Rick riordan biography summary of winston

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling author Stacey Lee’s modern reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale—replete with magic, boba, and lots of trash talking.

Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won’t happen overnight.

While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets. Before Winston can decide, a magpie flies under a shelf, and he impulsively grabs an old broom to sweep it out.

Mr. Pang hands him the broom, along with a dustpan. “Two for one. Congratulations.”

Deflated, Winston returns home, determined to put the broom incident behind him. Or at least in the closet. But when some of his most beloved possessions go missing, all Winston can think about are the broom and dustpan. Did they somehow take his stuff? And what—or who—will they dispose of next?

It’s time to break into Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, where clearly there’s more going on than meets the far-seeing eyeball. It’s time to fight magic with magic. And this time, Winston better have a plan.

Winston Chu

Winston Chu is the protagonist of the Winston Chu Duology under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. He is currently in a relationship with Dani Kim.

History[]

Winston was born to Philip Chu , an army translator in Iraq, and Willa Chu in San Francisco, California. When his father was on leave, he would skateboard with Winston and watch superhero movies.

When he was nine, his father was killed in the line of duty by friendly fire.

Winston Chu Duology[]

Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies[]

On the third anniversary of his father’s death, Winston and his friend Maverick McFee are waiting outside the San Francisco Cooking Academy, they wait for their instructor, Chef Kim outside the academy as they hold their pies. Chef Kim walks out followed by her niece Dani and they two walk off. After the Kims walk off, Winston and Maverick race to their favorite boba shop, Boba Guys. As they race, Winston thinks about his father and wishes to do something to commemorate the occasion rather then just sulking like his mother and older sister. As they near the Boba Guys, a squirrel falls on Winston’s head and he inadvertently tosses the pie and hits two people peering into the shop next door. The man who was hit with the pie glares at Winston as he apologizes while the crowd at Boba Guys watched on in amusement. The other guy tells them man hit by the pie to leave and they do so. Mav runs after the men as two of their classmates, Bijal and Cassa, help him up. Mav returns and says the two men drove off. Soon the shop’s owner, Mr. Pang, arrives and thanks Winston for scaring off the men. Mr. Pang digs through his pockets and hands Winston wet wipes and offers him something from his store. Despite his friends warnings, he takes up the offer. Mr. Pang leads the four down a

While the pieces of this magical world fit together somewhat haphazardly, Chinese myths, a cool San Francisco setting, and the heartfelt bonds among friends and family more than make up for it. There's a great sense of whimsy, too, in the magical objects that do the unexpected. Kids will enjoy imagining the Kick-Me Boots loose in their school or throwing truth eggs at siblings. All of the objects create a little mischief, and so does Mr. Pang, who's more of a trickster than a villain, with tons of secrets that Winston and his friends begin to unravel. His connection to the moon is revealed quite late in the story, which is somewhat confusing, but it's still clear that Mr. Pang is up to no good for yet one more reason and must be stopped. As the story progresses, the kids get a whiff of the bigger villain, but it's mostly set up for Book 2.

The grounding of this magical tale is in its wonderful relationships. Winston and his soccer buddies are always there for each other, even after they argue. This is the let's-go-get-‘em middle school crew you want when you're facing off against rogue spirits and a shop full of temperamental enchanted objects. And then there's Winston's family, who are still grieving the loss of Winston's dad. Winston wants the best for his mom, who's job hunting and always needs extra help with his little sister. And he's so careful with his prickly older sister, wishing and hoping for them to be close again. The real magic happens as these siblings forge a new bond and talk about their grief. Because of this, when things get creepy with spirits and an imposter in the family -- thanks, Mr. Pang -- it never gets too scary-creepy. The focus stays on relationships, learning Mr. Pang's secrets and fighting his bizarre knickknacks, and saving the day.

Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies

Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies is the first book in the Winston ChuDuology by Stacey Lee published under Rick Riordan Presents. It was released on February 7, 2023.

Synopsis[]

A modern-day reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale, following Winston Chu as he saves the owner of a curiosities shop from a robbery only to be gifted a broomstick and a dustpan for his trouble — items that turn out to be more a curse than a blessing.

Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom enrolled him in. But learning to think before he acts won’t happen overnight. While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang's Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store. But the strange old man warns Winston to browse carefully, for the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets. Before Winston can decide, a magpie flies under a shelf, and he impulsively grabs an old broom to sweep it out. Mr. Pang hands him the broom, along with a dustpan. “Two for one. Congratulations.” Deflated, Winston returns home, determined to put the broom incident behind him. Or at least in the closet. But when some of his most beloved possessions go missing, all Winston can think about are the broom and dustpan. Did they somehow take his stuff? And what—or who—will they dispose of next? It’s time to break into Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, where clearly there’s more going on than meets the far-seeing eyeball. It’s time to fight magic with magic. And this time, Winston better have a plan.

Plot[]

A Solum Anniversary and Meeting Mr. Pang[]

As Winst