Winnie Zeng Shatters the Universe($6.97Value)

Description

In the third book of this epic fantasy series, kids from around the world are summoned to compete at the magical Shaman Youth Tournament! But with all the young shamans away, who will defend the human realm from evil spirits? "A hilarious tussle between homework, family, and heroism." —Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author If awards were given for multitasking, then Winnie Zeng would come in first place. Between juggling evil spirits and middle school—boy, does she have her hands full. Ordinarily, winter break would be her chance to catch up on anime, but this year marks the return of the Shaman Youth Tournament, where shamans around the world duel for the title of champion! To prepare, Winnie and her archnemesis, David, train for their toughest battles yet. But when some of their competitors start acting a little stranger—and a lot stronger—than normal, they realize they might be in over their heads. Soon, it becomes clear that the spirit attacks in Winnie’s hometown were only the beginning of something more sinister than any one shaman can tackle. Now, it’s up to all shamans to take on this task and protect the human world. It just may be the last mission they ever receive. . . . "One enjoyable action-packed ride." — Kirkus Reviews Katie Zhao is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a BA in English and political science in 2017 and a master of accounting degree in 2018. She is the author of the Dragon Warrior series, How We Fall Apart, Last Gamer Standing, and the Winnie Zeng series. She's a passionate advocate for diverse representation in literature and media. Chapter One Nobody ever said middle school would be easy, but if you ask me, it should come with a hazard sign. So far, sixth grade had thrown me curveballs left and right—­new teachers, new classmates, new homework and tests (lots of them). I’d expected those curveballs, though, and like a champion baseball player, I’d been batting them back easily. What nobody had warned me about, though, was that I’d also have to deal with magical . . . situations. Like the time I’d accidentally uncovered my hidden shaman powers after making a mooncake recipe from my grandmother’s old cookbook. Or the other bit, when my pet rabbit, Jade, had started talking to me because the spirit of my grandmother got trapped inside her. Oh, and that’s not even the worst of it. Without meaning to, I’d unleashed evil spirits into the very nonmagical town of Groton and nearly caused its destruction—­twice. Once during the Mid-­Autumn Festival and once during Halloween. All this had happened to me and we weren’t even halfway through the school year yet. If the town was still standing by the end of sixth grade, it would be a miracle. Seriously, after my showdown with evil spirits during Halloween, I’d been extra worried about my role as a Shaman Task Force member. I’d barely survived and protected Groton last time. What would happen next time, especially if even stronger spirits emerged? With how stressful life had been lately, I was just glad I’d made it to December. Winter break was hands down the best part of the school year, after summer break. There was still a week to go before the students at Groton Middle School would have almost three full weeks off. Three blissful, stress-­free weeks, when I’d be stuffing my face with everything from Christmas cake to spicy noodles. Every Christmas Eve, Mama and Baba went all out, making a yummy feast, and this year I deserved to eat to my heart’s content. Hey, fighting chaotic spirits was hard, thankless work. Tuesday afternoon, after an especially hard day of school—­thanks to the math teacher springing a pop quiz on us—­I got home and immediately wanted nothing more than to slink into bed. Unfortunately, I had a pile of homework to finish before winter break. If there was one thing I’d learned about school, it was that teachers loved dumping work on us right before the holidays, as if to make our lives as miserable as possible before they let us off the hook for a few weeks. Anyway, as soon as I walked through the front doorway of my empty house, I noticed that a pink envelope had been slid under the door and onto the welcome mat. I picked it up and read the sender’s address on the front. Spirit Council c/o Suntreader Bookstore 1452 Mayflower Road, Fl 888 Groton, Michigan 88888 “Oh no,” I groaned. “Not another task from the Spirit Council.” Groton had been pretty peaceful since my last run-­in with a class three spirit during Halloween, and I’d hoped it would stay that way as we headed for winter break. Looked like that wouldn’t be the case. “Wait.” I peered more closely at the address and frowned. “That’s not even our town’s zip code!” And now that I thought about it, the Spirit Council lived on the eight hundred and eighty-­eighth floor of the Suntreader Bookstore. (Yeah, it’s a real place; don’t question it.) How had the mail carrier even gotten all the way up there t