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A review by crosswarrior7
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
4.0
❧ Aru Shah tells many lies. Most are just small ones to fit in at her rich school. Whereas all her classmates are off on expensive vacations and thriving in ginormous mansions, she lives at the the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. Sure, her mother goes off to find rare artifacts, but without Aru. And really, all of this is just a lot of bologna. Right? So when three classmates show up, catching Aru in one of her lies, she is sure nothing will happen when she lights a ‘cursed’ lamp to prove to them its cursed. Except something does happen: she releases a great evil into the world, freezing her classmates and her mother. Now she will have to face one of the greatest evils of the Hindu stories, and in doing so, find out there’s more to herself than she ever knew.
❧ Aru Shah is less Hindu Percy Jackson and more Hindu Kane Chronicles, but everyone knows PJ better, so sure. It’s Hindu Percy Jackson. Point being that Riordan really started a wave of something, helped along by the fact that he opened up the Riordan Presents stuff, which the Pandava series is in. I believe if you liked Percy Jackson, you’d also enjoy the Pandava series. It has the same snarky humor, same fun depiction of ‘mythology’ (quotation marks since this one is a still living religion), and same enjoyable characters.
❧ One small advantage I will give Pandava over PJO is that this series almost trusts the audience to be able to handle more. It tackles subjects a bit more seriously even with its humor, something another Riordan Presents series enjoyed did (Paolo Santiago). Like the subjects of destiny, Aru’s relationship with her mother, why Aru’s mother does what she does, the history with Boo, Mini’s insecurities, Aru and her lying. Pandava was definitely still very quirky in the way a lot of these children mythology in present day books are, but it had a serious undertone to it that I really enjoyed and makes me excited for more in the series. I’m extremely excited to see how it handles the villain and Aru’s interactions with him.
It was also nice getting to learn more about a religion I knew very little about, especially since there’s so many practitioners still in the world. I knew it was greatly kiddified and stuff, but I still felt happy being able to know that maybe I’d be able to understand another part of the world as well as my friends better. Whereas Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase are good fun and learning the mythologies that shape the present, this was both learning the stories and the current cultures with it being a current religion in a way those tales just couldn’t accomplish, and I really appreciated that, and although I have no right to say, I can imagine that will help and touch kids of today in a way the other stories couldn’t.
❧ Aru, Mini, and Boo were all amazing characters. I really liked the “liar” angle taken with Aru and how it was tied in with imagination. Mini deserved all the elbow-bumps (I want to give her huggles, but, you know, germs) for being brave despite her many fears, and Boo... Definitely high up there in animal companions. I know nothing about Hindu stories, but I like what Chokshi did with this one.
All other side characters were strong to solid. Even the more quirky ones (like a rhyming hipster) were fun and avoided being too annoying. So far, this story has avoided going too far with the gods and mythical figures acting ridiculous. I’ll have to watch to see if it continues with that streak.
❧ Overall, I really enjoyed the story. Lots of hilarious moments. Inventive ways to get around issues. Modernized incorporation of well-known myths and stories. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loved Percy Jackson or anything by Riordan. Main reason it’s not a 5 star is because I’m now an adult, and without the nostalgia factor, I don’t think I’ll ever full-out adore most middle grade books because of the goofier/cartoonish humor moments. Is it good fun? Yes. Do I roll my eyes still? Yes. Do I think it’s bad though because of it though? No, but also not among my favorites. Still, four star for me is pretty awesome!
❧ Aru Shah is less Hindu Percy Jackson and more Hindu Kane Chronicles, but everyone knows PJ better, so sure. It’s Hindu Percy Jackson. Point being that Riordan really started a wave of something, helped along by the fact that he opened up the Riordan Presents stuff, which the Pandava series is in. I believe if you liked Percy Jackson, you’d also enjoy the Pandava series. It has the same snarky humor, same fun depiction of ‘mythology’ (quotation marks since this one is a still living religion), and same enjoyable characters.
❧ One small advantage I will give Pandava over PJO is that this series almost trusts the audience to be able to handle more. It tackles subjects a bit more seriously even with its humor, something another Riordan Presents series enjoyed did (Paolo Santiago). Like the subjects of destiny, Aru’s relationship with her mother, why Aru’s mother does what she does, the history with Boo, Mini’s insecurities, Aru and her lying. Pandava was definitely still very quirky in the way a lot of these children mythology in present day books are, but it had a serious undertone to it that I really enjoyed and makes me excited for more in the series. I’m extremely excited to see how it handles the villain and Aru’s interactions with him.
It was also nice getting to learn more about a religion I knew very little about, especially since there’s so many practitioners still in the world. I knew it was greatly kiddified and stuff, but I still felt happy being able to know that maybe I’d be able to understand another part of the world as well as my friends better. Whereas Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase are good fun and learning the mythologies that shape the present, this was both learning the stories and the current cultures with it being a current religion in a way those tales just couldn’t accomplish, and I really appreciated that, and although I have no right to say, I can imagine that will help and touch kids of today in a way the other stories couldn’t.
❧ Aru, Mini, and Boo were all amazing characters. I really liked the “liar” angle taken with Aru and how it was tied in with imagination. Mini deserved all the elbow-bumps (I want to give her huggles, but, you know, germs) for being brave despite her many fears, and Boo... Definitely high up there in animal companions. I know nothing about Hindu stories, but I like what Chokshi did with this one.
All other side characters were strong to solid. Even the more quirky ones (like a rhyming hipster) were fun and avoided being too annoying. So far, this story has avoided going too far with the gods and mythical figures acting ridiculous. I’ll have to watch to see if it continues with that streak.
❧ Overall, I really enjoyed the story. Lots of hilarious moments. Inventive ways to get around issues. Modernized incorporation of well-known myths and stories. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loved Percy Jackson or anything by Riordan. Main reason it’s not a 5 star is because I’m now an adult, and without the nostalgia factor, I don’t think I’ll ever full-out adore most middle grade books because of the goofier/cartoonish humor moments. Is it good fun? Yes. Do I roll my eyes still? Yes. Do I think it’s bad though because of it though? No, but also not among my favorites. Still, four star for me is pretty awesome!