Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1)

The influence of Rick Riordan\’s Percy Jackson series is unmistakable in this novel, with the whole setup of demigods albeit in a setting founded on Indian mythology. I mean, Rick Riordan is the editor for these books! What this gives in addition to the Percy Jackson series is a healthy dose of witty writing, not dissimilar to Riordan\’s \”Trials of Apollo\” series, but perhaps more in line with the Harry Potter novels. Story-wise the build-up is a little slower than you would expect and the climax isn\’t as thrilling as you would hope. That being said I haven\’t gone through the other books of the series to determine if things pick up. Where the book does falter though is in its representation of some aspects of Indian mythology. To cite some examples: – A demon is called a \”raksha\”, while the actual term is a \”rakshas\” (or \”rakshasa\” if you are trying to be pedantic about adhering to Sanskrit pronunciation). \”Raksha\” on the other hand means \”protection\” – a very dissimilar thing and not quite what you are expecting from a demon! – Another such error is where it is claimed, \”Aru wasn\’t sure why they were all called brothers when they didn\’t even have the same mom\”, but the Pandavas of the Mahabharat had the same mom. – The demon who could burn people by touching their head was Bhasmasura (\”Bhasma\” = ash, or turn to ash), not Brahmasura. As a matter of fact Wikipedia has an incorrect reference for this – it links to a page where a typo misspells \”Brahmasutra\” (loosely, the philosophy of Brahma) as \”Brahmasura\” To someone reading for fun these make little difference, however several kids build their entire knowledge of mythology based on novels such as this, and such errors don\’t help them. But all in all, if you are looking to spend a few hours reading something light, this is as good a book as any to pick up.

Since I\’m rather passionate about books and reading, I often purchase books for my grandchildren for special occasions. This was for my granddaughter\’s birthday and it was an excellent choice. I\’ll admit that my initial choice was based on the stunning cover art, pre-teen female heroines, and the recommendation from Rick Riordan. A wonderful fantasy based on Indian mythology and Hindu culture, with a flavor of some of the Disney stories including animals who can talk, this is a fun adventure story about a 12-year-old girl who messed up by telling a lie to her school friends. To try to wiggle her way out of being caught in the lie, she lit a \’cursed\’ lamp at the museum where her archeologist mother worked and released a demon known as \”the Sleeper\” causing time to STOP! The story is exciting and fast-paced with complete descriptions to immerse the reader in the story providing a feeling that you can see and hear the diverse and interesting characters. Intense yet funny with strong young female characters. A birthday gift to be proud of -this was a hit!

My 11 year old son loves for me to read to him each night. I bought this book on the recommendation of a young girl who attends the same music school as him. I\’ve been reading one chapter each night and each chapter is fantastic. It is a delight for me to read and a real struggle to not finish reading the entire book by myself (that\’s against our rules). Listening to him laugh in response to Aru\’s dry wit or Mini\’s concerns is great. If your kid/s enjoys Harry Potter or Rick Riodan novels, they will LOVE this book. It\’s funny and delightful. The descriptions of the world are amazing and vivid. Kids around age 11 will love Aru\’s voice. Mini will be someone they instantly sympathize with because she is adorable. Also because the characters they encounter and places they go are often based on Hindu mythology (rather than Greek/Roman/Norse mythology that proliferate most western children\’s literature) everything feels fresh and new! Especially to the adult reading the book aloud to their child! We can\’t wait for a sequel!

It took me a bit to get into this book. I was expecting the quick dive in I am used to with Rick Riordan\’s books, since this is part of his imprint. The main character (or heroine, as she would prefer) is deeply flawed. Which, in the end makes for some really interesting character growth opportunities. She is almost a pathological liar at the beginning of the book. She has good reasons for it, which a lot of kids her age can probably relate to. I never lied on that scale, but I can really sympathize with her. She has an almost resentful relationship with her mother, who is always away on business trips and always forgetting things that are important to Aru. Aru also has a difficult time connecting with the kids in her school–the lies are her shield from what she thinks is inevitable mockery. Ultimately, Aru really wants to fit in, but because she doesn\’t think she will she choose to lie about why she doesn\’t fit in. This leads to her making a very poor choice and awakening a demon who is bent on destroying the world. She\’s thrown on a quest (While in her Spiderman pjs) to save the world and her only help is another girl her age, Mini, who is afraid that everything is going to kill her in some way and a talking pigeon. Its a fun story and pulls in the colorful world of Indian mythology really well. I also REALLY loved having girl characters driving the narrative. I will be looking forward to checking out the next book.

This was my choice for book number 2 of the @believathon and it was so good! I hadn\’t gone into this knowing much about Indian mythology but I am so intrigued and wanting to know more, an absolutely fantastic story. I love how \’real\’ the characters are in that there is no shame in saving the world in spiderman pyjamas. (I would completely do that too) The story moves fluidly from one point to another and it just constantly has you turning the pages to want/need to know what\’s next, such a lovely, wonderful story filled with friendship, challenges and mythology. Fun for all ages not just children.

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