Book Review: Aru Shah and the End of Time

Book: Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava book #1) by Roshani Chokshi

Cover Art by Abigail Dela Rey
Cover Design by Phil Caminiti

Edition: Hardcover

Description:

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?

One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.

The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?





Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Aru Shah and the End of Time was a fun and exciting well-written read. The story follows 12 years old Aru Shah who made a very big mistake in trying to prove something to three of her bullying classmates. Aru kind of got herself in this situation because she has a very vivid imagination and at times she tends to make up a few lies to try to fit in with the rich kids at her school. I guess after one lie too many, those three classmates tried to prove Aru was lying. They went over to the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, where Aru also lives with her mother, to not only prove she was lying about going to France for vacation during break but also that the Lamp of Bharata that's on display at the museum is "cursed".

To prove the lamp was cursed, Aru did what she wasn't supposed to do, which was to light it. And as soon as she did, lying became the least of her troubles, because The Sleeper which had been imprisoned in the lamp was released. The Sleeper is a dangerous entity and the moment he was released it caused everything except for Aru to freeze at the museum. With this big threat now out and the freezing quickly spreading, Aru now found herself in this fast paced adventure being tasked with stopping The Sleeper. To go on this quest to stop The Sleeper from waking up the Lord of Destruction, Aru gets unexpected guidance from a cranky talking pigeon named Subala (who she nicknamed Boo). Not only did she find out that she was one of the reincarnated Pandava brothers but she will be working with Mini, another reincarnated Pandava sibling to complete their time sensitive quest. The thing is Mini was already sort of prepared for this because although her parents thought her older brother was one of the reincarnated Pandava brothers. She had learned about the Pandava brothers and their story and that what would happen if the lamp was lit.

I really enjoyed reading this story because this was a dangerous quest they had to go on but they knew what they needed to do to save the world. From an evil beautician to a magical Bazaar to a Palace that doesn't believe they are the reincarnated Pandavas to so many other things they went through, this was a non-stop adventure. What I like that despite all that they went through, they didn't give up even when it felt hopeless. I also like that you get all this insight into Aru. From how she felt about feeling different at school to finding out her mom never told about her being one of the reincarnated Pandava brothers to gaining her confidence as a middle grader who found herself in the world of Indian mythology. Aru's mother is the curator of the museum as well as an archaeologist and for years has been researching and preserving artifacts but she sort of kept Aru in the dark about a few things. Which the story does provide the answer for both Aru and the reader. You also learn about Mini and Boo as well.

This was a fantastic story with interesting characters and an equally interesting quest. I enjoyed reading this and didn't want the story to end, however it does perfectly set up the story to continue in the second book.