Review: Aru Shah and the End of Time

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first official release of the new Rick Riordan Presents imprint gets this whole enterprise off to a speedy start. If you are a child, whether actually or at heart, pick up Aru Shah and the End of Time. If, like me, you weren't all that impressed with Roshani Chokshi's earlier YA fantasy titles (I couldn't even finish The Star-Touched Queen), pick this up anyway because it's the point where Chokshi gets to really cut loose with the fun and funny, #ownvoices fantasy style. And Riordan-style, of course - a lot of the storyline and humor are extremely Riordan-like, but that's not a bad thing, not for this fanboy who's never tired of that signature comic style, and especially not now that it's being tailored to include Hindu legends and culture in a highly modernized way. Seriously, the Night Market being a literal Costco on steroids? All the gods and demigods of the Hindu pantheon proving themselves just as bonkers as Riordan's versions of the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse ones? Aru and Mini's never-perfect but still-so-precious questing dynamic? The most unexpected twists re: the villainous Sleeper? And of course, Boo? What's not to love?

For sure I'm going to be recommending this book at lot at the bookstore, especially to potential #ownvoices Indian readers. And especially to a lot of the kids I tutor, many of whom are Indian themselves and will almost certainly see themselves in Aru like few other kidlit heroes.

Three more books in this series, not to mention several other series planned for Rick Riordan Presents?

Bring it on.

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