Tina Nguyen was the fifth teenager to see the titular character in the PBS Kids series, Ghostwriter.
Highlights[]
Tina is of Vietnamese American heritage. Most of her family came to America from Vietnam to start a new life. As such, Tina was the first member of her family born in the United States. In the meantime, Tina, alongside her best friend Gaby Fernandez, attended George Washington Elementary School. Tina was a young camerawoman for the school's television news team. She and Gaby would sometimes work together and do reports on happenings in their Fort Greene neighborhood (namely a suspicious fire at an electronics store).
Tina was also learning to become an actress and attended improv classes. One time, she served as the secretary for a famous 1940s actress named Lana Barnes.
Midway into the second season, Tina started going to Hurston Middle School.
Romance[]
Gaby's brother Alex Fernandez has a crush on Tina. She permanently ends any possibility of romance later in the series, telling him they are friends. The beginning of their short romance is at the end of the Lana Barnes arc.
In the last story arc of the show, Tina becomes a matchmaker and helps her brother, Tuan, go to the school dance with Lenni, whom he has a crush on. It is unknown if they start dating.
Major Storylines[]
- "Ghost Story" -- Tina's first appearance (Alex...Alex!)
- "Who Burned Mr. Brinker's Store?" -- Ghostwriter appears to Tina; Tina helps in an investigation to find out who burned down an elder man's electronic shop.
- "Who's Who" -- Tina gets a secretarial job working for famous actress Lana Barnes. Meanwhile, someone keeps calling Lana's apartment and not saying anything. Furthermore, apparently someone is after Lana, now that her lifetime achievement recognition ceremony is coming up. Who is after Lana? Who keeps calling the apartment and not saying a word?
- "Lost in Brooklyn" -- On her third week of school in Hurston, Tina befriends the daughter of a Mozambiquan emissary to the United Nations, Safira. Safira's family is in New York on the cause of her father attending a conference. Meanwhile, Safira is looking for help to find her lost older brother Malenga.
Books[]
- Digging For Clues - Tina and Gaby work to save a construction site, where some artifacts have been discovered. She also must deal with her father and older brother, Tuan, who are arguing.
- The Man Who Vanished - Tina and Alex look for an author that has gone missing.
Notes[]
- It is mentioned in the Ghostwriter book The Team: On and Off the Set, that Tina had learned to read and write Vietnamese at the community center.
- In the story arc "Over a Barrel", Tina mentions that she has a cousin named Lee.