I still love Winnie. She is such an authentic middle school student - even if she is also a shaman in training with the spirit of her dead grandmother teaching her to use her powers. I did think she was a bit slow on the uptake in this second in the series. Based on what happened in the first book, it seemed very obvious when someone close to her had been taken over by an evil spirit. In general, I didn't find this book quite as fresh and engaging as the first, but I still enjoyed Winnie, her friends and family, and I will definitely continue to read the series.

This is the sequel to Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend. In the novel, Winnie and David are adjusting to their lives as Shamans. When Halloween approaches, they have to deal with a new shaman. Eventually, the three of them have to work together to fight the evil spirits.

I have to say that I enjoyed this novel as much as I enjoyed the first book. Winnie and David have grown as characters and are more confident than the last book. I also liked the new characters. They were funny and intriguing. Thus, this novel did an excellent job in introducing new characters while developing the old characters.

Overall, this novel is about family, friendships, and fitting into middle school. The story is very action-packed and fast-paced! I love the world-building as well as the references to Chinese mythology and culture. I hope that there will be more books in this series because I can’t wait for more of Winnie’s adventures! I recommend this for fans of Girl Giant and the Monkey King, The Last Fallen Star, and City of Dragons!

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

Thoughts
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.

Winnie returns to try to save the day, as a shaman in training. This is the second book of the series, and this time she faces David, who she has to work with, but also Kelly, who is a stuck up, know-it-all shaman first class from Chicago, who feels that she can protect the whole town without any help from the likes of David or Winnie.

And, as with the first book, of course there are treats to be made and eaten, along with the recipes to boot. This time is it almond cookies and egg tarts.

The tricky bit in this book is that the evil spirits are taking on forms of everyday people, such as the mayor and his wife, so it is hard to figure out who the demons are. Winnie tries her best, through it all, although there are times when I wanted to shout at her for not recognizing a demon.

Still and all, a fun second book in the series, and here is hoping there are more to come.



<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review</em>

I had enjoyed the first book from the Winnie Zeng series and was excited to read the sequel to that book. Katie Zhao has a great writing style and each book in the Winnie series has been a great journey. I was so invested in what was going on and loved the pieces of Chinese mythology within. This book was well written and had what I had the spark of what I enjoyed from the first book. I hope this continues as I really enjoyed this.

"I took a deep breath, trying to calm my suddenly racing pulse. Why couldn’t Kelly go just one day without being a constant thorn in my side? Even if she didn’t want to work together with David and me, that didn’t mean she had to throw her superiority into my face. I was sick of her taking every opportunity to lord it over us."

A shaman in training, evil spirits, and Halloween just around the corner. Winnie Zeng is training to become a shaman. She’s accepted her role as one and now must guard the world from evil spirits. With Halloween around the corner, the balance between the realms grows fragile and its up to Winnie and her fellow shaman, David Zuo to stop it... but then they are assigned help... but this new shaman is just the worst. She’s too perfect, she doesn’t want to help them but would rather work alone and thinks she’s the best. But when Winnie and David find themselves in a pickle, having to stop the growing number of evil spirits, they’ll have to find a way to work together with her to stop it before it’s too late and their town is destroyed. This was a cute read and I adored how fun it was, plus it really got me in the mood to bake Winnie’s recipe! I would definitely recommend this series for middle-grade readers who are looking for some action and a relatable and fun hero as well as enjoy Chinese mythology!
*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Random House Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*