REVIEW; Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes / the City of Gold / the Nectar of Immortality

Title: Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes / Aru Shah and the City of Gold / Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality
Series: The Pandeva Quintet
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Middle Grade, fantasy, mythological reimaginings
Type: Paperback
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

War between the devas and the demons is imminent, and the Otherworld is on high alert. When intelligence from the human world reveals that the Sleeper is holding a powerful clairvoyant and her sister captive, 14-year-old Aru and her friends launch a search-and-rescue mission. The captives, a pair of twins, turn out to be the newest Pandava sisters, though, according to a prophecy, one sister is not true.

During the celebration of Holi, the heavenly attendants stage a massage PR rebranding campaign to convince everyone that the Pandavas are to be trusted. As much as Aru relishes the attention, she fears that she is destined to bring destruction to her sisters, as the Sleeper has predicted. Aru believes that the only way to prove her reputation is to find the Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree that came out of the Ocean of Milk when it was churned. If she can reach it before the Sleeper, perhaps she can turn everything around with one wish.

Careful what you wish for, Aru . . .

Aru Shah and her sisters–including one who also claims to be the Sleeper’s daughter–must find their mentors Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka, the city of gold, before war breaks out between the devas and asuras.

Aru has just made a wish on the tree of wishes, but she can’t remember what it was. She’s pretty sure she didn’t wish for a new sister, one who looks strangely familiar and claims to be the Sleeper’s daughter, like her.

Aru also isn’t sure she still wants to fight on behalf of the devas in the war against the Sleeper and his demon army. The gods have been too devious up to now. Case in point: Kubera, ruler of the city of gold, promises to give the Pandavas two powerful weapons, but only if they win his trials. If they lose, they won’t stand a chance against the Sleeper’s troops, which will soon march on Lanka to take over the Otherworld.

Aru’s biggest question, though, is why every adult she has loved and trusted so far has failed her. Will she come to peace with what they’ve done before she has to wage the battle of her life?

The Pandavas only have until the next full moon to stop the Sleeper from gaining access to the nectar of immortality, which will grant him infinite power. But how can Aru, Mini, and Brynne hope to defeat him without their celestial weapons? The Sleeper and his army are already plundering the labyrinth, and the sisters can’t even enter. Their quest to get in will have them calling on old friends, meeting new allies, and facing fearsome trials, like…performing in a rock concert? When the moment of confrontation finally arrives, it’s up to Aru to decide who deserves immortality, the devas or the asuras. The most unexpected answer will come from a most unexpected place. More surprises and delights, gods and demons, and laughs and tears await in this immensely satisfying conclusion to the wild ride that began with the lighting of a lamp.

HELLO AGAIN SERIES I ADORE AND HAVE GOTTEN MY KID INTO. As I (finally) sit down to write this, she is also done with the whole series and between the two of us, we’ve gotten more family interested in it. No regrets whatsoever, this is the representation I know all of us in my generation would have eaten up as kids, and now the next generation of siblings, siblings and kids get that chance.

It took me a while, but I am so glad I finally managed to get my hands on all the books in this series. Finally got to finish it, absolutely no attention paid to my kids (a lie but you get the feeling). I’d read most of book 3 as an ARC, but for some reason the last couple of chapters were cut off so I did a little re-read and finished it up. No thoughts, only enjoyment as the plot kept ramping up. It was such a way to end the book and I immediately picked up book 4. (My daughter has inherited this need to immediately continue a series when we’re enjoying it this much, and I am equal parts amused and exasperated. If this was how my mother felt when I was growing up, I have so much more sympathy for her.)

As for book 4 – I flew through this book! You can see how the kids have grown – both as individuals and as a group – but also how their insecurities and fears restrict them. It’s so realistic, so wonderfully done.

As always love the familiarity of the mythology in this series. (When I wrote the first draft of this review, my then 7yo was on book one and constantly came up to me going: “this is the character from this myth you’ve told me!” or “this word means this!” and it really goes to show how representation matters in all ages. Even now it gives me chills when I get to say, hey theres a series based on Hindu mythology where the main character is a reincarnation of Arjun of the Pandevas and one of the mentors these kids have is Hanuman. Yes, that Hanuman. It’s unreal, but that’s what these kids get to grow up with!

Even being familiar myths and characters from lessons and cultural absorption, there is still so much of this world that is new and exciting. At one time familiar and unfamiliar, a richness that grows with each subsequent book with the characters as they learn more about who they are on a magical level and on a personal level. The stakes keep growing – the end of this one! – and it’s just so good.

And look, I’m going directly into the final review because I finished the series last year but kept having other things to post and now that I’ve changed up my reviewing criteria for the blog, it was time. As I said, since I’ve finished this series, I’ve recommended it to cousins for their kids, to cousins for themselves. It’s just – just, getting to see myths we grew up with, traditions and bits of culture reflective of me and mine is something so important to me and I want to spread that recognition and representation.

This conclusion was woven so well – some surprises, a lot of action, and growth that felt so true to the characters in book one. I have zero complaints, honestly. The series may not be perfect, but it was wrapped up well, it was emotional, it felt earned and wonderful.

At the end of the day, this was such a well crafted story, a conclusion with emotional beats and hurts that hit you. Almost all the threads wrapped up in ways that make sense but still take you by surprise. It was just so good and so worth it.

(According to the short reviews I got my kid to write, she felt the same.)

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