Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

They travel through a portal to meet Aru’s “sibling,” another 12-year-old girl, Yamini “Mini' Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez, yet another Pandava reincarnation.

With her friends and mother now frozen in time, Aru is visited by a pigeon who calls himself Subalu, and Aru nicknames him “Boo.” Boo informs Aru that she is the reincarnation of one of the Pandavas, the five warrior brothers fathered by gods, from the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. On their urging, she lights the lamp, which releases the Sleeper, an ancient demon who freezes time wherever he goes and is destined to awaken Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction, who will end all time with his cosmic dance. A panicked Aru shows them the cursed lamp to save face and not lose popularity. One Monday afternoon during autumn break, Aru is visited at the museum by three students from her school who accuse her of lying and pretending that her life is more extravagant than it is. One of the museum’s artifacts is a cursed lamp. This guide is based on the 2018 Scholastic Kindle Edition.Īrundhati “Aru” Shah is a 12-year-old girl who lives in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, which is run by her mother, Krithika P. She was awarded the Southern Book Prize in 2020 for The Gilded Wolves (2019) and named Georgia Author of the Year in the Young Adult category in 2022 for The Bronzed Beasts (2021). The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death.Chokshi is an award-winning author of Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction in the fantasy genre, including the New York Times best-selling series, The Star-Touched Queen. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it’s up to Aru to save them. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again. They don’t believe her claim that the museum’s Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur? One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru’s doorstep to catch her in a lie. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, Aru will be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi