This was a delightfully fast-paced Chinese-based mythology middle grade novel. I found it charming and humorous.

Winston is still reeling from the lost of his father. His dad-aversery is coming up and Winston is excited to show off his cake skills at home to his mom and sisters. As bad luck would have it, he skated into two mean-looking guys who were less than thrilled to be caked. In a twist, Winston caked two potential robbers and the staked out shop owner rewards Winston: he can have one thing from his shop of oddities. But it needs to be the first thing he touches. As fate would have it, Winston touches a broom first. His reward: a broom and an accompanying dust pan. Needless to say, Winston is less than thrilled.

Plot Twist: the broom and dustpan are immortal beings in disguise trying to find a way to be together: the cloud weaver and the cow herder. Will Winston be able to help these who mythical love birds find a way to be together? Will he have to sacrifice all he loves to save his sister?

I really loved the mythology and the storytelling in this novel. My favorite character is the goldfish. I loved the humor woven into the plot and the quest in this novel.

*The narrator for the audiobook was awesome!*

I need a cocktail umbrella from the whimsie shop.

Another fun addition to the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. This time, we have Winston Chu, steeped in Chinese folklore. This was often times silly, but there was also real danger for Winston and his family. Some highlights for me were Lucky the goldfish, Winston and his older sister coming to terms with their father's death and their anger at him, and all the boba tea references (definitely had me craving some too)! This was a different Stacey Lee than I have read before - I've mostly read her historical fiction. This was excellent too and still suffused with empathetic characters I expect from Lee. I listened to the audiobook and I appreciated the narration by Brian McCormick. I could definitely see the set up for another book and will certainly be checking it out when it hits Netgalley or bookstores!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Three years ago, his father died in Iraq. Living in San Francisco with his mother and sister, Winston is studying to become a chef. For his father’s anniversary, Winston decides to make a shoofly pie. As Winston walks past Mr. Pang’s Whimsies store, a place he’s never seen before, he accidentally drop the pie and spooks two burglars. To show his gratitude, the mysterious owner lets Winston pick anything he wants from the store. When Winston accidentally picks an old dustpan and broom, a string of mishaps occurs. With some research, he learns that misuse of the broom and dustpan can cause bad luck. Soon, his sister is replaced with a changeling. To save his sister, Winsoton and his friends must unravel the mystery of the shop, the objects he picked, and how to break the effects of them on his life. Will he be able to get his sister back?

Narrator, Brian McCormick’s unique intonations bring the plot and characters to life. His narrative pace matches well with the author’s writing style. The plot is well-written and engaging. The characters are engaging and well developed. Fans of mythology, Asian folklore, magical realism, and Rick Riordan presents books will want to pick this one up.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

I can't wait to add this book to my classroom library! The story has everything I look for in a middle school book - adventure, friendship, culture (maybe even something new for students to learn about - like Chinese folklore!), a great setting, relatable characters, and a happy ending.

There are very few "perfect" books. Especially when it comes to books geared to middle school students, so, of course there are things I would like to see changed (the main character is a bit inconsistent in his maturity - sometimes he's portrayed quite a bit older than he is, sometimes, quite a bit younger) but overall, I really like the book.

It's difficult to find books for reluctant male tweens so this will be a welcome addition.

Winston Chu has just baked his father’s favorite shoofly pie in his cooking class, in honor of the anniversary of his death – “Dadiversary”. He’s confident in his skateboarding skills, but somehow as he and his best friend, Mac, are heading home, he trips, flipping the pie onto a pair of truly scary-looking men. As they also drive the men away from the store they’re outside, the owner of Mr. Pang’s Whimsies gives Winston an ancient broom and dustpan as a reward. But when things start going missing at home – his soccer jersey, his older sister’s favorite stuffie – even his baby sister – Winston knows he needs to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved the mixture of humor, his family’s working through the pain of losing his father, and his four best friends from the soccer team, and the blend of Chinese mythology with modern-day San Francisco. The narrator had a great basic voice for most of the story, but voiced a couple of Winston’s friends in voices that felt just too cartoony for me to really get behind. Stacey Lee writes mostly teen books with strong romance plots, and this had a small romance plotline as well. I was never quite sure why Winston likes the girl he does, but I liked that the relationship developed from pretty epic awkward adoration to a real friendship. Despite all these positive elements, the story never quite came together enough for me to love it in a way I haven’t been quite able to put my finger on. Still, if you’re a fan of the Rick Riordan type, especially the ones with higher silliness quotients like Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, this is an excellent choice.

Fantasy isn't my genre, but wanted to give this a try as it sounded like a tale my kids would enjoy. I made it through a few chapters and just couldn't get into it enough to finish. However, it seems like the perfect fit for a soccer playing tween, so when the book was released, I did check it out and waiting for his review.

I am often looking for more books with male protagonists for my library as I have a lot of boy readers who are still reluctant to read books with female protagonists. The tricky thing, though, is that I still want those books to have well rounded, diverse characters. I love Winston Chu for that reason -- he is a caring friend and brother who is working through his grief and mourning the death of his father, dealing with a crush on the girl he likes, and spending time playing soccer with his friends. I think he's a character a lot of kids will really like.

I was so excited to read this book because I love Stacey Lee's other books, and I thought this one delivered. It did feel a little long through the middle, but I appreciated this whimsical fantasy set in San Francisco. I sometimes feel like Rick Riordan Presents books can feel a little bit formulaic but this one did a good job of being unique and original.

The audio in particular was well done and I didn't have any gripes.

This book is a lot of fun there is a lot going on and to keep track of, I would say this is on the high end of middle grade, for a more advanced reader.
The mischief mustache cracked me up. Such a fun imaginative story!
I loved the melding of myth and reality I thought that was well done. I enjoyed the friendships and how it dealt with Winstons grief over losing his dad. There are however times this book drags a bit and I do wish it was a bit shorter for a bit younger crowd.

The narration by, Brian McCormick was very well done everyone has a voice and the emotions to go with it!

All in all I enjoyed this and thought it was a lot of fun and it will go on my family road trips list!

3 ½ stars

I received this book from the publisher Disney Audiobooks, Rick Riordan Presents Audiobooks and NetGalley for a fair and honest review

In many ways, Winston Chu is a regular 8th grader: he has a great group of friends, he loves playing soccer, and he's crushing hard on a girl he met over the summer. But, he's also dealing with death of his Army translator father from friendly fire and financial insecurity after his mother lost her job. Oh, and also, there's the problem with the mysterious broom and dustpan that he accidentally takes possession of at a unique store that definitely are more than they appear.

The story infuses Chinese folklore into modern-day San Francisco in a fun middle grade adventure. The story might get a little long in the middle for younger readers, but the mystery and action pays off in the end. The author seems to be setting up for a series as unanswered questions linger. The audio narrator does an okay job, though I sometimes found it hard to distinguish between character voices.

Unfortunately, this book was only mediocre for me. I love middle-grade books, but this one had a little too much lying and hiding things from parents for my taste. The story also felt a little all over the place.

I enjoyed this exciting adventure through the streets and imaginary shop with Winston Chu and his friends. The characters were relatable for most and quite robust. The magical shop was a lot to wrap my head around, yet I still understood what was going on. There is, of course, a lot of suspending belief, but I was also interested in how the storyline was well thought out and brought back the earlier objects. A good show. The narration was average and easy to listen to.

The cover of this book is amazing. The name is smart and drove me to want to request it. The reader is excellent. The issue is that the pacing and the tone is inconsistent. Is Winston 9 or 26? The book can't seem to decide. If his sister says "Pimp me out" to him then we have to assume he is pretty mature. Would he, in first person present tense be able to describe things in such a beautiful, thoughtful way but then say some of the most immature and uninformed things ever? The disappearing/reappearing shop is awesome. There is a lot of good ideas here, that just didn't land for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for providing a copy of this eARC audiobook for review.

I enjoyed this story. There was less movement and drama surrounding the initial problem than I thought there would be, so it seems slow on occasion. I enjoyed the characters and how we got to see bits and pieces of their lives and personalities throughout the novel. There was some character development, but this was mostly plot driven.

This narrator was excellent. I felt that the pace moved along better as an audiobook and kept me better engaged. I believe this was, in part, due to the narrator. The voice and pronunciation were clear and the tone and expression were engaging and expressive.

Winston is doing what he can to honor his father's memory, but he didn't account for the falling squirrel that sends his dadiversary pie to the rescue of a shop owner. Winston is hoping for a better reward than a splintery old broom and dustpan, but his reward becomes an even bigger problem when valued possessions start to go missing. Winston and his friends decide to put a stop to it when even Winston's baby sister is swept away, but finding Mr. Pang and setting everything right turns out to be pretty complicated, and not just because the shop keeps disappearing.

This book is a really fun read. It's not quite everything I was hoping for, but Winston is a funny yet relatable character, and the story is high-action and full of unexpected twists. Definitely something I'd recommend to fans of Percy Jackson.

Winston Chu Vs. the Whimsies is another example of well written fiction coming from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. It was a fun read. The characters of Winston, Cassa, Bijal, and Maverick were quirky which made for a great dynamic between the gang. Mr. Pang, Cowherd, and Cloud Weaver were interesting ways to bring in the Chinese folktale aspect. I wish there had been a little more of the backstory between Cowherd and Cloud Weaver but it didn't detract from the overall storyline, Overall, the story was well paced and developed.

The audiobook narration was well performed. I would love to offer it to my students that have difficulty with reading so that they can enjoy the story without fearing the length of the book.

Winston Chu is headed home from cooking class with his buddy when he inadvertently stops two men from breaking into Mr Peng’s Shop of Whimsies. In gratitude Mr Peng allows him to choose the first thing he touches in the shop - which turns out to be a broom and dustpan - an enchanted broom and dustpan that disappear objects from Winston’s room, including his toddler sister.

Winston and his friends race against time to bring back his sister and figure out the mystery of Mr Peng’s shop.

This was a fun new adventure based in Chinese myth from Rick Riordan presents. Great for fans of Troll Hunters.

Thank you Rick Riordan Presents and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this fun book. I really enjoyed this fantasy with elements of Chinese mythology. Highly recommend to any fantasy/mythology lovers.