Aru Shah and the End of Time: A Pandava Novel Book 1 (Pandava Series) Kindle Edition

The influence of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series is unmistakable in this novel, with the whole setup of demigods albeit in a setting founded on Indian mythology. I mean, Rick Riordan is the editor for these books! What this gives in addition to the Percy Jackson series is a healthy dose of witty writing, not dissimilar to Riordan's "Trials of Apollo" series, but perhaps more in line with the Harry Potter novels.Story-wise the build-up is a little slower than you would expect and the climax isn't as thrilling as you would hope. That being said I haven't gone through the other books of the series to determine if things pick up.Where the book does falter though is in its representation of some aspects of Indian mythology. To cite some examples: - A demon is called a "raksha", while the actual term is a "rakshas" (or "rakshasa" if you are trying to be pedantic about adhering to Sanskrit pronunciation). "Raksha" on the other hand means "protection" - a very dissimilar thing and not quite what you are expecting from a demon!- Another such error is where it is claimed, "Aru wasn't sure why they were all called brothers when they didn't even have the same mom", but the Pandavas of the Mahabharat had the same mom. - The demon who could burn people by touching their head was Bhasmasura ("Bhasma" = ash, or turn to ash), not Brahmasura. As a matter of fact Wikipedia has an incorrect reference for this - it links to a page where a typo misspells "Brahmasutra" (loosely, the philosophy of Brahma) as "Brahmasura"To someone reading for fun these make little difference, however several kids build their entire knowledge of mythology based on novels such as this, and such errors don't help them.But all in all, if you are looking to spend a few hours reading something light, this is as good a book as any to pick up.

Since I'm rather passionate about books and reading, I often purchase books for my grandchildren for special occasions. This was for my granddaughter's birthday and it was an excellent choice.  I'll admit that my initial choice was based on the stunning cover art, pre-teen female heroines, and the recommendation from Rick Riordan. A wonderful fantasy based on Indian mythology and Hindu culture, with a flavor of some of the Disney stories including animals who can talk, this is a fun adventure story about a 12-year-old girl who messed up by telling a lie to her school friends.  To try to wiggle her way out of being caught in the lie, she lit a 'cursed' lamp at the museum where her archeologist mother worked and released a demon known as "the Sleeper" causing time to STOP! The story is exciting and fast-paced with complete descriptions to immerse the reader in the story providing a feeling that you can see and hear the diverse and interesting characters. Intense yet funny with strong young female characters.  A birthday gift to be proud of -this was a hit!

My 11 year old son loves for me to read to him each night. I bought this book on the recommendation of a young girl who attends the same music school as him.I've been reading one chapter each night and each chapter is fantastic. It is a delight for me to read and a real struggle to not finish reading the entire book by myself (that's against our rules). Listening to him laugh in response to Aru's dry wit or Mini's concerns is great.If your kid/s enjoys Harry Potter or Rick Riodan novels, they will LOVE this book. It's funny and delightful. The descriptions of the world are amazing and vivid. Kids around age 11 will love Aru's voice. Mini will be someone they instantly sympathize with because she is adorable. Also because the characters they encounter and places they go are often based on Hindu mythology (rather than Greek/Roman/Norse mythology that proliferate most western children's literature) everything feels fresh and new! Especially to the adult reading the book aloud to their child!We can't wait for a sequel!

It took me a bit to get into this book. I was expecting the quick dive in I am used to with Rick Riordan's books, since this is part of his imprint. The main character (or heroine, as she would prefer) is deeply flawed. Which, in the end makes for some really interesting character growth opportunities. She is almost a pathological liar at the beginning of the book. She has good reasons for it, which a lot of kids her age can probably relate to. I never lied on that scale, but I can really sympathize with her. She has an almost resentful relationship with her mother, who is always away on business trips and always forgetting things that are important to Aru. Aru also has a difficult time connecting with the kids in her school--the lies are her shield from what she thinks is inevitable mockery. Ultimately, Aru really wants to fit in, but because she doesn't think she will she choose to lie about why she doesn't fit in.This leads to her making a very poor choice and awakening a demon who is bent on destroying the world. She's thrown on a quest (While in her Spiderman pjs) to save the world and her only help is another girl her age, Mini, who is afraid that everything is going to kill her in some way and a talking pigeon.Its a fun story and pulls in the colorful world of Indian mythology really well. I also REALLY loved having girl characters driving the narrative.I will be looking forward to checking out the next book.

Only a little ways into this and am blown away so far. I've never read a book with Hindu mythology before, so this is new and unique to me. It has all the things I love about a Rick Riordan book while teaching me about a culture I know very little about. Cannot wait to see where this series goes!!

This was my choice for book number 2 of the @believathon and it was so good! I hadn't gone into this knowing much about Indian mythology but I am so intrigued and wanting to know more, an absolutely fantastic story. I love how 'real' the characters are in that there is no shame in saving the world in spiderman pyjamas. (I would completely do that too) The story moves fluidly from one point to another and it just constantly has you turning the pages to want/need to know what's next, such a lovely, wonderful story filled with friendship, challenges and mythology. Fun for all ages not just children.

I was blown away by how well this book was crafted. Starting from the characters, I think Aru was a breath of fresh air because mostly in MG books the protagonists are the goody two-shoes kind, especially girls. I liked how Aru’s habit of lying was used throughout the story and how she realised how to use her quick wit and imagination as a weapon. I also adored Aru’s companion and sister-in-arms, Mini, and wish I had a little sister just like her! She was also biracial, which came up during the story and was not just a token representation, which was another aspect I loved. I enjoyed the side characters as well, especially that of the bird, who added much needed comic relief as well as intrigue. The plot followed a formula similar to Rick’s books and as a huge fan of that, I was sucked in from the beginning.The unique element in this book, however, is how seamlessly it incorporated Hindu mythology into the narrative. As a practising Hindu, who grew up with these stories and view some of the characters as divine entities, I never felt a dissonance between my beliefs and how they were portrayed in this book. I thought that Roshani did a fantastic job of adapting them into a modern narrative while still preserving their essence and doing justice to the source material. She used her imagination to superb effect in reimagining scenes, places and characters from the Mahabharata. She also described some core beliefs of Hinduism such as karma and rebirth in a simple way that is accessible to children. It was the perfect mix of fun, adventure and learnings with amazing characters and a well-paced plot. I honestly cannot wait for the other books in the series to come out and wrap me up in their magic!

I bought this book for my son for his class though he wasn't looking forward to reading it (he prefers graphic novels). Well I'm happy to say that he enjoyed reading this book from start to finish! Every time he went to read it, he read me various passages that had me laughing out loud. I wasn't sure how my kid would take to reading a fantasy/adventure with a young girl heroine but he loves Aru and Mini! Also, I love how the author explained various aspects of Indian Mythology in language my 10 year old could understand.

4.5/5 ⭐I LOVED THIS!This book was everything I wanted! It has vibes from Sailor Moon, which I've always been obsessed with.It was the middle grade I needed. It made me laugh a lot with all those pop culture references. Roshani Chokshi has a beautiful writing style, she's excellent at describing places, she makes you dream about India.I loved the characters as well, Boo was such a fun pigeon and Mini was hilarious, Aru has become a knew fav, she's strong and ironic.Hindu mythology is so interesting!I CAN'T WAIT for the sequel! I want to read it now!

Necesitábamos más historias escritas por mujeres. Más historias con protagonistas como Aru. Perfecto para todo aquel que disfrutando de las historias de Rick quiere fiarse de su criterio y del inigualable talento de su escritora.