Aru Shah and the End of Time Book Review

Number of pages: 355

Number of times read (including the time before this review): 1

Rating (out of five stars): 5

I wasn’t originally going to review this book. I figured I would read it, hopefully love it, and move on. I haven’t read a middle grade book since the fifth or sixth grade, and I’m about to be in my second year of university. I have no standard to base a review of a middle grade book off of anymore. But while I was reading this all I could think about was how much 11 year old me (who was just starting to fall in love with mythology at the time) would have absolutely loved this book, and that’s the angle I’m going to review this from.

That isn’t to say that current me didn’t love Aru Shah and the End of Time, because I absolutely adored it, but I can picture that 11 year old girl staying up past midnight to read this like she read Allie Finkle books (does anyone remember those?). I can picture that same girl so engrossed in it at lunch that the anxiety she feels about being in the same room as her cruel classmates fades away. This book would have given that girl hope she desperately needed, and she would have known she’s not the only one struggling to fit in. (As a quick aside, I am in fact in tears writing this review). And now I’m so glad this book exists for kids like me.

Aru Shah and the End of Time features Roshani Chokshi’s signature rich and beautiful writing style, though I felt like it was slightly more watered-down here than it is in her YA books. This isn’t a criticism; this book is aimed at a younger audience. Still, this book never treats its audience as though it won’t be able to comprehend some more complex language. Nothing is “dumbed-down”.

I loved all of the characters. They’re so complex and well done. Younger me would have would have wanted to be best friends with Aru and Mini (and let’s be real, I would have probably tried to talk to all of the birds I could find, hoping one of them would be my own disgraced guardian). Current me just wants to give them all a hug and protect them at all costs, especially the palace.

This book had me laughing almost every chapter, so I know younger me would have found it just as amusing (though she would have had to hide it better as to not alert her parents to the fact that she was still reading way past her bedtime).

I read the Percy Jackson books a very long time ago, so take this next paragraph with a grain of salt, but I really do think that if you enjoyed the Percy Jackson books that you will enjoy Aru Shah and the End of Time. From what I remember of the Percy Jackson books, you can definitely draw some parallels between this book and The Lightning Thief.

This shouldn’t affect your decision to read this book, but I had to mention it here because I am a huge nerd. There is a joke in this book about matrices (plural of matrix, the thing in linear algebra that helps you deal with vectors (I’m trying to keep the explanation simple)), and it made me so happy I had to mention it. Actually, this showcases that there is something in Aru Shah for people of all ages.

Overall, I loved Aru Shah and the End of Time, and I can’t wait to continue with the rest of the series as it comes out. It has therefore earned 5 out of 5 stars.