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In Winston Chu vs. The Whimsies, Stacey Lee, an award-winning and best-selling author of YA fiction, draws middle-grade readers into a modern reimaging of a classic Chinese folktale—replete with magic, boba, and lots of trash talking. At its center is Winston, an awkward, struggling teen with a big heart. While skateboarding home with a pie in hand, Winston happens to save a local shopkeeper—the proprietor of Mr. Pang’s Whimsies—from getting robbed. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any oddity in the store, with a word of caution: the first thing Winston touches will be the thing he gets. Should he choose the “Far-Seeing Eyeballs” or maybe the “Kick-Me Boots”? As he ponders all the weird treasures, a magpie flies under a shelf, and, without thinking, Winston grabs an old broom to sweep it out. Mr. Pang hands him the broom and a complimentary dustpan and says, “Congratulations.”