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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
What a fun romp! I recommend the audio version to help with pronunciation of Indian gods and goddesses.
I didn't love the characters at first, but as I told the student I passed this book on to, I think the point of them being annoying and trivial at the beginning is that they grow tremendously through the book.
I can't wait for the next book in the series!
I didn't love the characters at first, but as I told the student I passed this book on to, I think the point of them being annoying and trivial at the beginning is that they grow tremendously through the book.
I can't wait for the next book in the series!
Took me forever to finish. But I loved it so whatever
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
If you’re a big fan of Percy Jackson like I am, you’re definitely gonna enjoy the first book of Roshani Chokshu’s Ari Shah series. Having plenty of action, humor and Hindu mythology, readers will have a wild time with Aru when a magic lamp takes her to accidental adventure (Grade: A-).
I went back and forth between liking and not liking this one. It’s a decent introduction to Indian mythology and an action filled book for tweens and teens with female main characters, which is nice.
My first Hindi mythology book, aside from the small snippets that I've read in different books and it was DELIGHTFUL.
Aru Shah is 12, lives in a museum with her mother, who is always busy with work and leaves her often. So, it's just Aru more often than not.
I don't know anything about these myths, and so everything that I got from this seemed to be the best thing in the world to me for this mythology.
The reincarnated siblings who count as demigods, the stories that come with who they were in their first lives, and their parents.
The closeness of the families in this book is one of my favorite parts: Aru started out thinking that she was completely alone, and she meets Boo, who brings her to Mini, and then the two get to meet the gods and go see the Otherworld and have what feels like an actual sort of family moment with Death.
It's the little things that really got me; how someone would make a casual mistake and they would bring it up in the way a family would - Mini walking into the telephone pole, or Aru saying something to Aiden and Mini roasting her and then getting the other gods at their schooling lessons to roast her because the girls are all of their little nieces right now.
Death is a feminist because his child has been reincarnated as a female and he wants to be there for his kids and does whatever it is he can to cheat the system so the girls don't run themselves down before they can stop The Sleeper.
Also, speaking about The Sleeper; he was originally just a man who wanted to be with his wife and daughter and its such a tragic story that everything keeps going back to how family ties you together, but only certain family gets to live because some are tied to fate to try to destroy the world.
I was just, really excited about this book, and I put it off for so long because I knew it was going to be amazing and I was going to want to do nothing but sit and read them all at once but I didn't want to wait for the entire series, so I tried to wait until ALL of them had come out just to realize when I finished One that Four wasn't out yet and I had doomed myself.
There is no way that you can pick up this book, read it through, and decide that you don't want to get your hands on all of the others as soon as you can.
Aru Shah is 12, lives in a museum with her mother, who is always busy with work and leaves her often. So, it's just Aru more often than not.
I don't know anything about these myths, and so everything that I got from this seemed to be the best thing in the world to me for this mythology.
The reincarnated siblings who count as demigods, the stories that come with who they were in their first lives, and their parents.
The closeness of the families in this book is one of my favorite parts: Aru started out thinking that she was completely alone, and she meets Boo, who brings her to Mini, and then the two get to meet the gods and go see the Otherworld and have what feels like an actual sort of family moment with Death.
It's the little things that really got me; how someone would make a casual mistake and they would bring it up in the way a family would - Mini walking into the telephone pole, or Aru saying something to Aiden and Mini roasting her and then getting the other gods at their schooling lessons to roast her because the girls are all of their little nieces right now.
Death is a feminist because his child has been reincarnated as a female and he wants to be there for his kids and does whatever it is he can to cheat the system so the girls don't run themselves down before they can stop The Sleeper.
Also, speaking about The Sleeper; he was originally just a man who wanted to be with his wife and daughter and its such a tragic story that everything keeps going back to how family ties you together, but only certain family gets to live because some are tied to fate to try to destroy the world.
I was just, really excited about this book, and I put it off for so long because I knew it was going to be amazing and I was going to want to do nothing but sit and read them all at once but I didn't want to wait for the entire series, so I tried to wait until ALL of them had come out just to realize when I finished One that Four wasn't out yet and I had doomed myself.
There is no way that you can pick up this book, read it through, and decide that you don't want to get your hands on all of the others as soon as you can.
I don't read a lot of middle grade book, but Roshani Chokshi did an amazing work with Aru Shah and the End of Time. I loved that book ! It was so refreshing and I wish I had this book when I was in middle school !
The adventure of the Pandava's in this first installment is so interesting. All the trial and steps the two girl need to go trough in order to make sure they save the world were so realistic (even if it's a fantasy book). They do not do things that are too hard and also not too easy. Roshani didn't gave Aru and Mini an easy path in any of the different "trials" they have.
I loved the way she construct everything to give a message to the children (and adult) who will read this book. Everything revolve around learning, friendship and family and I loved that. But she do it with a subtlety that you do not think that this message is push through you at all.
I also loved her characters, particularly Aru and Mini. She has made them so representative of children in our time, with all the struggle they have at that age. You can easily put yourself in the head of those two little girls.
The world building that revolved around Indian mythology was really great ! I had the impression of learning so many things while I was enjoying a good read. She personalized it for a children world in the best way possible (like the Kingdom of Death!!!) and I loved that about the story.
The adventure of the Pandava's in this first installment is so interesting. All the trial and steps the two girl need to go trough in order to make sure they save the world were so realistic (even if it's a fantasy book). They do not do things that are too hard and also not too easy. Roshani didn't gave Aru and Mini an easy path in any of the different "trials" they have.
I loved the way she construct everything to give a message to the children (and adult) who will read this book. Everything revolve around learning, friendship and family and I loved that. But she do it with a subtlety that you do not think that this message is push through you at all.
I also loved her characters, particularly Aru and Mini. She has made them so representative of children in our time, with all the struggle they have at that age. You can easily put yourself in the head of those two little girls.
The world building that revolved around Indian mythology was really great ! I had the impression of learning so many things while I was enjoying a good read. She personalized it for a children world in the best way possible (like the Kingdom of Death!!!) and I loved that about the story.
I love Roshani Chokshi's interpretations of Hindu myth and lit, and her first MG is great fun. I like how Aru is characterized by her rich imagination, how it's both a potential liability and a strength. The snarky humor feels just right for the age group. And Aru's supporting cast--Mini the nerdy fellow heroine and "Boo" the "pigeon" assigned to guide them--are lovable. This book's a promising start to the RRP imprint and to the Pandava series. Highly recommended for middle-schoolers and younger kids too!
[3.5 stars]
For me this felt like a brown girl version of Percy Jackson. I listened to the audiobook, which starts out pretty cringeworthy but gets better the longer you listen to it. (Also faster speeds help.)
In this one, we are following the character Aru who is a min the seventh grade and learns that she is a reincarnation of Arjuna which is a hero in the Hindu Ramayana. And she has a quest to save time.
I really like the premise of this book, and the plot is actually pretty good. But some frustrations with the characters. I wanted to like them but I never actually succeeded in liking them. I also didn’t appreciate the pop culture references. (Lord of the Rings, the matrix, Batman, game of thrones?!? This is suppose to be a middle grade novel in the year 2019 right? The only pop culture reference that seemed appropriate was the hunger games and then divergent, even so those are ya not middle grade.)
I also felt like there were a lot of cliques. (Demigods, small animal companions, sidekick...). Which I usually like, but here felt a little tired.
Overall, I enjoyed reading, but it’s not one of my favorite middle grade stories.
For me this felt like a brown girl version of Percy Jackson. I listened to the audiobook, which starts out pretty cringeworthy but gets better the longer you listen to it. (Also faster speeds help.)
In this one, we are following the character Aru who is a min the seventh grade and learns that she is a reincarnation of Arjuna which is a hero in the Hindu Ramayana. And she has a quest to save time.
I really like the premise of this book, and the plot is actually pretty good. But some frustrations with the characters. I wanted to like them but I never actually succeeded in liking them. I also didn’t appreciate the pop culture references. (Lord of the Rings, the matrix, Batman, game of thrones?!? This is suppose to be a middle grade novel in the year 2019 right? The only pop culture reference that seemed appropriate was the hunger games and then divergent, even so those are ya not middle grade.)
I also felt like there were a lot of cliques. (Demigods, small animal companions, sidekick...). Which I usually like, but here felt a little tired.
Overall, I enjoyed reading, but it’s not one of my favorite middle grade stories.