start to a great new fantasy series. Recommended for grades 4 & up.

Action from the first page, Winston is tricked by oddities shop owner, Mr. Pang, into accepting an enchanted broom and dustpan, from Mr. Pang’s collection of strange magical objects. But when things start to go missing at Winston’s house, including his little sister who is replaced by a soulless changling, Winston and his friends must frantically search San Francisco for Mr. Pang’s shop and his sister’s soul. But Mr. Pang is a master of evasion–he has magical chi and can become a magpie and fly away. Talk about an exciting and unique adventure — I loved that the magical gift was NOT a gift!

Another hit from the Rick Riordan Presents collection! This was such a fun read, and perfect for middle-grade readers of fantasy/mythology. Great balance of friendship drama, family dynamics, trouble-making middle schoolers, mythology, and MAGIC!
This will be a huge hit with readers in our school library. Can’t wait to see more from this author!

This was a ton of fun to read! Winston and his friends and family are all such well-developed characters, and I think Mr. Pang's Whimsies are so fun and a certain type of young reader would have a blast dreaming up their own Whimsies.

This was such a fun middle grade fantasy book! I loved Stacey Lee's YA book, The Downstairs Girl, so when I saw that this book was coming out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. There was adventure, magic, middle school shenanigans, folklore, interesting family dynamics, a terrific group of friends, a crush, some really hilarious hijinks, and great potential for a sequel. It was just so much fun.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
I’ve read some of Stacey Lee’s prior YA titles, so I was excited to hear she was releasing a book with Rick Riordan Presents. Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies is a fun adventure, incorporating elements of Chinese mythology into a fun adventure with a lot of twists and turns. The backdrop of the San Francisco Bay Area is also well-conveyed and really draws you in, almost as much as Mr. Pang’s elusive magic shop.
Winston is a very relatable protagonist, being a middle child in a family who is grappling with the recent loss of their dad, and their mom is struggling to get by. I liked the little nuances of his relationships with his mom and older sister Philippa, and how they’ve changed in the light of that loss.
I like the way the quest to figure out what was going on with Mr. Pang and his Whimsies had Winston working with his friends to figure things out, especially when his family didn't believe him. It made for some fun, banter-y moments in the midst of their quest, and was a great way to keep things grounded on Winston as a tween with real tween issues who just happens to get thrust into this wild journey.
The pacing was mostly consistent, and while there were a few moments of lull here and there, I was more or less engaged and always wondering how Winston and Co. would resolve their current situation.
Like most RRP books I’ve read, I enjoyed this, and see the potential for a series going forward, especially given the nature of the ending. If you enjoy middle grade fantasy adventure stories, I’d recommend checking this one out!

This was my least favorite of all the Rick Riordan Presents books so far. Winston ends up in a magical shop and as a favor for stopping a pair of thieves is given a broom and dust pan. Things got very weird and very confusing from there. I didn't understand the basis for the story as most of them are based off some aspect of mythology or folklore but couldn't figure this one out until almost the end. He gets his friends involved from the get go which was nice, except they all read as very childish. I think the kids were 8th graders? I'm not even sure. The spend the rest of the book trying to get back their lost things, which for reason included Winston's 3 year old sister Coco? Odd choices galore in this book.

The only positive I can pull from this book is that Winston and his sister deal with the grief left from their dad who was killed in action as a translator for the army.

I'm always excited to have the opportunity to read and review an ARC of a middle grade book that I may be able to add to my elementary school library. (Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!) I definitely think this one will appeal to the right audience, and have to acknowledge that I'm not necessarily that right audience. Even still, I enjoyed much of the story. I loved the San Francisco setting, and wished for even more setting description. I liked several of the characters quite a lot (Phillipa, Monroe, Dani, Winston), but wished for more development in others - specifically Winston's group of friends. I really enjoyed the creative whimsies and Mr. Pang's shop. The adventure, mystery, and quest of the story were all interesting and action-packed, but a little all over the place and sometimes hard to follow. The timeline was particularly challenging to me. There was this huge sense of urgency, yet the kids were just going to school like usual, etc. The confusing timeline and sheer quantity of STUFF going on made me a little less engaged in the story than I expected and I read the book in short snippets rather than devouring it in big chunks. One big positive note: unlike most books with perilous scenarios where kids think they can solve and handle everything on their own, I did appreciate that Winston at least tried to talk to his mom about his fears and concerns and he did turn to the older siblings for help. I'm confident that my upper elementary students who enjoy other Rick Riordan Presents and fantasy fiction will enjoy this one too, and the fantastic cover will definitely catch their attention.

DNF @ 57%—normally, if I DNF a book, I will not do an official review on NetGalley. But if I make it past the 50% mark and still can’t find it in me to finish, I think that’s something of note. I gave this book more than a fair chance to draw me in, and I was uninvested the entire time. I was shocked at how little I cared for the characters and plot. While I’m sure I am not the target audience for this book, I read a lot of MG/YA, so I don’t think it’s necessarily because I am an adult (I’ve also read a solid number of other Rick Riordan Presents books and adored them!)
One of my biggest complaints is that there are too many characters in this book! I get having a group of friends with some sort of mission to help with the main character, but I still couldn’t tell you all the names of the kids in Winston’s friend group and what they are like. Mav is rich? And I’m out. They definitely had different backgrounds and home lives, but I feel like none of them had very distinguishable characteristics.
This review is maybe one of the harshest I’ve written, but I also spent three months reading this on and off, hoping it would pick up. Usually when this happens, by the time I get around 30% in, things begin to pick up and I inhale the rest of the book. But this one just wasn’t for me.

The Whimsies were a lot of fun! I enjoyed reading about Winston and his friends and their discovery of each of the whimsies and what they could do. The incorporation of their soccer team moves when they needed to make plans were a nice added touch. The Chinese mythology was woven well throughout the story, I was intrigued by the story of Cowherd and Cloud weaver. Winston is a great 12 year old who is dealing with family and friendships while trying to process grief, which makes him an amazing relatable character. I think this was a great addition to the Rick Riordan Present imprint.
Thanks NetGalley!

This book was cute!! It also had a satisfying ending, just in case it's a standalone. I would like to know more about Winston's family's chi, though!

The Rick Riordan Presents imprint has been a great way for us to meet new authors. I really enjoyed getting to know Winston and his world. This title also shows Winston dealing with the sudden loss of a parent (the death happens before the novel starts).

I really enjoyed this book! Stacey Lee did such a great job weaving a middle grade fantasy story set in a realistic setting. Totally love the hijinks and hilarity!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the concept of Mr Pang’s shop. I also appreciated how the dynamics between the friends were supportive and relatable but also imperfect. I’m not used to seeing the concept of change king in a middle grade book that is not horror but thought that was well done. While the end was very fantastical, I also completely bought into it as a reader because of how the author took us on the journey with them. A lot of humor and heart in this fantasy.

Stacey Lee's Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies is the newest book in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint and it was so sweet and creative. This story follows Winston, who, along with his family, is still recovering from the loss of his father. The narrative lovingly tackles grief, loss, and the way different people experience it. I adored Winston's friends and their friendship. Each of his friends had depth and I was just as invested in them as I was in Winston. Winston's love for his family was so clear--even when he was frustrated. I loved how they grew together in this story. Plus, the whimsies!! The whimsies were so interesting and just...awesome. Honestly, they're probably one of the more creative additions to a story I have read in a long time. I also loved how Asian folklore was woven in, and I can't wait to see more of this in future books!

Have you read any middle-grade books recently?