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

Saving the world and fighting a demon sounds easier than dealing with school and friends for Aru Shah. Her constant push to try and fit in has meant exaggerations and lies to classmates. When a trio of 7th graders show up at the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture where she lives with her mother to see if she is in Paris for the holidays, she has to do some quick lying again; however, her classmates ain't buying it. The bullies are convinced that Aru doesn't belong at their elite prep school where fancy cars and exotic trips are the norm. Her world involves taking care of herself while mom is off on trips and giving museum tours for fun.

When the classmates dare Aru to light a cursed antiquity lamp she ends up awakening the Sleeper... oops. She thinks of her mom's warning to not light the lamp, like those “generic warnings parents gave to kids, like 'Don’t go outside without sunscreen or you’ll burn!' Or, as the woman who ran the local Hindu temple’s summer day camp liked to remind Aru: 'Don’t go outside without sunscreen or you’ll get darker and won’t find a husband!' Until it happened, who cared? Aru had never gotten sunburned, and she really didn’t need to find a husband at age twelve." She didn't really believe her mom and had no clue she'd have to battle a demon. Great dialogue, fast pacing, funny gods and hysterical characters make this a winner for fans of Rick Riordan's books. Roshani Chokshi's uses familiar fantasy tropes and much of the humor is a parody of hero narratives while following the monomyth. A laugh-aloud middle-grade adventure using Indian mythology.

After lighting the lamp everyone freezes and a guardian who helps Aru on her quest comes in the form of a snarky pigeon. The author is poking fun at several fantasy tropes. Here the guardian is in a frail body and frustrated that he has to mentor a young girl. Aru is the reincarnated soul of one of the Pandava brothers from the Indian epic poem, Mahabharata; however, she lacks the wisdom and athleticism found in the poem's male heroes. Aru thinks of the pigeon as a “rat with wings” and is not impressed by him either. Meanwhile, the pigeon knocks her for being a kid hero and sees the world ending versus her saving it. When she looks at her frozen mom and classmates asking if they would be stuck that way, the pigeon answers: “It’s temporary,” said the bird. “Provided you aren’t riddled with ineptitude.” “In-ep-tee-tood? Is that French?” The bird knocked its head against the wooden banister. “The universe has a cruel sense of humor,” it moaned. Aru may be green when it comes to quests but she proves her bravery as the plot moves forward.

When Aru links up with another reincarnated soul it comes in the form of Mini, a slightly neurotic girl obsessed with germs, Oreo cookies, and death. When Mini shoves an Oreo cookie into Boo's mouth he says, “What ambrosia is this?” He smacked his beak. “Gimme more.”Mini quotes dictionaries and medical books and can't believe she was chosen for the quest instead of her brother. She diagnoses Aru when she talks back to Time explaining that Aru has “Type One Insufferable-ness.” Her character arc progresses from a kid who shrinks at danger to one accepting the inevitable task of saving the world. When Mini first meets Aru, she asks, “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?” The pigeon getting a double-dose of inept heroines does a face-plant asking "whyGodwhyme." The heroes embrace the poster-boy or girl image of a superhero from Aru yelling Batman sayings, wearingSpider-man pajamas, asking Boo for capes, to elbow-bumping instead of fist-bumping with Mini. Germs on the fist, Mini points out, and Aru thinks capes are like blankies that bring comfort to superheroes.

Spoiler alert - okay... I might be telling too much of the story at this point. You could maybe read the next paragraph.

On their quest, they search for "celestial" weapons to help them save the world. They dream of magnificent, heroic swords to wield and instead get a bouncy ball and compact. Mini bangs her compact on the ground hoping it will start working during one scene where they are facing the enemy. When the weapons do activate the heroines have no control over them. They also remind characters throughout that they are heroines, not heroes. They are told that heroines are demanding and brave while the heroes let their magical sidekicks do all the work. Part of Aru's character arc is realizing that being overlooked and not considered worthy opponents could be used to her advantage. Their physical weaknesses are a strength. Plus, she's funny as she thinks stuff such as “And it stood to reason that if you were even a little bit divine, you should not have a unibrow.” She also learns that heroes doubt themselves. At the climax, she discovers that the definition of heroism was fighting for the people she cared about in the world.

Spoiler... I think. The next paragraph might be okay too.  Can you tell I don't quite recognize if I'm spoiling it for the reader?

While the author uses Indian culture and mythology, I kept thinking of Western folktales as well. There was an east-west blend for me. Parts reminded me of the Phantom Tollbooth ...perhaps because they end up in a tollbooth. Actually, the puns, word plays, and wit are what reminded me of it. From Polly Esther to the "-allys" it is pretty funny. Or the scene where the dead speak sentences backward because they can no longer go forward. Their third test is to get the celestial keys and one of the trials is to take a bite out of adulthood which Aru does literally when she finds a book titled, “Adulthood”. I like the imagery of a young protagonist that is coming-of-age taking a bite out of adulthood literally and figuratively. Great chapter headings such as “#1 on Mini’s Top Ten Ways I Don't Want to Die List: Death by Halitosis" add to the humor along with pop culture references such as Johnny Cash. Aru wants to nickname the bird "Sue", short for Sabula, but he says he is male. She asks if he's heard Johnny Cash's song, "A Boy Named Sue" which is about a boy named, Sue, who goes to kill his dad for naming him a girl's name only to find out that the dad said he named him that to make him tough. She settles on "Boo" for a nickname.

Okay, stop! Now I am definitely spoiling the story. If you have a great memory you might not want to read on.

The legend of Shukra is the author using her own creative powers that mixes folktales. Aru and Mini must cross the Bridge of Forgetting that is guarded by Shukra, a man cursed for killing his wife out of vanity. He is surrounded by mirrors as protection against memory-stealing snowflakes and anyone that wants to cross must give him all their memories or fall into the "fires of hell and be forced into the next life". He is a metaphor for the choices people make in life. He does not want to break the mirrors because bad karma will follow him into the next life. As he begins to steal Mini and Aru's memories, Aru goes after him but is cursed in the process. He reminded me of Marley in "A Christmas Carol" who forged long chains through greed. Shakru's "chains" are his mirrors and vanity led to him murdering his wife. He discusses being robbed of the past, present, and future. He's talking about karma but I kept thinking of the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. It's the same idea. The mirrors also reminded me of the Snow Queen and shards of glass that cursed the children in the story. Here, Shakru curses Aru as he moves on to reincarnation.

Aru's character arc involves coming to terms with her lies that are good and bad. She tells Mini the truth for the first time when she is exposed for not telling Mini she lit the lamp in the first place. Aru realizes that she lies to imagine “the world as it could be and not as it was.” She pulls out Adulthood coin upon this realization showing her growing up and coming-of-age. When Mini rejects her in anger at lighting the lamp, Aru reacts with courage and anger. She doesn’t roll over. She thinks about stories and how they are told: "The truth of  a story depends on who is telling it." She can write her own narrative. 

In another trial at the Palace of Illusions, Aru must escape her fears of being abandoned by her mother and being alone. She thinks, “People are a lot like magical pockets. They’re far bigger on the inside than they appear to be on the outside.” The Palace is alive and creates an illusion where Aru thinks she will die. She has to look at herself to escape the illusion, a metaphor for having to realize that her illusions and lies stem from fears. I think. The idea isn't really hashed out enough. I do find the Palace represents childhood and what is left behind when becoming an adult. It cries and tries to keep Mini and Aru kids by giving them everything they wish for and playing with them such as riding bikes and eating ice cream. A child's imagination dims over time and that is worth crying over. The Palace gives the two girls a tile to remind them of it and "home". The tile can be a metaphor for adults who hold on to their imaginations and memories of childhood can be storytellers in society. The Palace says “It is better, perhaps, to be thought of as a fiction than to be discarded from memory completely.” Again, the ideas are not completely fleshed out and it is up the reader to put their own interpretation on the plot. I felt teased by many of the metaphors but thought some of the thoughts came up short. A fun and funny book.

4 Smileys

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

A male high school student asked me to buy several romance ebooks for the Kindle. He didn't want to be "seen" carrying print copies just like the character, Brandon Jones, who likes to read "girl" stories. This is just one of many different social issues addressed in this novel giving it depth. Topics cover racism, marginalization, choices, LGBTQ, divorce, bullying and more; however, is written for readers ages 8-12. At the heart of the story is a puzzle being solved by the protagonist, Candice Miller, and her new friend, Brandon. When 12-year-old Candice moves to Lambert, S.C., for the summer after her parent's divorce, she finds a letter that promises millions of dollars to the city if it can be solved. Candice's grandmother tried to solve it ten years earlier and it cost her job and reputation as the first African-American manager of the city.

The author does a terrific job shifting between complex themes bringing it together in a satisfying ending. The character arcs are distinct and the flashbacks reveal Lambert's history of injustice that are good for discussion. The puzzle is tied in with the book, The Westing Game, that the two characters love to read. As they problem solve they make connections with how the mystery was solved in that novel to solve their dilemma. It that made me want to go back and reread the book. The treasure hunt is fun and I particularly like how the author addresses the freedom people choose to live their lives and the consequences of those choices such as the grandmother and Candice's dad. A well-written book that can be as complex as the reader wants to make it.

The Queen of Blood (The Queens of Renthia #1) by Sarah Beth Durst

The Queen of Aratay controls spirits that want to kill humans who invade their forests, air, land, and water. When Daleina's village is destroyed by wild spirits as a child she discovers she has the ability to control them. As the only survivor, along with her sister and parents, she goes to an academy to get trained in her new powers. The academy trains girls to protect the citizens in different military capacities; however, only one girl will replace the Queen when her powers wane. Daleina makes good friends with her classmates and learns her powers are meagre at best. Her determination, hard work, empathy, and perfectionism are what allow her to pass but she has quite the inferiority complex as she is unable to work the more powerful spirits.

The point of view switches from Daleina to a warrior who serves the Queen keeping rogue spirits in check. When he notices a pattern of villages being attacked by spirits, he questions if the Queen is losing her powers. Usually this is a sign and the Queen dies. The Queen denies her loss of power and banishes him for suggesting it. When the warrior's heir that he trained is murdered he decides to go to the academy and choose a girl to mentor. Daleina stands out not because of her skill, but for her mindset. She knows that the goal should be to protect the people and put them above herself, not to rise to a throne for the power only.

The strength of this novel is the main character's development. The plot can be shaky at times and predictable. Daleina is plagued by doubts and confidence. She is not as skilled as the other students vying to be heir to the throne. Her strength lies in her compassion and cooperating with spirits rather than controlling them. She's flawed and more interesting than your usual archetype heroine who excels at everything. She understands what it means to be a team player and uses that strength. She's a reluctant hero and layered in complexities.

The fantasy setting is well-done and the world is easy to visualize using elemental spirits that act like Norwegian beserkers when not controlled by humans. The plot reminded me of Harry Potter, the Ranger's Apprentice, and Norse myths. The academy part is not overly long but shows her creating friendships and adds a humorous break in the dark plot line. The mentor part shows an adult pushing her to reach her potential and showing her how to use what she sees as failings, as strengths. She can sense and redirect spirits with more power than the other students. He helps her not focus on her weakness. People live in the trees and while there is no one great tree like Yggdrasil, there is a tree kraken that is more like the destructive serpent in Norse myths. The name, Midforest, in Aratay is similar to the Norse Midgard, the name for Earth. The spirits fight like the Viking beserkers.

When the warrior refuses to see what's happening with the Queen, it gets dragged out too long. The author tries to show him blinded by love, but it's a weak plot device for moving the story forward. The romantic parts are abrupt and felt tacked on rather than worked into the plot seamlessly, especially Andare. Some of the plot twists were interesting and the blind incident worked well into the theme of power and its effects on people.

The sinister owl spirit does not represent today's wise owl, but is more the shady Middle Ages owl associated with witches. The owl that was active at night but blind during the day. This owl is blinded by hate and wants genocide. While the Queen is shown in her complexity, the owl spirit is a one dimensional villain that cannot be reasoned with even though Daleina tries on several occasions.

This book is violent with more deaths than usual. The minor characters are not developed enough for me for their deaths to have much impact. I never get to know most of them in depth; therefore, the deaths stand out as a plot technique to try and draw emotion from the reader and doesn't work. The author does go into depth with the protagonish and shows how the deaths affect her and her relationships with others. This is well-done. She suffers and feels responsible at the end emphasizing that she has the potential to be a compassionate and wise leader. I'm not sure I'll remember this book. I think the character will stick with me because she is not your usual invincible superhero, but the plot could have been better.

3 Smileys

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

A dense, award-winning book that relentlessly satires cultural identity, politics, philosophy, pop culture, etc. Paul Beatty goes all-out in a rapid-fire funny and tragic riff; an improvised verbal flood of words on race - at times incomprehensible to this white reader, and other times fascinating. I say, white reader, because much of the slang and cultural references went "Whoosh," over my head. Not that this matters. There is plenty for everyone to eat. Can't say I loved it or hated it. I did admire it. It is a weird mix of comedy, tragedy, and existential absurdity that reflects the current breakdown of gender and racial roles in society and the waffling identity of people trying to figure out their meaning in the world whether black, Muslim, female, transgender, etc.  Behind the laughter is a slashing anger that addresses loss, failure, and flawed institutions on all levels. The serious side is masked by riffs and an absurd, subjective plot. This novel doesn't use familiar literary structures or conventions so if you looking for an alternative read, I recommend it.

The story begins with an African-American nicknamed, Bonbon, being charged by the U.S. Supreme Court for owning a slave and implementing segregation in the community. Bonbon's father was shot by the Los Angeles police and Bonbon received a settlement of two million dollars. He used the money to start a farm mainly growing watermelons and weed. Hominy, a depressed and retired actor who worked on films portrayed in racist scenes on the defunct TV series, The Little Rascals,  has lost his cultural identity and attempts suicide. Bonbon takes him on as his slave and Hominy no longer has an identity crisis. He knows his place in the world once again. 

Meanwhile, Bonbon's town of Dickens has disappeared; eaten whole by the LA suburbs and erased from the maps. Bonbon resurrects the town by instituting segregation. It reminds people of the past and how far (or not) they have come in the world from slavery. Bonbon asks repeatedly, "Who am I? And how can I be that person?" and "Who am I? And how can I become myself?" Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and sociologists  have been asking this question for a long time as it establishes a sense of identity. Karen Coates, in "Keywords for Children's Literature," explains how a modernist culture sees identification as a composite whole versus a postmodern culture that emphasizes not a continuous identity but one that continually changes. The characters represent this notion of identity in a vague and multilayered way with no direct answers. 

Beatty masks what side of the argument he stands for with humor. I found it difficult figuring out what his point was at times or if his point was to not have a point. In the last chapter, Bonbon is at a club listening to a black comedian who rips into a white couple sitting in the first row. Bonbon describes the white people as trying to understand the black comedy but obviously not getting it. When the comedian says, "'This shit ain't for you. Understand? Now get the fuck out! This is our thing!'" Bonbon responds by wishing he'd stood up to the man and asking, "'So what exactly is our thing?" At first, I thought maybe the author was making a point that he doesn't want assimilation between races, but this didn't follow the themes Beatty points to throughout the story. Instead, I think it ties in with the theme of identity and Bonbons constant "Who am I?" question. The scene shows how the white couple is not aware of their actions nor are they sensitive to the culture they've stepped into in the club. They choose the center row where they are most visible and they laugh at all the wrong jokes at the wrong times. Beatty cynically seems to be implying that things really don't change, a recurring theme that has a steady beat from beginning to end.

The slim plot piles ridiculous situations upon even more ridiculous situations reminding me of my University of Minnesota class on the Theater of the Absurd. Bonbon's existential look at an individual's place and meaning in the world are humorously approached in absurd scenes that make the reader laugh but belie the tragic seriousness of many explosive issues. I'm not sure if Beatty means to shock the audience into action or just become more self-aware of their identity regardless of race and color, but either way that is the effect it had on me. 

The characters are often dealing with losses and failures in life where they seem to have a moment of clarity only for it to disappear in a poof of inaction or incapability to articulate the battle. Bonbon takes offense at guest-speaker, Jon McJone's, nonsense about an African child in slavery being better off having two parents as opposed to today's one parent home. Bonbon thinks to himself that McJones doesn't talk about how people were forced to marry each other during slavery times, how divorce wasn't an option, and how kids were sold off at the whim of the masters. When he tells McJones he's full of crap, Colin Powell says "Like you wouldn't rather be born here than in Africa." Bonbon takes offense at this nativist view that unfairly makes light of the suffering the original slaves went through; however, King Cuz stands up and does the fighting for him. Bonbon, nicknamed "The Sellout", just walks away in the middle of the argument. Oftentimes when Bonbon speaks up it falls on deaf ears. He appears to fail and takes drastic measures to make a point. 

While Bonbon is compared to a cupcake, he is not soft and his actions usually go in the opposite direction of how another would approach these issues. He is questioning the identity of black people by reinstating the past. When Hominy asks to be his slave, Bonbon recognizes that Hominy needs his past identity to find stability in himself. It also reminds people of the need for freedom of choice. Bonbon raises segregation on a bus which reminds people of all they fought for in the Civil Rights Movement to get to the present. When he segregates education it is the white people that want to get into the black school, not the other way around. Loss of freedoms. Loss of identity. Loss of respect for each other. Ultimately Bonbon's losses and failure climax at the Supreme Court where he is charged with violated the 13th and 14th Amendments. He does act in the end and he does make a point and finding himself and meaning in the world. 

Having read "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates and "The Sellout", I find that they both have this underlying anger toward institutionalized racism, except Beatty's book moves beyond the black issue and picks up what it means to be human. The question regarding the meaning of life gives the theme of identity a universalness that applies to more than just the black race; plus, Beatty's emphasis on self-awareness is one that suggests people can move forward. Coates does not offer any hope in his book. At least I felt more like an outsider looking at the back experience versus Beatty's look at racism in general. If you don't give a dickens to whether or not the characters are underdeveloped and the plot is ghostly, but want political incorrectness, laughter, and a mix of intellectual and vulgar street talk then give this a go. It is definitely an original.

5 Smileys