Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King

English language

Published by Random House Books for Young Readers.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-42661-6

No rating (1 review)

As shamans, Winnie Zeng and her archnemesis, David Zuo, have accepted their roles in guarding the world from evil spirits. But with Halloween around the corner, the balance between realms grows fragile—and so yet another shaman is assigned to help Winnie and David protect the town of Groton, Michigan.

The catch? The new shaman is just the worst. Not only is she way too perfect—she also has an ego to match, and thinks she’s the best thing that’s happened to Groton since Winnie’s red bean brownies. Plus, she's confident she can save the world all on her own.

With evil spirits growing in number, Winnie and David find themselves in quite a pickle. While the newest shaman isn’t convinced there’s a storm brewing, this town is going to need all three of them on the same team . . . or there might not be a town left to defend.

1 edition

lastblossom reviewed Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King by Katie Zhao (Winnie Zeng, #2)

Fans of the first book will be excited to see some great character growth along with hints of a larger plot at play.

No rating

I have a confession to make. I'm more a David than a Winnie. Between the energetic girl who tries to life hack her way out of piano practice, and the uptight overachiever who would never skip class, I definitely sit on the never skip class end of the gradient. Which means I spent a good deal of the first book disappointed that Winnie backed down from a challenge so quickly because she didn't believe in herself. I'm pleased to say I had no such feelings in book two. Winnie's back with her (literally) magic baking and a new horde of spirits to take down. And while she still maintains her energy, she's also grown to believe in herself more, and what a growth it is! Stronger communication skills, self-advocacy, and even more baking. Like the first book, plot balances really evenly between Winnie's home/school life, and her work life. That …

I have a confession to make. I'm more a David than a Winnie. Between the energetic girl who tries to life hack her way out of piano practice, and the uptight overachiever who would never skip class, I definitely sit on the never skip class end of the gradient. Which means I spent a good deal of the first book disappointed that Winnie backed down from a challenge so quickly because she didn't believe in herself. I'm pleased to say I had no such feelings in book two. Winnie's back with her (literally) magic baking and a new horde of spirits to take down. And while she still maintains her energy, she's also grown to believe in herself more, and what a growth it is! Stronger communication skills, self-advocacy, and even more baking. Like the first book, plot balances really evenly between Winnie's home/school life, and her work life. That means action scenes can be sparse, but I again appreciated the time spent on her relationship with her sister. The ending has a very "book two" vibe, where the enemy is vanquished, leaving behind an ominous statement and more questions than answers. And of course recipes are again included. Almond cookies are a really easy go-to recipe for beginning bakers, and I imagine that adding chocolate chips like Winnie did will probably be great too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advance copy! All thoughts here are my own.

Lists

Baking is Magic