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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Entertaining and refreshing!
Finally an adventurous book based on a non-western mythology. I found the Hindu mythology very interesting and I want to learn more about it. This book is fun and action packed.
Finally an adventurous book based on a non-western mythology. I found the Hindu mythology very interesting and I want to learn more about it. This book is fun and action packed.
I’m trying to read some of D’s books. He loved this one; I agree!
It's been a long time since I read a middle-grade book (over a decade probably), and even though it balanced between just okay and good at many moments, I know that I would have loved this book at 10-11 years old. It was such a great exploration and introduction into Indian mythology, especially when you take into consideration the target audience. The characters felt very real and flawed, and I see myself picking up the books that follow to continue Aru's story.
me, present-day: 3-4 stars
me at 11: probably 4-5 stars
me, present-day: 3-4 stars
me at 11: probably 4-5 stars
I have read a LOT of the various "Rick Riordan presents" fantasy series, and while they all have something going for them to various degrees, I think Aru Shah is my favorite. It has a lot of what made Rick Riordan's own Percy Jackson books fun and compelling, with the added challenge of skillfully introducing an exhilarating number of characters and concepts to readers who may not have already read a thousand and one stories about them before. It's a great middle grade level book, with just the right amount of angst, danger, and personal and friendship growth to offset the starry-eyed, magical adventure.
I found this book through Rick Riordan Presents’ Instagram and, I’ll be honest, I did found the cover beautiful and it intrigued me into finding more about who Aru Shah was. I did eventually stumble upon an interview of Roshani Chokshi and I found her so docile, so gentle – I wondered how Aru’s story was really written. So I decided to follow Rick Riordan’s advice and I bought the book myself.
I was a bit sceptical. I love Rick Riordan and his books, whether they’re from the Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase or Trials of Apollo. I absolutely adore them but as the series of Trials of Apollo is reaching an ending and it will probably take a while until Rick publishes another book like this, I started to search for books that follow the same premise: “children of god and goddesses of a certain mythology”. However, I was low-key scared that I wouldn’t particularly like a new form of writing that didn’t come from Rick. Thankfully, those fears didn’t come true.
This book follows the life of a 12 year old girl named Aru Shah that feels the necessity to lie and make stories up in order to fulfil with adventure and mystery the boring life she leads. Even though she lives just above a museum. It also doesn’t help that the popular kids have a tendency to pick on her, so she feels the need to belong in a place full of rich spoiled kids that don’t even try to befriend Aru without her showing something “worthy” of befriending. But Aru’s capacity of lying got her into trouble and she accidentally lets an evil spirit go free and everyone gets frozen in time. With the help of Subala, her flying side-kick, and Mini, her newest friend, Aru will face challenges that a 12 year old shouldn’t have to in order to unfreeze everyone, including her mother, while she discovers more about herself and her family’s past.
This story is incredibly beautifully written; not being very familiar with the Hindu mythology myself, I found myself easily picturing everything in my head as I kept on reading – this is how descriptive and beautiful Roshani Chokshi’s writing is. I fell in love with her writing right off the first chapter and it had me grasped until the very last page. She also gives you a bit of insight on the Hindu’s Gods and traditions, not getting into much detail but just enough so the reader can understand and maybe Google it for more information. I grew up surrounded by the Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology so having a book explain Hindu mythology in such a simple but effective way was gratifying.
The characters have so many different personalities that either combine or clash with each other. Roshani Chokshi definitely made the Gods very appealing to me and it made me eager for more interaction between Aru and the Gods themselves. I will admit, Aru does annoy me a bit throughout the book, partly because of her thought process and partly because of her decisions. But I reminded myself that she is only 12 years old, she’s immature in some issues and she will make reckless and immature choices. She’s also going to have immature and idiotic thoughts and I think one of the things that appealed to me so much when I finished reading is that Roshani Chokshi didn’t try to make Aru a super mature girl for her age, she made her like a typical Indian twelve year old girl and it was amazing. She definitely matures throughout the book, don’t worry, but her thoughts are still of a twelve year old girl. It definitely brought me back in time to when I was twelve myself and making friends and being validated by other people was what mattered the most. Every character here was definitely carefully thought-out and I really liked her Roshani Chokshi made us like every single one of them, including the “bad guys”.
It is a book full of nostalgic, especially if you started reading Percy Jackson at a young age. It is beautifully written and it leaves you engaged until the very last page.
I was a bit sceptical. I love Rick Riordan and his books, whether they’re from the Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase or Trials of Apollo. I absolutely adore them but as the series of Trials of Apollo is reaching an ending and it will probably take a while until Rick publishes another book like this, I started to search for books that follow the same premise: “children of god and goddesses of a certain mythology”. However, I was low-key scared that I wouldn’t particularly like a new form of writing that didn’t come from Rick. Thankfully, those fears didn’t come true.
This book follows the life of a 12 year old girl named Aru Shah that feels the necessity to lie and make stories up in order to fulfil with adventure and mystery the boring life she leads. Even though she lives just above a museum. It also doesn’t help that the popular kids have a tendency to pick on her, so she feels the need to belong in a place full of rich spoiled kids that don’t even try to befriend Aru without her showing something “worthy” of befriending. But Aru’s capacity of lying got her into trouble and she accidentally lets an evil spirit go free and everyone gets frozen in time. With the help of Subala, her flying side-kick, and Mini, her newest friend, Aru will face challenges that a 12 year old shouldn’t have to in order to unfreeze everyone, including her mother, while she discovers more about herself and her family’s past.
This story is incredibly beautifully written; not being very familiar with the Hindu mythology myself, I found myself easily picturing everything in my head as I kept on reading – this is how descriptive and beautiful Roshani Chokshi’s writing is. I fell in love with her writing right off the first chapter and it had me grasped until the very last page. She also gives you a bit of insight on the Hindu’s Gods and traditions, not getting into much detail but just enough so the reader can understand and maybe Google it for more information. I grew up surrounded by the Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology so having a book explain Hindu mythology in such a simple but effective way was gratifying.
The characters have so many different personalities that either combine or clash with each other. Roshani Chokshi definitely made the Gods very appealing to me and it made me eager for more interaction between Aru and the Gods themselves. I will admit, Aru does annoy me a bit throughout the book, partly because of her thought process and partly because of her decisions. But I reminded myself that she is only 12 years old, she’s immature in some issues and she will make reckless and immature choices. She’s also going to have immature and idiotic thoughts and I think one of the things that appealed to me so much when I finished reading is that Roshani Chokshi didn’t try to make Aru a super mature girl for her age, she made her like a typical Indian twelve year old girl and it was amazing. She definitely matures throughout the book, don’t worry, but her thoughts are still of a twelve year old girl. It definitely brought me back in time to when I was twelve myself and making friends and being validated by other people was what mattered the most. Every character here was definitely carefully thought-out and I really liked her Roshani Chokshi made us like every single one of them, including the “bad guys”.
It is a book full of nostalgic, especially if you started reading Percy Jackson at a young age. It is beautifully written and it leaves you engaged until the very last page.
Another good read in the Rick Riordan presents series. If your kids like Percy, they'll likely enjoy Aru. This one reads at a younger level, IMO. I very much enjoyed being presented with stories from a mythology that I am unfamiliar with.
4 stars!
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a very long time and I’m really glad I finally picked it up cause it was everything I wanted it to be! Aru Shah and the End of Time is a fun, fast paced, entertaining, magical read.
Aru Shah has made the mistake of waking up a magical evil force by lighting up a cursed lamp that she should have by no means have lighted. Now she is discovering who she is, what her past is and is being forced to go on a quest to go save the world.
This book was entertaining through and through and it was incredibly refreshing to read about Indian mythology in such a fascinating way! I highly recommend this to all lovers of middle grade fantasy, you will not be disappointed!
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a very long time and I’m really glad I finally picked it up cause it was everything I wanted it to be! Aru Shah and the End of Time is a fun, fast paced, entertaining, magical read.
Aru Shah has made the mistake of waking up a magical evil force by lighting up a cursed lamp that she should have by no means have lighted. Now she is discovering who she is, what her past is and is being forced to go on a quest to go save the world.
This book was entertaining through and through and it was incredibly refreshing to read about Indian mythology in such a fascinating way! I highly recommend this to all lovers of middle grade fantasy, you will not be disappointed!
5 stars!
I absolutely adored this. The Pandava series is one of my favourites and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of this graphic novel.
The soul of the characters and the story is still there in an amazing way and the illustrations are incredibly stunning.
I absolutely adored this. The Pandava series is one of my favourites and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of this graphic novel.
The soul of the characters and the story is still there in an amazing way and the illustrations are incredibly stunning.