Book Review: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Aru Shah and the End of Time
by Roshani Chokshi
Blurb
Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?
One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.
But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.
The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?
Cover Review
I love the way this cover captures the mythical, magical feel of the book. We've got Aru right in the middle and some fantastic animals around her. It's also got these lovely bright colors that really make it pop.
Plot
I will try to abstain from comparing this book to Percy Jackson, but I will say that it had a similar feel, only different! I know, I'm so descriptive. This book is, if you didn't guess, a quest book, and it followed the classic format. It was easy to follow and I enjoyed all the little Indian references the author added.
Characters
The main character is Aru. She was a little hard to like at first, mostly because she's such a liar about everything, but you come to love her. She only lies because it's her cover. I thought she was a great character and it turned out her ability to twist the truth was helpful.
Her sidekicks are Mini and Boo. Mini was gentle, but could totally kick butt. She was a great contrast to Aru. Boo was hilarious. He reminded me a bit of Mushu. Then we have all the other gods, creatures, and monsters the girls encounter. We don't get to know any of them besides the Sleeper well, but I can't wait to see more in coming books.
World
This book is the first in a new line by Rick Riordan, called Riordan Reads. He got so many requests to do other cultures, that he made his own imprint and is getting all these authors do to mythologies he can't. This is one is focused on the Hindu mythology. Hindu mythology is huge, so we only see a small portion, but it was well done. If you've read other books by Roshani, then you'll recognize her style, but with a little more lightheartedness.
Other
I want to give a shoutout to Aru and Mini's friendship. I love how they are girls and proud of it and I can't wait to see the rest of the sisters. Unfortunately, I have to wait a year for book two.
Rating
Oh, and I just wanted to say that I just had a guest post on the Rebellious Writing site. It's about ways to find clean books. You can read it here if you're interested, and while you're there, be sure to check out the rest of the site. They're awesome.
Have you read this book? What sort of mythology based books are your favorite? Tell me in the comments.
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