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Book: Aru Shah And The End of Time
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Book Series: Pandava Quartet Book 1
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: May 27, 2018
Genre: MG Fantasy
Recommended Age: 10+ (slight violence and a little gore, some scary moments)
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents
Pages: 355
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Synopsis: 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?
Review: I absolutely fell in love with this book! The character voice and development were amazingly well done. The author did great to keep explanations and scenarios exciting, but also young child friendly. The writing was sublime and the language (some was Sanskrit, I’m not sure of the term for the others) used were done well. I also loved the pacing, it wasn’t too fast or too slow.
However, I did feel like some of the world building was a bit lacking. I felt a little lost at times, but it wasn’t a lot of the time.
Verdict: It was a great read! I highly recommend!
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