Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

The basics

Title: Aru Shah and the End of Time

Author:

Series: Pandava #1

- Aru Shah and the End of Time (2018)
- Aru Shah and the Song of Death (2019)
- Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (2020)
- Aru Shah and the City of Gold (2021)
- Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality (2022)

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Goodreads Summary:

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll 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. 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. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.

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. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?

Read a full summary of Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi below. If you can’t remember what happened in Aru Shah and the End of Time and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.

What happened in Aru Shah and the End of Time?

  • Aru Shah’s mother runs the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. Aru’s classmates pick on her a lot, and to try to impress them Aru has a tendancy to tell white lies.
  • Some of her classmates visit the Museum one day over school break. They’re surprised to see Aru, because she told them she’d be in France with her mum.
  • Aru shows her classmates a cursed lamp, which is supposed to awaken the Sleeper demon that will summon Shiva and end the world.
  • One of the classmates, Arielle, dares Aru to light the lamp. This is a baaaad idea because the lamp then explodes and knocks Aru out.
  • Aru awakens and finds that time has frozen. Her mum and her classmates are frozen in place.
  • A talking pigeon introduces itself (quite rudely) to Aru and demans to know how she lit the lamp. The pigeon called Subula tells Aru a little about reincarnations and how she must be one of the reincarnations of the Pandavas – the brothers who fought their cousins and won.
  • There hasn’t been a female reincarnation of the Pandavas before so Aru seems to be quite special. Subula tells Aru that the other reincarnations are likely to awaken too.
  • Subula (Boo) leads Aru into a passageway to the Door of Many. They’re trying to find the other reincarnations. The Door takes Boo and Aru to Georgia, where they meet another reincarnation called Mini. She’s a germaphobe.
  • Boo tells the girls they must travel to the Court of the Sky in order to meet the Council of Guardians.
  • The group enters the Otherworld through a portal entrance that’s guarded by Makara.
  • The girls reach the Council’s courtroom. They meet council members Urvashi and Hanuman. Boo and Urvashi argue and Aru realises that Boo is a Guardian.
  • Aru tells the council about the Sleeper situation. Hanuman reveals that the mounts of the gods are missing, meaning that the Sleeper is cutting the gods off from travelling.
  • Urvashi makes Aru and Mini do a claiming ceremony to prove they’re Pandavas.
  • The Council disappears and the group are attacked by giant statues throwing arrows. Indra protects Aru and Dharma Raja protects Mini, meaning the girls are the daughters of each.
  • Urvashi is finally convinced that the girls are Pandavas. He tells them they need to head to the Kingdom of Death to get celestial weapons.
  • Urvashi gives the girls a magical map that’ll guide them towards three keys. Mini and Aru have eight days to find them.
  • They find the first key in a beauty salon. The head stylist, Madame Bee, is actually an Asura who can turn things to ash, and she has been trapping women. Aru and Mini run.
  • The area where Aru and Mini are is frozen in time, meaning the Sleeper is near.
  • Aru and Mini head to the Night Bazaar to find the second key. The Sleeper catches Aru, but is distracted by the ball and so Aru is able to escape through a portal.
  • The group speak to Valmiki and get his help.
  • The group heads to Costco, where the Night Bazaar is happening. They bump into Winter and Summer, and Monsoon and Spring. they each give the girls gifts.
  • They head down a tunnel to a library. The Sleeper appears. Mini freezes it while Aru finds the second key.
  • Mini realises that Aru lit the lamp in the first place and Mini gets mad and goes to help her family.
  • Aru heads into a cave and finds Mini there. The girls make up. There’s a cauldron that seems to be smoking. They get the third key out of it and create a door.
  • With only two days left, Mini becomes a bit desperate and eats a wisdom cookie. This helps her solve a riddle. Mini jumps into the water, which is actually quicksand, and Aru has to save her.
  • It’s revealed that the girls are now in the Palace of Illusions – a place created by Mayasura.
  • Aru and Mini try to escape but they’re taken in by the illusions. They start to forget things. Shukra appears and gives them their memories back, and he says he’ll help them cross the bridge if they give him their memories. Aru declines and breaks Shukra’s mirrors.
  • Aru hears her mother in the cave. Aru watches a conversation between Aru’s mother and her father, and Aru realises that she is the Sleeper’s daughter.
  • Aru and Mini are threatened by Time and Wish, but Aru is able to give them good karma and they let them go.
  • Aru and Mini make it back to the human world. Humans are now calling the frozen areas Frozen Syndrome. There’s only one day left.
  • The girls realise they have to take the Sleeper to a place that he doesn’t like in order to defeat him.
  • Aru takes Mini back to the museum. They summon the Sleeper, and other demons show up too. The Sleeper has captured Boo.
  • Mini sets up an illusion of Aru’s mother and this distracts the Sleeper enough for Boo to escape.
  • The animals from the museum attack the Sleeper. Aru tries to get rid of him but he breaks free. Aru attempts to kill the Sleeper but fails and he escapes.
  • Time gets restored in the Sleeper’s absence. Krithika wakes up and says that Aru can keep Boo as a pet.
  • Aru and Mini practice war strategy. A wolf arrives and turns into a girl. She is another Pandava. Aiden, the new guy at school, saw this whole thing go down.

This is a full plot summary of what happened in Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi. Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!

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