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A review by thenovelllama
Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King by Katie Zhao
4.0
I have to say, Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King is one of my most anticipated middle grade books of the year. After reading the first in the series last year, it instantly went on my “I can’t wait to read this to my kids one day” list. There are so many great characters that I absolutely want to introduce my kids to when they get to the right age, and Winne Zeng is near the top of the list.
This book is nearly flawlessly executed, with solid pacing and an engaging plot, taking into account its intended audience as a middle grade book. Picking up where Unleashes a Legend left off, this novel keeps with the awesome characters of the first book while adding a few as well. I’m not much of a person to summarize a novel, but I will say that it was a fun and comfortably predictable book that satisfies to the end.
The characters in this series are some of my favorite middle grade characters, because they actually feel like middle grade kids. They mess up, they argue, they have to take time to identify and process emotions, all things that I regularly see this age group go through. Winnie handles everything that is thrown at her with a great deal of grace. The evolution of her friendship with David from the first to the second book was great to see as it was one of the more obvious signs of her growing into herself and who she wants to be.
One of the best parts about the first book in the series, Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend, was the cultural elements that were threaded throughout the story. I absolutely loved seeing so many family traditions and connections, it really brought WInnie to life. Those connections and stories were flawlessly continued in Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King.
I would highly recommend this series for any parents looking for a great book to read together or are looking for a book that is really engaging.
5/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book is nearly flawlessly executed, with solid pacing and an engaging plot, taking into account its intended audience as a middle grade book. Picking up where Unleashes a Legend left off, this novel keeps with the awesome characters of the first book while adding a few as well. I’m not much of a person to summarize a novel, but I will say that it was a fun and comfortably predictable book that satisfies to the end.
The characters in this series are some of my favorite middle grade characters, because they actually feel like middle grade kids. They mess up, they argue, they have to take time to identify and process emotions, all things that I regularly see this age group go through. Winnie handles everything that is thrown at her with a great deal of grace. The evolution of her friendship with David from the first to the second book was great to see as it was one of the more obvious signs of her growing into herself and who she wants to be.
One of the best parts about the first book in the series, Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend, was the cultural elements that were threaded throughout the story. I absolutely loved seeing so many family traditions and connections, it really brought WInnie to life. Those connections and stories were flawlessly continued in Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King.
I would highly recommend this series for any parents looking for a great book to read together or are looking for a book that is really engaging.
5/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.