Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1) by Roshani Chokshi

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

My Rating: ★★★★★

Aru Shah has never fit in with her classmates. She makes up elaborate stories about her family and their extravagant trips in an attempt to fit in with all the rich kids at her school. One day, those stories finally catch up with Aru when three classmates corner her at home, which just happens to be the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. Dared to prove that her stories are real, she gets pushed into lighting the cursed Lamp of Bharata unless she wants her lies to be exposed for all to see. To everyone’s surprise, the lamp really is cursed, and Aru has to race to save everyone from the evil man, the Sleeper, that she just released into the world.

I absolutely love this book. It’s a hilarious and heartwarming story that had me glued from start to finish. The book ties Hindu mythology into the plot, which is wonderful. I knew a little bit about Hindu mythology before I started the book, but I learned a lot more as the story continued and I googled anything I didn’t know beforehand. There’s also a glossary at the end for anyone who needs it as they read.

The story follows two 12-year-old girls, Aru and Mini. Aru is a self-conscious kid who wants to fit in but has always found herself on the outside. Even at home, her mom seems to always have her mind on something else. In fact, her mom never even told her about her destiny. When Aru accidentally releases the Sleeper, she discovers that she’s one of the legendary Pandava brothers who have been reincarnated to save the world from the Sleeper in this lifetime. While she’s self-conscious, she has a heart of gold and she’s got a sense of humor that can make anyone laugh until they cry. Aru is friendly, witty, and strong, but she doesn’t realize it yet because she’s a pre-teen on the cusp of figuring out who she is.

On the flip side, we have Mini, who is Aru’s soul sister and also one of the Pandava brothers reincarnated. Mini is self-conscious, but she’s smart, kind, and worries a lot. She grew up believing that she’d never be a heroine while aware of the secret world that most people have no idea really exists. Mini is ready to embrace her destiny as soon as she becomes aware of who she is and what she’s meant to do, but she’s also hilarious and worried about all the mundane things that might kill her. One of my favorite lines is from Mini shortly after she meets Aru:

“I hope you don’t have a bee allergy. I only have one EpiPen. But I guess we could share? I’ll stab you, you stab me?”

Mini means well, but she might spook you with the different ailments that one can contract. I love how much she and Aru grow to support each other in the short amount of time they are together on their first big adventure. They quickly embrace each other and become fast friends in addition to soul family.

I also loved the pacing of the story. I felt like I was in the story with the characters and was just as surprised when a day or two passed without Aru and Mini realizing it. My only complaint is that there are moments where Aru and Mini seem like they’re at least 16-years-old rather than two 12-year-olds, but I’ll live. I’ll chalk that up to them being a little ahead of their time at various moments thanks to their first great adventure. I will definitely be back for the second book!

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

My Rating: ★★★★

Evie’s parents are strict Catholics and they find it highly embarrassing that their oldest daughter, Cilla, is pregnant out of wedlock. After several fights, Cilla finally agrees to move out, put the baby up for adoption once they’re born, and enter an all girls Catholic private school. Upset that she didn’t even get to say goodbye, Evie starts writing her big sister letters every day and doesn’t get a single letter in return. As the new school year starts, Evie begins to wish that Cilla was around more than ever as she tries to figure out her sexuality and what it means for her family. If her parents rejected Cilla as a sinner for getting pregnant, she can only imagine how her parents will react when they find out that she’s a lesbian.

This is an absolutely wonderful story that’s told through a series of letters that Evie writes to her older sister. We watch Evie struggle with loneliness after her biggest confidant and sister is sent away. Evie has friends, but there’s a hole in her life now that her sister is gone. She can’t visit or talk to her on the phone, but she can write letters, so that’s what she does. Petro-Roy truly captures how close siblings can be, and how it feels when they’re suddenly apart. Even when Evie was mad at Cilla, I could tell that she loved her far more than she was angry with her. I love that Evie also saw her sister as this cool person who is a bit of a role model because it’s so common for one to view an older sibling as really smart and cool.

As the book continues, Evie begins to realize that she’s never had a crush on a boy and that she feels something more than a friendship toward her new friend, June. I’m glad that this book exists because I think it’ll help kids realizing that they’re not straight become aware that there are others going through the same things that they are. As readers, we like to see bits of ourselves appear in what we read because it’s relatable, so it’s important that LGBT characters are brought to life in books geared toward middle schoolers and young adults. It’s wonderful to see Evie go from concerned that there’s something wrong with her to realizing that there’s nothing wrong with her and that being a lesbian is normal. We also see her become afraid of what her parents might say or do if they knew based on how they reacted to Cilla’s pregnancy and how they respond to seeing gay couples. Whether or not they will accept her or send her away weighs on her mind, and she hopes to get advice from Cilla about what to do.

There are so many important themes and topics covered in a realistic way that I cannot praise it enough. Guilt and grief is present throughout the book. We see how several of the characters deal with guilt and grief in different ways as well as how their reactions affect one another. Secrets are a huge theme that becomes more apparent as the story continues. It’s really interesting to see why each character chose to keep their secrets. In Evie’s case, she’s afraid of how people will react when she tells them that she’s a lesbian, so it’s understandable as well as important that she share this part of herself on her own terms. Her parents keep secrets in an attempt to protect her, which appears to be a choice made out of grief and denial. Cilla kept secrets because she knew her parents would react badly about her pregnancy let alone her decision to have premarital sex.

This is such a wonderful book. I highly recommend it and I will definitely keep an eye out for future books by this author.

Catch Me if Yukon (Passport to Peril #12) by Maddy Hunter

Catch Me if Yukon by Maddy Hunter
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Midnight Ink through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emily and her husband have taken their group of world traveling seniors and a small book club to Alaska where they’re sure everyone will survive the trip. After whale watching goes well, the trip quickly takes a turn when a tour member is murdered on a hiking trail. Once it appears that Emily’s father caught the legendary Big Foot on film, everyone questions whether or not it was Big Foot or a member of the tour that murdered their fellow traveler. Emily believes that Big Foot is just a legend, but is it possible that he really exists and attacked a poor unsuspecting hiker? Watch Emily slowly unravel the mystery in the latest installment of this hilarious series!

I am so excited about this installment. Big Foot? Sign me up! Being introduced to this series is probably one of the best things that’s happened because it’s such a fun and heartfelt series that’s also unbelievably hilarious. Just when you think Maddy Hunter has done it all, she brings us another entertaining installment that will leave you in stitches.

This time around, Emily’s parents are traveling with her and her group of regulars as well as the new characters that are a part of a book club. Emily’s mom, Margaret, is usually a bit irritating but she wasn’t so bad this time around. She also has one of the best lines in the novel:

“It’s Bob’s creature. It’s gone on a killing spree!” – Chapter 8

I always love Emily’s father, Bob, and that didn’t change this time around. In fact, he’s a man of little words, but this is probably the most he’s spoken during the series. The regulars are back and continuing their shenanigans with taking pictures and trying to get the most social media hits. I love that something always happens to Bernice. This time around, she gets ignored and has one of her social media posts mistaken as something that Bob posted.

I also love that Big Foot is a mysterious addition to the book. Bob accidentally caught what appears to be Big Foot, or a funny looking tree, in one of his photos, which causes a media frenzy. No one knows if Big Foot is really in the photo, especially because Big Foot has never been confirmed to exist. So many people are questioning their existence, if they killed a member of their tour, and if it was really just a funny looking tree or a wild animal caught in the photo. Funnily enough, who or what Bob caught on camera is confirmed at some point during the book and I love it.

While many of the books in the series can be read in any order, I think this one might be a little harder for people new to the series to follow because of the amount of characters. There are the regulars that are in each book, Emily’s parents, the book club, a tour guide, a bus driver, two detectives, and the unseen spouses of two members of the book club. Plus, there’s Jackie via phone and the members of her tour. I think that it’s easier for fans of the series to follow because we already know the characters that have appeared in past installments, so the new characters are easier to recognize and put a name to. If this was the first book that I ever read from the series, I would’ve had a hard time following along because of the amount of characters. As someone who occasionally starts a series by picking up a random installment, I think that anyone who chooses to start with this book will have a hard time following along.

That said, I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s fun, heartwarming, and bound to make you laugh several times. Emily didn’t do as much investigating as she usually does, but it was still fun to see her come to her own conclusions, which are always wrong. I didn’t figure out who the killer was until it was right in my face, just like Emily. The signs were there but I didn’t put two and two together! Instead, I developed a crack theory of sorts toward the end that was totally wrong. Emily and I were in the same boat on that front! As always, I can’t wait until the next installment.