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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Lots of fun! Highly recommended as a very much more female and POC Percy Jackson Readalike!
Ooooooo!!!!! This book is so good. Such a treat it was.
I love you Roshani. You're Queen!!
I love you Roshani. You're Queen!!
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautiful book. It has humor, spunky sidekicks, mythology and strong female leads. I will be squeezing the next 4 books into my TBR this year.
“Sometimes light illuminates things that are better left in the dark.”
Aru Shah is just your average twelve-year-old wishing for an adventure to shake up her boring life. Only she actually gets her wish. After a grand villain of her own making reveals himself, Aru must risk it all to save it all. And she has to do it all while wearing Spider-Man pajamas.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Rick Riordan and his takes on mythology, so when I heard he was launching a line of novels spanning a larger variety of myths tackled by diverse authors, I was stoked! More mythology in the easy to consume format of middle grade novels? Sign me up!
Now, I didn’t necessarily expect that these books would follow the exact format and styling of Riordan books (the explicit questing, the strict time lines, the sort of humor), and I’m not quite sure how I feel yet about the fact that this one did. I honestly thought I was reading a Riordan book at first. (I still need to read Roshani’s other books, so I can’t compare this work with her others). However, as I got further along, I did notice some plot and stylistic choices that distinguished from Riordan, and that did make me enjoy it more. I was just surprised how similar this book was to Riordan’s own.
It also did take a while for this book to grow on me, but that may just be on me. It’s been a long while since I’ve read an MG (middle grade) novel, and the books I’ve recently been reading are more of the dark, emotional YA/Adult contemporaries, so this is a complete switch from that. In the end, the book did hook me anyways, and for a few key reasons.
It seems to tackle the fine line between villain, hero, and anti-hero. You have multiple characters who have made distinct evil/bad decisions and are forced to question their inherent evilness because of these actions. The motives of characters also leave you wondering whether you can really consider certain characters villainous. I always love when books bring this into play.
It plays with the idea of destiny. A strong theme in this novel, and probably series, is the idea of inevitable destiny and the choices people are forced to make either according to this destiny or in spite of it. It seems to reach every part of the narrative, from the narrator to her family to the villain. It opens a lot for Roshani to play with, and I’m super excited to see where this goes!
Our narrator, Aru, is not the stereotypical heroine. Yes she wants to be a good person, yes she wants to be the hero of the story, but above all she wants to save the world, to rescue who she loves. In this book alone we see some questionable choices she makes in the pursuit of these goals, and I’m left wondering what else she’s willing to do to get what she wants.
My biggest issue, and the main reason this novel was bumped to 4 stars instead of 5, was due to how it ended. Now the ending of the narrative I quite liked, but this did not line up with the ending of the novel itself. The last 4-5 chapters are basically just the beginning of the next book, going so far to introduce new characters and new plot points. It’s far from a cliff-hanger, it’s practically one of those teaser releases of the first few chapters of a book. It’s rather frustrating that I don’t have time to process the book I just read before being forced into the next, and I generally don’t even read series in order. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and ruined the reading experience at the time.
However, even with my frustrations with the ending, I’m pleasantly surprised by Aru Shah, and cannot wait to read the next one!
Aru Shah is just your average twelve-year-old wishing for an adventure to shake up her boring life. Only she actually gets her wish. After a grand villain of her own making reveals himself, Aru must risk it all to save it all. And she has to do it all while wearing Spider-Man pajamas.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Rick Riordan and his takes on mythology, so when I heard he was launching a line of novels spanning a larger variety of myths tackled by diverse authors, I was stoked! More mythology in the easy to consume format of middle grade novels? Sign me up!
Now, I didn’t necessarily expect that these books would follow the exact format and styling of Riordan books (the explicit questing, the strict time lines, the sort of humor), and I’m not quite sure how I feel yet about the fact that this one did. I honestly thought I was reading a Riordan book at first. (I still need to read Roshani’s other books, so I can’t compare this work with her others). However, as I got further along, I did notice some plot and stylistic choices that distinguished from Riordan, and that did make me enjoy it more. I was just surprised how similar this book was to Riordan’s own.
It also did take a while for this book to grow on me, but that may just be on me. It’s been a long while since I’ve read an MG (middle grade) novel, and the books I’ve recently been reading are more of the dark, emotional YA/Adult contemporaries, so this is a complete switch from that. In the end, the book did hook me anyways, and for a few key reasons.
It seems to tackle the fine line between villain, hero, and anti-hero. You have multiple characters who have made distinct evil/bad decisions and are forced to question their inherent evilness because of these actions. The motives of characters also leave you wondering whether you can really consider certain characters villainous. I always love when books bring this into play.
It plays with the idea of destiny. A strong theme in this novel, and probably series, is the idea of inevitable destiny and the choices people are forced to make either according to this destiny or in spite of it. It seems to reach every part of the narrative, from the narrator to her family to the villain. It opens a lot for Roshani to play with, and I’m super excited to see where this goes!
Our narrator, Aru, is not the stereotypical heroine. Yes she wants to be a good person, yes she wants to be the hero of the story, but above all she wants to save the world, to rescue who she loves. In this book alone we see some questionable choices she makes in the pursuit of these goals, and I’m left wondering what else she’s willing to do to get what she wants.
My biggest issue, and the main reason this novel was bumped to 4 stars instead of 5, was due to how it ended. Now the ending of the narrative I quite liked, but this did not line up with the ending of the novel itself. The last 4-5 chapters are basically just the beginning of the next book, going so far to introduce new characters and new plot points. It’s far from a cliff-hanger, it’s practically one of those teaser releases of the first few chapters of a book. It’s rather frustrating that I don’t have time to process the book I just read before being forced into the next, and I generally don’t even read series in order. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and ruined the reading experience at the time.
However, even with my frustrations with the ending, I’m pleasantly surprised by Aru Shah, and cannot wait to read the next one!
Aru Shah is another hero inspired by the Percy Jackson. This series takes India folklore and I'm here for it. There's some big differences to separate it including fan favorite, sarcastic demon-turned pigeon-"Boo". He's a true delight to this book and Aru's journey in self discovery and hero journey.
It's a fun chapter book for all ages with delightful characters and a compelling villain.
It's a fun chapter book for all ages with delightful characters and a compelling villain.
THIS IS A WORK OF ART
I was re reading the series for the final book that’s coming out in April and I fell in love with it all over again. I love how rosh made it relatable and how the heroines had flaws and that it’s ok to have them.
Aru: she is like my hero because she is a lier, and she grows from that. She helps mini to believe in herself as the daughter of death. And she has to figure out how to deal with her parents and soul dad. Also her humor is amazing and just what I needed.
Mini: I. LOVE. MINI. She is a kind, considerate person with a lot of moments of true heroism. She has a lot of anxiety about germs and being the daughter of death which is relatable (the anxiety overall not being the daughter of death stuff that’s a new one)
Overall this book is what got me into reading and I LOVE it and LOVE the characters. A funny, snarky and sweet start to a wonderful series.
I was re reading the series for the final book that’s coming out in April and I fell in love with it all over again. I love how rosh made it relatable and how the heroines had flaws and that it’s ok to have them.
Aru: she is like my hero because she is a lier, and she grows from that. She helps mini to believe in herself as the daughter of death. And she has to figure out how to deal with her parents and soul dad. Also her humor is amazing and just what I needed.
Mini: I. LOVE. MINI. She is a kind, considerate person with a lot of moments of true heroism. She has a lot of anxiety about germs and being the daughter of death which is relatable (the anxiety overall not being the daughter of death stuff that’s a new one)
Overall this book is what got me into reading and I LOVE it and LOVE the characters. A funny, snarky and sweet start to a wonderful series.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
*I received an early DRC for free from edelweiss and the publisher. This does not affect my rating.*
I loved this book SO MUCH! It was so awesome to read about awesome girls doing awesome things! This book was a nonstop adventure, and it was FUNNY! And sweet! I seriously cannot wait to meet more of the Pandavas. I can't recommend this one enough!
I loved this book SO MUCH! It was so awesome to read about awesome girls doing awesome things! This book was a nonstop adventure, and it was FUNNY! And sweet! I seriously cannot wait to meet more of the Pandavas. I can't recommend this one enough!