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latad_books 's review for:
Aru Shah and the Song of Death
by Roshani Chokshi
Total fun. Since book one already introduced the idea that Aru and Mini are essentially reincarnations/manifestations of two of the Pandava brothers, I was already comfortable with Roshani Chokshi's myth-based world. And since I had also read child's versions of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana at least 20 times each, many of the gods, demigods, rakshasas and other beings were familiar.
This time, we have two more kids along for a new quest. The story picks up shortly after book one, and it's again pretty much non-stop action, punctuated by an occasional argument between Aru and Brynne (another Pandava), and Aidan (repeatedly insisting he's not a Pandava). There's lots of humour; Mini's fears and worries figure again, though there are more sources for comedy. There's again some nice picking apart of the misogyny that's rife within the hindu myths.
Aru grows a little more in this book, too. Aru and Mini, having worked out how to work together well, have to now learn to accommodate Brynne's and Aiden's talents and skills. And while the four kids' interactions provide plenty of chuckles, Chokshi also grounds the kids' lives in the messy realities of non-nuclear families, giving the story some deeper moments amidst the mayhem.
This time, we have two more kids along for a new quest. The story picks up shortly after book one, and it's again pretty much non-stop action, punctuated by an occasional argument between Aru and Brynne (another Pandava), and Aidan (repeatedly insisting he's not a Pandava). There's lots of humour; Mini's fears and worries figure again, though there are more sources for comedy. There's again some nice picking apart of the misogyny that's rife within the hindu myths.
Aru grows a little more in this book, too. Aru and Mini, having worked out how to work together well, have to now learn to accommodate Brynne's and Aiden's talents and skills. And while the four kids' interactions provide plenty of chuckles, Chokshi also grounds the kids' lives in the messy realities of non-nuclear families, giving the story some deeper moments amidst the mayhem.