This is such a such a delightful story.
We are following Winnie Zeng, a young girl on the verge of entering Middle School and learning life will change. She loves her family, and making her parents proud. She laments that her sister turned into a different girl when she hit middle school and is sad they are no longer close.

When Winnie starts Middle School she starts to realize that things are harder than she expected - the mean girls make fun of her traditional Chinese lunches, & her Chinese-School nemesis David is now at her school. Then she decides to practice making Mooncakes for her schools bakesale and accidentally unleashes her power as a Shaman, and with it her grandmothers spirit comes to this world to help train her.

What follows is a really relatable and emotional journey of Winnie learning how to advocate for herself, and make herself happy. She loves her family but when their expectations are too much for her - she has to decide whose happiness matters most to her.

I felt the author did a really great job of exploring Chinese myths, as well as showing a loving family that still has a lot of problems. Her parents are too hard on her - but they genuinely want to do right by them. The sisters fight because they dont see eye to eye about life but through growing up Winnie begins to understand why her sister feels the way she feels and I hope if this is a series we get to see more bonding and growth between them.

David's message at the end about working 'smarter not harder' I think was really smart and useful advice for Winnie and the audience. I also love that this book included recipes for the food! I have never had red bean paste, and I am really curious to try it now!

Ultimately - if you're a fan of hero stories like Percy Jackson I think this will absolutely be up your alley.

I really enjoyed reading Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend, it was charmingly funny but also had it's emotional moments that ultimately pulled the book together. I found myself with a smile on my face a majority of the time while reading, it just felt warm and easy to fall into.

Katie Zhao's writing was amazing, reading it was smooth and light but also just fun. I'm a sucker for an author who can make me laugh so effortlessly and that was majorly accomplished with Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend. I'm really interested in reading more by Katie Zhao, and probably will soon.

Overall this was super fun to read, and it probably pulled me out of my reading slump(at least I hope it did). I'm obviously not in the age category this book is targeted towards but I think anyone could find this enjoyable to read if they just give it the chance. I highly suggest that people give this one a read.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

Winnie Zeng is determined to have an awesome middle school experience. She was a top student at her elementary school--but her Chinese school and piano endeavors have been less successful because of her nemesis, David, who always edges her out. Therefore, she's horrified to discover he's now going to her new school. A home room baking fundraiser rivalry gives her a chance to beat David in a new way. In her home kitchen, she discovers her late grandmother's cookbook and a recipe for mooncakes--and then her grandmother's ghost. It turns out, shamanic abilities skip a generation. Winnie's not only supposed to be the powerful new shaman in the family, but she needs to develop her talent, fast, because her small Michigan town is facing some major not-so-mythological threats.

This book offers a fast-paced, fun read that explores Chinese mythology in a fresh angle. There's less emphasis on creatures her, much more on the spirit realm and threats to humanity. Winnie is a relatable heroine, arrogant but well-intentioned, trying to live up to her parents' impossible expectations and squabbling with her older sister. The way she struggles with the new burden of a shamanic destiny feels realistic, fantastical though the dilemma is. Plus, as a baker, I loved the important emotional and weaponized role that food plays in the book.

Winnie is entering middle school and has spent the summer preparing. She has watched videos, read books, studied her sister over the past years and she is ready. She is ready except for what she didn't plan for. Becoming allies with her arch enemy and superseding her parents' expectation all end up being a day in the life of Winnie.

A strong. young female character with some influence from Harry Potter. This could end up being a fun series if the Winnie's adventures continue. Appropriate for middle school and above.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
While I did recently enjoy Katie Zhao’s YA debut, I am aware she got her start writing middle grade, so I was eager to see what she had to offer. Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend is a fun adventure chock full of food and culture and navigating the day-to-day challenges of being a Chinese-American girl starting middle school…with an exciting magical twist.
Winnie is ultimately a very sympathetic protagonist. From navigating family expectations to tackling the interpersonal relationships she forms in middle school (especially with a certain nemesis) all make her feel relatable.
And while that is the foundation, the injection of the fantasy elements, awoken through cooking and the discovery that Winnie is a shaman, are introduced so naturally, and I love how it adds yet another ball in the air for Winnie to deal with, only amplifying the already present chaos.
I also really like that there are recipes at the end, with notes about them from Winnie’s perspective. While I’m not a cook myself, I did find myself craving these food items and imagine cooking these dishes would be a great activity for readers to do in conjunction with reading the book.
This is a fun read, recommended for those who enjoy Percy Jackson and the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.

In the past, I have made it pretty clear that I love a well done middle grade book. This book absolutely falls into that category. With its fast pace and well defined character development, it is captivating from start to finish. Winnie was a wonderfully real character. It was easy to watch her gain strength and confidence from the moment she discovered her shaman abilities, to the moment where she truly embraced them. I appreciated that her character held the thoughts and fears of most middle schoolers, it helped her development feel real. It was easy to see all the ways her personal relationships shaped her own decisions. Her relationships were all complex, exploring the ease and difficulty in family life. Hard to please parents, a difficult to live with sister, a rivalry, are all things that middle school kids can relate to themselves.

One of the biggest things that I look for when looking at middle grade works is whether the work doubts the intelligence of the reader. I’ve seen plenty of works that seem to talk down to the audience because it is intended for ‘children’. However, if I have learned anything in this life, it is that “children” have an even greater grasp for story telling than most adults. They have a way of understanding stories in a very personal way. This story seems to understand that and never at any point feels condescending. It opens up topics for conversation, leading the reader to become fully engaged with both the story as well as the characters.

I was so excited that I got a chance to learn so much about Chinese culture in this novel. The culture, the mythologies, and especially the food were so well described that it encouraged me to look online for even more information. I will fully admit that I spent most of my time reading, also secretly dreaming of food. It was fascinating to watch Winnie learn about her shaman powers and her own connection to the spirit world. I felt that I was learning along with her in many ways and it helped me feel more connected to the story. I cannot wait to read this book with my kids and hear all of their thoughts and questions.

5/5 stars! I cannot wait to see where this series goes!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Books for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

Fantasy lovers, here’s your new adventure. Inspired by Chinese mythology, this all-American girl deals with parental pressures, middle school strife, and a frustrating older sister who no longer has time for her. Now throw in a shamanic family history, evil spirits, and having to fight demons with your academic nemesis and it’s quite a heavy load for Winnie. You don’t need to know a thing about Chinese American culture to enjoy this fast-paced novel, but if you do, you’ll enjoy it even more. And regardless, you’re going to want to eat mooncakes, and the recipe is in the book, yum!

This review will be posted at The Middle Grade Mischief Book Review on April 18, 2022. https://ivyartz.com/mgreviews/mgreviews.php

I would like to say a quick thank you to Random House Children's Publishers and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend for me to read and review!

Winnie Zeng is about to start middle school. This is something she takes very seriously. Regardless of preparing for almost every scenario she can think of, after making mooncakes using her grandmother’s cookbook, she is faced with something she wasn’t able to prepare for. Now, she is forced to choose between saving the world and keeping up with the overwhelming pressure of growing up in an Asian household.

I loved this book and have placed it on my physical book wishlist. The cover is beautiful and was the main reason I decided I wanted to request an ARC. It just screamed, "Hey Sarah! This is a book you are going to devour! Come get it! "

Thankfully, the contents are just as wonderful as the cover. All bookworms know that the best reading experience is the kind when you start reading a book and it just starts flowing as if you are watching a movie. The world disappears, and time no longer exists. Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend did that for me. The characters are all interesting, and the dynamics between them are realistic. I also really love Winnie’s personality. I am so excited to see where this series goes next.

Winnie is determined to defeat middle school and her rival David Zuo. Though her older sister says middle school is terrible, she's armed with the knowledge gained from anime and comic books. But nothing prepares her for the evil spirits released when she makes mooncakes from her grandmother's cookbook. With the magic cookbook and a talking rabbit, Winnie must defeat the demons. If she doesn't her town will fall into chaos.

This is a great middle-grade book based on Chinese mythology. From the start, Winnie is an average kid of Chinese descent. She attends Chinese school, gets compared to other students, and has hard-working parents that expect the best from her. As a younger sibling, she isn't close to her sister and is overlooked when she does do her best. Summoning her grandmother, whose spirit enters her pet rabbit, is a complete accident, and unlocks Winnie's latent ability as a shaman. Being a sixth-grader, Winnie thinks of it as a superpower, though no one is allowed to know about her abilities; fear draws more spirits, leading to chaos, and her role is to maintain the balance between the spirit world and the living realm. Of course, this is hard to do while balancing middle school responsibilities on top of her piano lessons and Chinese school assignments, and of course, her nemesis is also a shaman.

I enjoyed this story and sympathized with Winne's attempts to do well. With every struggle, I felt the discouragement and pain she did. Fighting off those feelings as well as the demons trying to enter our world and create chaos is a difficult task for anyone, let alone an eleven-year-old. She does it admirably, and it's such a good book to share with middle-grade readers. Her thoughtfulness and love of others are traits that not only make her a good shaman, but a person that any child can look up to and emulate.

What a fun read!

Winnie is an instantly likable, relatable pre-teen girl. She loves manga and anime, she wants to please her parents and teachers, she has an ongoing competition with her arch nemesis (who always seems to best her), she deals with an angsty older sister and has to tolerate a mean clique of girls, all while trying to figure out how to navigate middle school and hold on to her Chinese culture (but not stand out because of it). Her story is action-packed, humor-filled, and gives the reader a glimpse into Chinese legends, history and culture, which I enjoyed and appreciated. Some of the timeline felt a little rushed, but overall it was a fun read that grabbed my attention right away and I suspect students who are fans of Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan Presents books will enjoy it, too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The author of this novel, Katie Zhao, is a Chinese American who grew up in the Midwest where there were few Asian people. Ms. Zhao began writing about characters who did not look like her, but it was when she decided to create Chinese American characters that the joy of writing took over. What a wonderful choice she made!
Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend is a fun middle-grade book inspired by Chinese mythology.
Winnie is a Chinese American girl facing the start of middle school with great trepidation. When she uses one of her grandmother’s recipes to make moon cakes for a school bake sale, she summons her dead grandmother’s spirit and is tasked with becoming a Shaman who can vanquish demons. Add to the mix the normal school and family struggles of children this age and Winnie is severely challenged! I think many of us could see ourselves or our children in the situations in the book. It is an amusing, fast-paced book that I think the target audience, as well as many others, will greatly enjoy. The emphasis on Winnie Zeng’s Chinese heritage is wonderful change from the usual middle school books.
Katie Zhao plans to make a series of this story.
Thank you to the author, Random House Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The views are completely my own.

A wonderful adventure. I really enjoyed how the magic system tied into myths and books. Winnie's powers further tying into her baking was a great detail and I loved how the book also included the important recipes from the book at the end. The plot was well paced and the middle school setting was well done. The pressures Winnie faces are really relatable and it was cool seeing Winnie decide to be a hero. All around this is a great book.

I had so much fun reading this that I want to reread it again and again! Winnie is such a fun character to follow and her love of anime and superheroes GIVES ME LIFE. It also makes for many fun comebacks and thoughts. Good to know I'm not the only one with crazy thoughts in their head! But it's not just Winnie that is super fun, I also loved everyone in the story. While the book is mostly fun, it does get serious towards the end as we start to see the pressures of Winnie's life start to gather, and it was so relatable that it was tough to read. I loved this book and would read more of Winnie's adventures!!

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishers through NetGalley.
Zhao introduces a delightful hero in Winnie Zeng. She is an 11-year old middle school student who feels the pressure to achieve applied by her parents. Winnie always seems to come in just behind, David Zuo; a young man the same age who now attends her school also. In the midst of this stress, she makes some Moon Cakes and accidentally releases a class 3 evil spirit on her town. This triggers her dead grandmother's spirit to return and share about Winnie's powers.
Readers are drawn in to the action and the complicated family and friend relationships right away. They become a third member of this tentative alliance moving toward friendship and will connect with the family pressure Winnie and her sister, Lisa, feel.
A strong start to this new series. Looking forward to seeing how these two young shamans develop their gifts.

I really need to try moon cakes now, especially those made by Winnie and Lao Lao. This is another delightful addition to the Chinese mythology books in juvenile fiction and a winner by Katie Zhao.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was delightful! Winnie truly is the hero the world needs right now. This book was fast paced and a fun read. Winnie is a wonderful main character and the way she navigates her heritage with dealing with outside pressures to reject that culture is eye opening and much needed.

Winnie Zeng is not looking forward to starting middle school. After all middle school is pretty much the worst three years of life. What makes it worse is David Zuo, who seem to be better at everything, shows up in her school. She just wanted part of her life to not be in competition with him. The other bad part are the mean girls, who seem to find a way of ruining everything she loves. Why couldn’t she just be a superhero? The pressure of being a Chinese American daughter combined with middle school might just be too much. Can she survive? And what is she supposed to do when a simple baking project unearths a demon and seems to turn her rabbit into a talking conduit to her dead grandma? Can the town and Winnie survive demons and middle school? This fantasy encompasses Chinese mythology and an easy to love character. A must read for fans of When You Trap a Tiger and Rick Riordan Presents books. Ages: 8 - 13
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

I loved this book! I could not stop reading it! Winnie Zeng is dreading middle school at her new school. She just wants to get through it and do better than her rival David Zuo. She's ready for girl drama, and classes but she's not prepared for magic. Winnie discovers her families magic cookbook and the consequences that come with it. Evil Spirits. Winnie suddenly finds herself in mist of magical battle years in the making. I had a blast with this book! It has high stakes and it keeps your attention while building a magical new world. I will for sure be baking some mooncakes in hopes of getting superpowers.

Winnie Zeng is navigating the first days of middle school with the typical trials and tribulations of a group of mean girls who make fun of her Asian lunch foods and her arch-nemesis, David, her top competition at both Chinese and American school. But she is about to learn that her destiny goes way beyond middle school. Magical mooncakes, a powerful grandmother spirit Lao Lao and some disturbing spirits breaking through into the human world demonstrate to Winnie that it’s time to develop her more unusual talents.

I loved this book. The writing is engaging. Winnie is a wonderful, likable character and the story is both magical and believable at the same time.

The book offers insights into Asian culture and family dynamics and Chinese mythology. It’s an entertaining and informative middle grades book. I’d live to read more about Winnie!

What a fun story! Chinese mythology, magic, cooking, surviving middle school, and trying to meet demanding expectations. Loved the story as well as how conflicted Winnie was with her entire situation. Very much looking forward to more books in this series.