I loved Aru and will be continuing the series as well as recommending the book to students FREQUENTLY!

I love this series. It is so fun to learn the mythology of other groups. To learn outside of the traditional Greek/Roman mythology that we all know. So glad these new authors are getting to write their stories. Love Percy Jackson, glad to see more mythology represented.

I know this was geared toward middle grade readers and it'll be perfect for them. Too many fart jokes for me though. However, I do always learning about other mythologies that I'm less familiar with.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

The fact that this book is amazing and it is part of the new "Rick Riordan Presents" line of fantasies/mythology/etc. will go so far with young readers! I love recommending this to those who have already read Percy and Harry. I am so glad this series is in the world!

5/5 stars

This is such a fun book, and I am sorry it took me so long to read it! Now I can't wait to move on with the next book!! :) I especially love the characters and the interesting twists and turns of the plot. I also just loved that the book was pretty funny! It definitely reminded me of reading Percy Jackson, but with Hindu gods instead of Greek ones. It was great!

I usually read YA rather than middle grade, but my daughters are middle grade reading age, so I wanted to check this one out in order to see if they would like it. And boy, was I surprised that I totally LOVED it! Roshani Chokshi is very talented and does a great job writing for this age group. I love that Aru Shah has such a relatable character flaw--lying, or more accurately, stretching the truth to suit her. This is something that I feel like kids can totally get and it is actually pretty charming, even though it totally gets her into trouble.

I really enjoyed Aru Shah, a great mythology adventure and story of two girls who come together on a big adventure. A great empowering story with lots of mythology entangled into the story.

I wasn't as familiar with Hindu gods and goddesses as I would've liked, and I'd never heard of the Pandava brothers prior to reading this, so it was truly a pleasure to read this book and be introduced to the whole pantheon of beings and creatures and places that it brought in. I can't help but compare this to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is clearly an overwhelmingly guiding influence. I liked this book for basically all the same reasons that I liked The Lightning Thief; the witty banter, the action, the humor, and the healthy diet of contemporary references mixed with magical fantasy realism. I'll gladly share this with my students for years to come. The whole thing really works.

I have read a LOT of the various "Rick Riordan presents" fantasy series, and while they all have something going for them to various degrees, I think Aru Shah is my favorite. It has a lot of what made Rick Riordan's own Percy Jackson books fun and compelling, with the added challenge of skillfully introducing an exhilarating number of characters and concepts to readers who may not have already read a thousand and one stories about them before. It's a great middle grade level book, with just the right amount of angst, danger, and personal and friendship growth to offset the starry-eyed, magical adventure.

Perfect for the reader who thrives on a fast paced event driven adventure with a heavy dose of Indian mythology.

Aru Shah and the End of Time is the first of a middle grade quartet by Roshani Chokshi. Aru Shah lives in an actual museum in Georgia with her mother, the curator who is always off looking for more artifacts. In an attempt to impress three kids from her school, she lights a lamp, setting into motion an adventure that Aru could never have imagined. This is a fabulous middle grade adventure, filled with Indian mythology and humor. This is the perfect series for anyone who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series!

Rick Riordan knows his audience. Whether he's writing them or choosing them to be published. Aru Shah and the End of Time is a fun read. There's action, adventure, mythological creatures, Indian culture and more. Another can't miss read.

Aru wants to prove to her classmates that she isn’t lying and shows them an ancient Indian lamp, but her touch starts a cascade of events that she must now journey to undo. Great reads for fans of Rick Riordan’s Mythology series, but now with a new author writing about her culture. Appropriate for upper elementary school students.
#AruShahAndTheEndOfTimeaPandavaNovelBook1 #NetGalley

Great middle grade, ownvoices title. I am so glad that Rick Riordan decided to sponsor these books. Aru Shah is full of adventure, comedy and even some feminism. Every teen that read it in my library enjoyed it immensely.

The action, the humor, the puns! It's all there and it's all perfect. The first in the new imprint from Rick Riordan reads so much like his well-loved books that it's an easy sell. Plus the story is great and shines a light on Indian mythology. High recommended.

This was such a fun middle grade read! I loved the characters and the plot dearly and cannot wait for the next installment to be published!

My son loved this book! He is a fan of mythology but didn't know a lot about Hindu mythology. He felt the female character was a strong lead and is excitedly anticipating the next book.

Super super cute. If <i>Aru Shah and the End of Time</i> weren't from Riordan's imprint, I don't think I would have been happy with it, because it's got a veeeeery strong Riordan vibe. However, it is from Riordan's imprint, so I think it's totally fine that the plot concept and basic structure is classic Riordan. That said, Chokshi does bring her own element to it for sure, starting with the fact that there's not a male lead to be seen, unless you count a male pigeon.

My favorite part of <i>Aru Shah and the End of Time</i> is that our two heroines, Aru and Mini, aren't remotely typical heroes, nor do they magically become them over the course of their journey. In fact, Aru's quite difficult to like at times. She lies constantly to get people to like her, and this, in fact, is what puts the world in danger. It's kind of fun that Aru's such a difficult character who needs so much to grow and who so much does not seem like a hero. Mini, her counter-point, is intelligent but neurotic and awkward. They're not a dream team but they make it work. I look forward to seeing them evolve as the series continues.

The biggest issue I had was the plot. Aru accidentally unleashed the Sleeper, who will end time if he can get hold of the keys to do some stuff. You know, the usual sort of prophecy plot Riordan shenanigans. Only thing is that he can't get there unless they find the things for him...so it very much seemed to me like if they did absolutely nothing, everything would have been fine? Maybe I missed something, but it all felt unnecessary to me. It's also one of those plots where the heroines just follow directions from one point to another, rather than making their own way.

The book continues on after the denouement in a way that's both strange but queues up excitement for book two. There's a potential love interest and/or enemy that I'm here for anyway. I'll definitely be back for book two, where I hope to see the plot and characterization just get better.

When I got this book, I was thrilled — “It’s Percy Jackson with Indian mythology!” And while I enjoyed reading it, I was less thrilled when I finished reading because it was almost exactly Percy Jackson with Indian mythology.

Prickly, unlikable hero(ine) who discovers she’s actually a descendant of a god? Check. Unleashed evil ready to take over the world? Check. Plucky sidekicks who assist hero(ine) and also illuminate the value of friendship? Check. Secret mythic world hidden in plain sight? Check? Hero(ine) the only one who can put things right? Check.

I mean, it’s a good story. And there’s a lot of Indian mythology here, which requires the author to both explain the basics and specifics of Indian myth (challenging since a lot of readers might not come to the story with a working knowledge of Indian mythology) and to do it well enough so that people will get all the jokes and real world connections. I think Chokshi does that really well, and I love that the book gives voice to a whole world of literature that kids might be inspired to go and explore. Some of the descriptions are lovely (“There was a Night Bazaar where you could purchase dreams on a string. If you had a good singing voice, you could use it to buy rice pudding dusted with moonlight.”), and the incarnated pigeon is often hilarious. There’s a lot to like — but it really ends up feeling like a badly dubbed movie version of the first Percy Jackson book sometimes. And I couldn’t shake a dislike of Aru’s character, which probably didn’t help.

I’ll definitely read the next book in the series — there’s a lot of set-up in this book for what comes next — but I’m hoping it finds more of its own voice and style. If it does, this could easily become a favorite.

My school has a lot of students of Indian descent and they have been so thrilled to see a book using their mythology. I enjoyed it also because I am a mythology fan. The intrigue and challenges Aru faced with the gods and goddesses made me want to read the actual Indian mythology to learn more.

The adventure itself was exciting. The characters were quirky and likable.

Chokski has crafted a hilarious, fun, action-packed tale that also easily makes Indian mythology accessible. Readers will delight in Aru, Mini, and Boo’s banter, and be heartbroken by the secretly tragic tale of the demonic Sleeper. Riordan’s first release from his new imprint(?) is a worthy successor to the Percy Jackson fame. Recommended for upper elementary and above.