What about Aru Shah?

This is a question we often get at Redeemed Reader. In fact, there’s a whole comment thread asking if we’ve reviewed it.

Part of the Rick Riordan Presents Series, Aru Shah and the End of Time welcomes readers into the dazzling and rather baffling world of Hindu mythology and reincarnation. Roshani Chokshi is a gifted writer —a look at Kirkus shows a star-studded page of reviews, including stars for each of her Aru books. The world she creates is fascinating, especially since it’s a world and mythology not as well known to many readers.

A Quick Synopsis

Aru Shah is a spunky protagonist whose disobedience in the first book triggers a potentially catastrophic event and launches her on a quest to save the world from imminent destruction. Along the way, she makes new friends and discovers that some lies have consequences. (Yes, there are some common themes here.) Not so common are the strong East Asian female characters who happen to be reincarnations of the mythological Pandava brothers —hence the series being called the Pandava Quintet.

Considerations

Reading Aru Shah and the End of Time soon after it came out, I was enjoying it until I came to a not-obscure reference to a character keeping her brother’s homosexuality a secret. Yes, it was a quick reference and not dwelt upon, but it was vivid and dramatic enough to be noteworthy.

And then, dear readers, I didn’t write a review. I’m sorry it took this long to add Aru Shah to the list of books Redeemed Reader has written about. . . . Honestly, it’s a bit discouraging to read a book, start to get excited, and then realize we need to write another downer of a review.

If this one mention were the only reference, it might be worth a caution. But Chokshi uses her gifts to push a queer agenda in her more YA writings, too. My suspicion this wouldn’t be the first mention in the series was proved by a quick Google search. Multiple sites mention enthusiastically that a prominent character in the later books of the Aru Shah quintet is bi-sexual and lives with her gay uncles.

Given this normalizing, we have some other reading suggestions and resources:

What to read instead:

Amari and the Night Brothers: a strong, spunky main character has her life interrupted by a magical world

Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins —a window into real life in contemporary Asia, suitable for younger readers

Percy Jackson and the Olympians —Riordan’s first series and still a favorite to recommend for middle grade readers (see more on Riordan’s later books and efforts below)

A Resource: Rick Riordan Presents: A Pagan State of Mind

Another Resource: Should You Read Rick Riordan’s Latest: Magnus Chase?

A Reflection: What Makes a “Strong Girl Character”? Thoughts and a Podcast