Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies

Not part of Riordanverse This book or series is published under Rick Riordan Presents and its contents are not considered canon to the Riordanverse.

Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies
Attribution
Author	Stacey Lee
Publication Information
Publisher	Rick Riordan Presents
Release date	February 7, 2023
Pages	357
Chronology
Preceded by	None
Followed by	Winston Chu Versus the Wingmeisters

Winston Chu Versus the Whimsies is the first book in the Winston Chu Duology 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

Winston Chu

As Winston Chu 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, who died exactly three years ago 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 one of two people peering into the shop next door. The man who was hit with the pie glares at Winston, who apologizes as 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 Winston 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, Winston takes up the offer.

Mr. Pang leads the four down a series of corridors and into a room filled with shelves containing various items. Mr. Pang instructs Winston that he will be given the first thing he touches, avoid anything with a red tag, and to be out be five. Mr. Pang gets a call and leaves. Winston’s friends help him select an item and he decides on a vintage trading card of Luke Slywalker from the release of the first movie. However before he can touch it, a bird flies over to them and knocks a broom into Winston's hand. Mr. Pang comes back, apologizes for his bird- Maggie, and sees Winston holding the broom. Winston and his friends try to protest that he deserved more then a broom and Mr. Pang gives him a dustpan and the four leave. As they walk back to Winston's house, it starts to rain heavily. By the time they reach Winston’s house, the storm stops. Winston searches for his key, only to realize he lost it and uses the spare. The four find the house uninhabited and Winston gives his friends dry clothes to change into. As they do so, Winston tries to hide the broom and dustpan in his closet and is surprised by how stiff it is. His friends call him over, having looked up the address, and find an obituary for a man named Ross Ping who resembles Mr. Ping and died in the seventies and owned a similar store. The four question if the two are the same.

Missing Objects and A Possessed Sister

After his friends parents pick them up, Winston’s mom and sisters come home. He plays with Coco as Philippa gets dinner ready and his mother cleans up from work. As they eat dinner, Winston asks his mother who of her three children resembles their father the most. His mother talks about traits all three children share with their father, but things start to get heated after Winston jokes about Philippa dropping out of both high school and college. Soon his mother’s old boss, Ned Gu, arrives with a banana cream pie, his father’s favorite, and his mother asks him to get a lamp from upstairs for him. Winston gets the lamp and finds that the broom had moved. The following day, as Winston is getting ready for a soccer game, he sees a man and a woman wearing old Chinese clothing in the mirror but, does not see them when he turns around. After failing to find his jersey, Winston is forced to leave without it and hoes to the game with her and Coco. He convinces his mother to drop by Boba Guys on the way and finds Mr. Pang's Whimsies vacant. When he asks the cashier about it, he says the space has been empty since a fire years before. Winston’s mother and sister tell him to get back in the car.

Winston is forced to sit out the game as the coach has no spare uniforms and his team loses. As they eat tacos, Winston tells Mav, Cassa, and Bijal about the store vanishing. The three agree to help Winston investigate and Mav gets his older brother Monroe to drive them rather then his mother. In the car, Monroe asks Winston to set him up with Philippa, which Winston is unsure if it is possible. When they arrive, they find the store intact, much to Winston’s shock, and they try to look into the windows. As Mav discovers the store has no listed number, the robbers from the day before emerge from the store. The four witness the men fighting off a slice of pizza before running down to street. Winston and his friends start to get a bad feeling about the store. Mav takes some pictures of the pizza, but the slice comes out blurry in every picture. Monroe then arrives and takes them back to Winston’s apartment. After telling his mother they came back for snacks, Winston goes to Philippa's room and tries and fails to convince her to talk with Monroe. Soon Monroe and Coco arrive and Monroe reveals he gave Philippa her favorite stuffed elephant that he switched out with a stuffed moose she won instead. This catches Philippa's attention and talks with Monroe as Coco takes a book on middle China and opens it to a page about bad luck being brought on whoever misuses a broom. Soon everyone realizes the stuffed elephant is gone and Winston’s sisters find the broom and dustpan. Thinking back on the passage, Winston decides to get rid of the broom and dustpan.

Dani Kim

Winston takes the broom and dustpan, ushers his friends into Monroe’s car, and has Monroe drive them to the peer. Once there, Winston throws the objects into the Pacific Ocean. The following day, the first day of school, Winston wakes up and does his hair for picture day. As he feeds his fish Lucky, he notices that the bowl is empty. He searches the apartment for his fish and finds Philippa missing as well. He calls his mom and she says his older sister is in a job interview. After explaining about Lucky, his mother thinks the fish died. Winston hangs up and skateboards to school. During his home room, he is surprised that Dani Kim is sitting next to him. As the teacher asks Winston about himself, he blurts out that he plays the ukulele and the teacher suggests he and Dani have a contest. After class, he tries to tell the truth to Dani, but fails. She gives him a business card with her address and contact information and tells him to come over. Later that day, Winston explains his predicament with Dani to Bijal and Cassa, who ask him what he was thinking. Later that day at home, Winston finds Lucky's bowl cleaned out and his mother asks him to read The Cowheard and the Cloud Weaver to Coco. After finishing, he calls Mav and asks to speak with Monroe. Winston asks Monroe to teach him a song from The Muppets, Monroe agrees if Winston tells him Philippa's favorite song. Winston does so and hangs up. He notices Coco is missing a he goes to his close to find the broom and dustpan have returned, surprising him. Coco appears from Philippa's side of the closet and acts strange. He watches Coco blink and he recognizes it as the same as a doll from Mr. Pang's shop. Winston theorizes Coco has been replaced.

Winston's mother comes in and notices the broom and dustpan. He lies and says Cassa's father found them and she thought they could give them to Mr. Gu. He tells his mother Coco is acting strange, but Coco acts normal around her. His mother and Coco leave just as Philippa comes back. As his older sister makes dinner, Winston shoves the broom and dustpan in the laundry closet and calls Mav, who agrees to call the others and come over. As he waits, Winston tries to convince his older sister that Coco is possessed and asks Philippa about her interview with the Military Entrance Processing Station and she becomes suspicious as his friends and Monroe arrives. Monroe gives Winston an ukulele and talks with Philippa as Winston explains everything to his friends. After opening the door to the laundry closet, they see the man and woman Winston saw the day before and Mav takes out sage to cleanse the apartment. After finding book with the Cowheard and the Cloud Weaver, he theorizes they are possessing the broom and dustpan.

Mrs. Chu and Coco return from the play date after Coco flushed legos and struggled to be put to bed. Winston asks Philippa to sleep in her room that night and she reluctantly accepts. He asks her about the Military Entrance Processing Station and she reveals she was looking into Vic Fisher, the man who killed their father. Winston is shocked as Philippa reveals she got Vic's address and will visit him in a few days. In the morning Winston finds the broom and dustpan in his closet despite leaving them in the laundry closet and begs Philippa not to open it. At school, Winston gives Mr. Bottons a late note as he tells Dani he is unable to practice as he hurt his head. She tells Winston to get better soon.

Getting Some Answers

After school, Winston, Cassa, and Bijal take the bus to his apartment while Mav's mother drives him. Winston explains the situation to them and they head to the closet. Winston asks the spirits what happened to his sister and belongings as Mav translates in Mandarin. The four hear a female voice telling them Coco is in the store as a male voice tells the first voice not to say anything. Mav devises a plan to trap the broom and dustpan a moves to Philippa's side of the closet. After Cassa and Bijal take Winston's comforter, they wait a few seconds until Mav bursts in from the other side and they try and grab the broom and dustpan, only getting the latter. As they shove the dustpan in Winston’s soccer bag and head to the patio, they threaten to destroy it if it does not reveal how to get Coco back Suddenly lightning strikes the patio and the four are forced to retreat. After the lightning stops, the discover the dustpan is missing.

As Winston and his friends theorize what happened to the broom and dustpan, Mav theorizes they can turn invisible if they touch and they remember the doll in the shop to be Chang-Ah-Ling. They creak eggs, as changlings are said to hate eggshells, as Mav's mother calls and he offers Bijal and Cassa a ride home just as his mother and sisters arrive. His mother and Philippa argue over the car, his mother needing it for an interview as Philippa needing it to go to Lodi, as “Coco” asks for milk. His mother has Winston get her some. Chang-Ah-Ling says she does not like Winston as he shows her eggshells and she breaks one and cries. His mother comes in and scolds Winston for not getting milk. Later that night Winston congratulates his mother on the second interview and convinces her to let Philippa have the car. After talking, Winston realizes how lonely she is and vows to save Coco.

Cowheard and Cloud Weaver.

The following morning, Winston wakes up alone and finds a text from Mav saying his father arranged a meeting with the store landlord as he questions where the cleaning tools are and how to get his sister back. At school, Mr. Bottons announces Winston and Dani with perform live on San Francisco's Got Talent, much to Dani's delight and Winston's horror. After school, Winston, Cassa, and Bijal meet up with Mav and the landlord, Mr. Suresh, who explains that all tenants after the fire only occurred the space for a few months and have reported strange experiences such as being attacked by a bear. As Mr. Suresh talks, Winston looks at his mustache and remembers a jar of mustaches Mr. Pang had. They go through a door into a leaky hallway and a security guard says he called to have the leaks repaired. The landlord leaves and the four question what to do next as the burglars enter. The burglars address Winston by name before saying they have business with Mr. Pang and shove the children out of the way. The four leave and see a green bird flying into an open window. They look up the business, an acupuncturist, and call. The receptionist says only one doctor is in and speaks to someone in the room with her. After that they head home. At home, Winston asks Philippa how her meeting with Vic went. She said she did not speak with him, but got his address from his mother and will speak with him Saturday. She mentions that it just got colder as Winston heads to his room and demands to speak with Cowheard and Cloud Weaver. They appear before him and explain that his family’s qi is strong and that they have been taking his belongings to have Mr. Pang build a bridge so that they can meet with each other more. Winston asks about Coco, and they say they need putty to make a bridge. They also say that Coco and Chang-Ah-Ling must be brought together in the light of the full moon to be put back in each other's bodies. Soon Philippa calls Winston and he tells Cowheard and Cloud Weaver to hide.

Philippa demands Winston help get ready for Mr. Gu, who is coming over for dinner. The Chu's help prepare the house and Mr. Gu arrives with a pie. As they eat, Winston's mother says the law firm she interviewed with is still deciding about Mr. Gu announces his plan to run for mayor. Winston suggests Philippa could help, but she kicks him under the table. As desert is brought out, his mother asks Winston to put “Coco” to bed. He takes Chang-Ah-Ling to his mother’s room and reads a passage about magpies to his “sister” and she tells him to run. Winston runs downstairs to find his mother and Philippa cleaning up and they say they gave the broom and dustbin to Mr. Gu. Winston states he changed his mind and his mom says she will call Mr. Gu in the morning. Winston then calls Mav and Mav tells him to meet up at Fisherman’s Wharf the following day. In the morning, his mother gives him her phone and Mr. Gu says he got into a crash on the way home and lost the broom and dustpan. Winston heads to the kitchen and Chang-Ah-Ling gives him a picture, he rejects it and she cries. His mother forces him to accept it. At school, Dani tells Winston she is going to perform at Golden Gate Park and invites him to watch, but he rejects the other, hurting Dani. After school Winston, Cassa, and Bijal meet up with Mav at Fisherman’s Wharf and Bijal reveals he saw the store, shocking the others. Mav reveals he kept a marshmallow bird from the store and it is intact, he realizes that the marshmallow was feeding Mr. Pang information on when they were coming.

The four find a cake stand owned by a former tenet of Mr. Pang's store. They speak with her and the woman’s mother comes out and brings them in back to speak with them. She reveals that she and her husband rented the location and used it as a bakery, but say strange things. She explained how she saw objects in a mirror for a second before they vanished and that her husband threw a stool at a wall after claiming to see a bear. However she was in the room at the time and saw nothing. The woman users them out and they buy cupcakes. The four sit on a bench and look at Alcatraz Island and Treasure Island, a former naval base. As they eat, Winston hears someone call his name but the others hear nothing. Bijal theorizes that Mr. Pang is able to hide the shop and Mav decides to feed the marshmallow false information on when they will come.

Breaking into the Store

At home, Philippa comes home with a book of poison that “Coco” insisted on reading. In the morning, Mav calls and says he got the keys and feed the marshmallow false information. Winston insists they go as soon as possible, but Mav says they need to wait until after school to avoid their parents suspicions. After school, Winston's mother comes over to him with a broken laptop and says all her work was on there. He realizes Chang-Ah-Ling destroyed it just as his friends arrive with Cassa's father and his girlfriend Janelle Summers. The four go over the plan in the car and convince Mr. Kowalski to go to pizza rather than ramen. At the pizza place, Winston tells them they need to hurry and Cassa convinces her father to eat on the road. When they get to the theater, Winston and the others sneak out and head to Mr. Pang's Whimsies. They melt the marshmallows and try to find the door. They find nothing until they remember the baker telling them she saw strange reflections and they use a mirror. They find the door and punch in the combination to get to the key hole. Once inside, they reach the shop and find a pool chair in the same shape and color as Winston’s lost keychain. When they find where Chang-Ah-Ling was, they find the pot vacant.

Mr. Pang

Winston and his friends search the shelves for the doll but find nothing. They make their way to the office and find a large popcorn machine and Mr. Pang. They startle the old man and Cassa threatens to throw an egg of truth at him. Winston demands his sister back as Mr. Pang explains that Coco is misplaced, angering Winston. Mr. Pang says that he uses the popcorn machine imbue magic into objects from other things, hiding them. He explains how he did this with Cowherd and Cloud Weaver to hide them from Mother Cloud Weaver. Upon hearing Mr. Pang confess to working with Cowherd and Cloud Weaver, Winston asks again and accuses him of stealing objects. Mr. Pang makes a run for it and Cassa throws the egg of truth and the old man. When it it’s him, Mr. Pang is transformed into a magpie, stuck in that form for the next twenty four hours. Winston and the others theorize he sneaks into the shop as a bird to avoid suspicion. Mr. Pang flies off as the kids go after him. After looking around the store for things to use, they form a plan. Bijal pulls out candy bar to lure in Mr. Pang and Mav and Cassa trap him in a colander. The kids take Mr. Pang with them and, as they get into Cassa's dad’s car, say they want to go to Mav's house and Mr. kowalski agrees. As they head out, the adults hear Mr. Pang and Mav says it’s his phone. Cassa, having taken more eggs of truth with her, decides to toss one that lasts twenty minutes at Janelle despite the others telling her not to. As she tosses it, Bijal intersects and inadvertently redirects it at Cassa. It explodes but the blast vanishes as soon as it appears. When asked about fearing squirrels, Cassa says she fears abandonment and dreads the thought of her father choosing Janelle over her or growing close to Janelle only for her to leave. The boys do what they can to stop Cassa saying they have a bird as she says Winston has been pushing her and Bijal away since his father died and Bijal should be more honest with his parents. When they reach Mav's house, they exit and rush in side as Mav's mother speakers with Mr. Kowalski and Janelle. When they run into Monroe, Cassa blurts out her desire to marry him. They head to Mav's room and release the bird. Mav's mother comes in and asks about the bird, and they say they are keeping it warm. Mav's mother leaves soon after.

Cassa apologizes to the boys for what she said and they forgive her. When Winston suggests using an egg of truth and Chang-Ah-Ling, the others talk him out of it as the results could be too risky. They agree to meet up at the store the following day. At home, Winston he’s his mother and Chang-Ah-Ling sleeping. He goes to Philippa's room and finds her learning Arabic. She says their mom called a physiatrist for him and she promises to get him out of it if he goes with her to Golden Gate Park to speak with Vic the next day. Winston agrees and goes to bed.

Talking to Vic and Making Discoveries

At ten-thirty the following morning, Philippa wakes Winston and says they are meeting Vic in half an hour. He gets dressed and they drive to the park. It rains heavily but stops when they arrive. As they park, Winston remembers Dani and sees her with the Kronos Quartet setting up. Winston and Philippa meet up with Vic and Vic explains his story with their father. Vic says he and Philip were rivals in school before becoming friends. Vic followed him into the military despite Philip urging him to start a carpentry business. Vic says that when Philip died, he was tasked with guarding him Ashe spoke with two people who took over a school. Vic shot at one of the men as he reached into his pocket, later learning it was a picture of his kids, and Philip died in the fire fight. Vic explains that he tried to return their dad’s dog tags, but lost them. Winston and Philippa reveal they are wearing their father’s tags after they were mailed to them with no return address. Vic says he has no idea how they got them. Soon Mav calls and Winston sees him and Monroe. Mav says their friends got a jar of eyes from the store that lets the user see through them. Vic apologizes again and heads back to work.

As the four walk back to their cars, Monroe sings Philippa's favorite song- “Remember Me”, but she rejects his advances and Monroe accepts it. As Monroe drive, Winston tells Mav about Dani's umbrella keeping it from raining within a mile of her and Mav suggests they leave the broom and dustpan with her. Winston shows Mav the picture Chang-Ah-Ling made and he fears he will lose his younger sister. When they reach the shop, Winston and Mav head to the office and meet up with Bijal and Cassa. They find a bracelet with a name in it, Anna Ardith, in the machine. They spot a Pikachu toy on the desk and become startled when it moves and lights up. It stops moving and Winston touches it. Nothing happens and he puts the Pikachu back on the desk. Cassa activates the machine and when the bracelet comes out, it becomes duller. Bijal finds a box with Winston and Philippa's names and addresses on it and, upon opening it, the Chu's missing belongings fall out just as an alarm goes off. The four search for a hidden door and find one in the desk. Winston insists he stay behind to find Cico, but his friends pull him through the door. They encounter a security guard and tell him about the break in, but the guards only finds a broken window in an abandoned shop. Winston and his friends head out and- after Cassa reveals she took the bracelet and eyes while Bijal took Winston’s things- they go to return the bracelet to Anna. When they do, she says it looks duller. As the four walk to Winston's apartment, they theorize Mr. Pang uses the machine to make whimsies out of objects to sell them. As they reach the apartment, Mav's mother calls him. After he hangs up, he says Mr. Pang is gone. Mav says that his mom thought Mr. Pang was injured so she freed him and he flew out the bathroom window. Dejected, Winston sits down as Cassa hoists him up and pulls him to Coit Tower. As they climb the stairs, they hear a ranger tell a woman to be on the lookout as people have been reporting being kicked. As the four reach the top, they each take an eye and try to figure out how they work. Suddenly something kicks Winston Anne drops his eye into the foliage below. He sees the kick me books from the shop and, just as one kicks Bijal, Cassa kicks one of the boots off the tower and the goes after the first. Looking where the eye landed, Winston knows he lost a chance to find his sister. As Mav tries to calm Winston down, Winston snaps at him and accuses him of letting Mr. Pang go. Cassa and Bijal try to calm Winston as well. Winston leaves soon after.

Winston comes home to find the house empty and, after seeing the missing cart, realizes his mother went shopping. He goes to his room to find that Chang-Ah-Ling has switched the heads on his bobble collection. Soon his mother calls and he tries one last time to convince her that Coco has been switched. His mother does believe him and says she spoke with a psychiatrist and they think Winston is angry at his father for dying. Winston hangs up and takes a shower. Afterwards, he inspects his dog tags and, remembering what Vic said, wonders if Mr. Pang delivered them. Soon his mother comes home with a fussy “Coco”. He puts away the groceries and goes to bed.

In the morning he wakes up and calls Mav to apologize. Mav forgives him and reveals that his parents have been fighting a lot. Mav says he showed his mythology teacher the picture Chang-Ah-Ling drew. Mav suggests he ask Chef Kim where she got the umbrella before hanging up. Winston then calls Cassa who is at Bijal's house with her father helping with repairs. They say they forgive him and he hangs up. Winston goes into the kitchen as he sees Chang-Ah-Ling unlocking a baby lock and remove cleaning solution. His mother graves it and gives it to him. Winston dumps it down the drain and sees that his mother has a mustache, but it quickly vanishes. Winston makes up a lie about needing to interview Chef Kim for a project and, after waking Philippa, they head out. As they drive, his mother reveals she has been chosen as a top candidate for the interview and Philippa is going to work for Mr. Gu and start taking classes. His mother revealed they should have a day out just as they reach the cooking academy. He tries to get his mother to leave and get her laptop fixed, but she insists she stay. As they fail to find Chef Kim, they find Dani. Winston silently urges Dani to play along along as his mother leaves. When they are alone, Dani asks him if really hurt himself, he says no and confesses he has no musical talent, but says he heard her play, pleasing Dani. Winston asks Dani where her aunt got the umbrella and Dani reveals she thinks it has magical properties just as her aunt comes. They ask Chef Kim where she got the umbrella, but she claims to not remember, which Winston and Dani do not believe. Chef Kim then leaves without answering more questions. Winston’s mother kicks him up and they return to a power outage. Chang-Ah-Ling cowers in the corner as Philippa lights candles. Realizing she is afraid of fire, Winston orchestrates a plan to get rid of his mother and sister. After Winston gets gum stuck in Philippa's hair, their mother helps her get it out as Winston interrogates Chang-Ah-Ling with a lighter. She grabs it and threatens him with it as the power comes back on. When his mother and Philippa return, they see “Coco” with the lighter and they accuse Winston of giving it to her. He tries to explain that “Coco” snatched it from him, but his mother orders him to go to his room. As he is in him his room, he examines the Pikachu toy Cassa took from the store and, after pressing on the cheeks, he realizes it can knockout and restore power.

Day of the Full Moon and Being Believed

As Winston paces his room, he meditates to calm down. He sees the eggs of truth in his backpack decides to have his mother drive him school and take a detour to Mr. Pang's Whimsies to toss one at the shop to reveal its true nature. However when he wakes up he sees the eggs missing and finds a note from Philippa. He calls her to get the eggs back, but she says she is applying for classes at San Francisco State and hangs up. Soon his mother comes in and reveals she got the job. At school, Winston reveals he lied about playing the ukulele. His classmates scoff at him for lying as the teacher applauded his honesty. Dani offers him lessons. During math class, Casaa and Bijal demonstrate how to use the eyes, but the teacher catches them and confiscates the eyeballs. During lunch, Winston, Mav, Bijal, and Cassa are eating lunch when two seagulls approach them. Just then Philippa calls and reveals she and Monroe went to Mr. Pang's whimsies and saw two figures. Monroe tossed an egg at the front of the shop and they saw a door. They then threw an egg at the burglars and they turned into seagulls. As the four realize the seagulls before them are the burglars. Philippa says she and Monroe were bitten by a fire hydrant and says she was released while Monroe is being kept for observation. Winston asks his sister to pick him up and the others urge him to go alone.

Soon Vice Principal Baton comes to their table and reveals he knows about Bijal and Cassa's candy business. Bijal begs Baton not to call his parents as Cassa tries to talk him out of giving them a detention. Winston heads to the nurses office and finds his sister waiting for him. As they skateboard home, Philippa says she noticed something was off with Coco the previous night and that the broom and dustpan appeared in their closet. Soon after they arrive home, Mav appears and they head to the closet. Cowherd and Cloud Weaver manifest before them and asks for putty. Winston asks where Coco is and they reveal Mr. Pang is using her to pilot a flying canoe. As Philippa tries to process what the spirits said, they hear a knock on the door and Winston goes to answer it. Cassa as Bijal enter as the seagulls attack them. The go back to Winston’s room as Cowherd and Cloud Weaver explain that Mr. Pang is helping them build a bridge. They explain that he was once Mother Cloud Weaver’s favorite magpie stead, Sorrow, but he was jealous of his companion Mirth and tricked him to be caste out of the heavens. They also explain how Mr. Pang owes Cowherd a favor for stealing a tear and they wanted to have him help them. Winston shows them the belongings taken from his house in a box with his address and the sprits become enraged. They decide to work together, but the spirits leave soon after. Winston gets some putty and offers it to Cowherd and Cloud Weaver, who sweep it into the dustpan and the seven strategize. Soon Winston sees the mustache deliver the far seeing eyes and shows the others. The spirits tell them they would need to find someone they can offer him, and Winston suggests his father’s dog tags, which he thinks might have regained their energy. The spirits tell them to watch out for the were-bear and to not say Ariana Grande in front of the break-free cactus as it will dance and is poisonous. Winston tells Philippa to stay home to cover for him and his friends and keep an eye on Chang-Ah-Ling.

Breaking into the Store Again

After gathering supplies, Philippa wishes Winston and his friends luck and the spirits brush them into the store. They fan out and keep an eye out for security and find no sign of Mr. Pang. They reach the office and put the putty and Cloud Weaver’s hair pin into the machine. After it finishes, the hairpin looks like it is freshly polished. After Winston realizes something is off, he suggests they ask the Ask-Me-Anything Beethoven busts. As the four ask the busts about Mr. Pang's goal, the busts say Mr. Pang wants to harness the qi of the moon. As they question what Mr. Pang would do that, the fire-weiler, a fire hydrant that acts as a guard dog, and the wearbear appear. As Mav distracts the fire-weiler and Bijal and Cassa distract the wearbear, Winston asks the bust how to stop Mr. Pang, they mentioned the unicorn piñatas and not to mention Ariana grande. At the mention of the name, the break free cactus comes to life.

The four fend off the fire-weiler and the wear bear, who run off just as the break free cactus arrives. They head to the office and try to get the escape door open, but it is stuck. Winston and Mav go for hold off the cactus. After throwing various objects at it, which fails, they watch it dance and point at them, and they realize it wants to have a dance off. The boys dance and the cactus eventually leaves. They return to the office and bring four piñata’s with them. They put the piñatas in the machine, along with Winston’s dog tags, and power it up. The piñatas comes to life and fly around. They mount them and fly off, but not before Cassa's is attacks by the were bear. Thankfully she uses teeth on a fishing pole to escape. The four arrive at San Francisco Bay just as it it starts to rain and Winston sees a label saying the piñatas should not get wet. Winston tells the others and says they need Dani. They find her house and ask for her umbrella. After saying it only works for her, Dani climbs on Winston's piñata and they set out. After seeing the furry ukulele Winston has, he tells Dani it makes those listening have a change of heart and he requests to play it. Winston hands it over as Mav forms a plan to have Dani play the ukulele to change Mr. Pang's mind and get him to return Coco to her body. They find him over Oakland and see him piloting a pool chair pulling the canoe. As they look closer, they see Coco in Chang-Ah-Ling.

Confronting Sorrow, Recovering a Doll, and a Delayed Dad-iversery

Winston and Dani ride in closer to Mr. Pang, who is wearing the kick-me boots, as his friends fan out. Dani starts playing the ukulele, but it has no effect on Mr. Pang. Mr. Pang reveals that he is using the qi of the full moon to banish his brother, Mirth, to the heavens by permanently transforming him into a magpie. As Mr. Pang describes his brother, Winston realizes he is describing Mr. Gu. Mr. Pang explains that Mr. Gu has created problems for the city only to look like a hero by “fixing” them. As he talks, Winston realizes Chang-Ah-Ling was afraid of Mr. Pang. Mr. Pang also reveals that his brother sold Dani's Aunt her umbrella and he started events that lead to Winston would arrive at his store. Soon, Mav, Cassa, and Bijal move in to grab Coco, but Mr Pang fends them off. Mr. Pang grabs the doll and threatens to release her spirit, which will vanish as her original body is to far away. Winston begs Mr. Pang not to as his friends fight off the kick-me boots. One boot comes over to Winston and Dani, but their unicorn impales it. Mav tries to spray Mr. Pang with a fire extinguisher, but it is empty. Winston grabs Coco and tosses her to his friends as Mr. Pang starts to harness the moon qi. Winston takes the Pikachu out of his pocket. Winston syphons the qi as the piñata he and Dani are on disintegrates. Winston orders Bijal, who has Coco, to go to his house. Through word play, Winston signals to Cassa to use the fishing pole with teeth to grab the oar from Mr. Pang as he pretends to accept defeat. She does and, not long after, Mr. Pang erupts in a cloud of smoke and sinks into the bay.

Bijal and Mav try to save Winston and Dani, but they fail as their unicorn piñata’s get wet. Winston scolds Bijal for not getting Coco home, but he says he could not make it without Dani's umbrella. Eventually Cassa's piñata falls apart and everyone is drifting into the bay. As they say their regrets, Mav sees something large below the surface. Winston hears his name and realizes it is his fish Lucky. As the five stare at the giant goldfish in disbelief, they quickly shake off the shock and climb on. As Lucky heads to shore, the teenagers theorize that Mr. Pang got Lucky to grow by using a bead that grows in water. As Winston questions why Mr. Pamg was sending him his things back, Mav calls his brother to pick them up. Once they reach the pier, Winston says goodbye to Lucky as he swims out to see. Monroe meets them at the pier and drives them home.

After dropping off Bijal and Cassa, Winston walks Dani to her backyard and they question why her aunt would work with Mr. Pang. Before climbing a tree to her bedroom, she kisses Winston on the check. After returning to his apartment, his mother scolds Winston for going out on a school night and Monroe says he took them for boba. As the McFee brothers leaves, Winston asks his mother how her first day of work went. She says it was hectic and “Coco” drew on the walls. Winston hands the doll to Philippe, who takes it to her room until their mother falls asleep. Winston smuggles Chang-Ah-Ling into Philippa's room and Cloud Weaver puts Coco and Chang-Ah-Ling back in their respective bodies before sending the doll to the shop. Could Weaver and Cowherd explain that Mr. Gu somehow nullified them when he entered the house and came to when he crashed. Philippa opens the window and the spirits leave as they thank Winston, who returns the hairpin, and vow to never forget his act of helping them. When it is just Winston and his sisters, he questions who is truly a threat, Mr. Pang, or Mr. Gu.

A week later, the Chus to to Coit Tower to watch the sunset. Winston gives his mother a unicorn horn to honor his father and she tells Philippa, Winston, and Coco that they inherited their father’s loyalty, thoughtfulness, and long thumbs respectively. As Winston looks at the sunset, he vows to never let his father be forgotten.

Characters

• Winston Chu
• Maverick McFee
• Chef Kim
• Dani Kim
• Bijal
• Cassa Kowalski
• Mr. Pang
• Chang-Ah-Ling
• Maggie
• Lucky
• Philippa Chu
• Coco Chu
• Mrs. Chu
• Ned Gu
• Cowherd
• Cloud Weaver
• Monroe McFee
• Mr. Bottons
• Jude
• Yasmine
• Mrs. McFee
• Mr. Suresh
• Vlad
• Luce Micelli
• Mrs. Micelli
• Mr. Kowalski
• Janelle Summers
• Vic Fisher
• Anna Ardith
• Vice Principal Baton

Chapters

The book consists of forty five unnamed chapters with illustrations above them.

Trivia

• This is Stacey Lee's debut middle grade novel.
• It was announced March 2, 2021.