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chaptersofmads's review against another edition
3.5
“The things that scare us can also give us joy. We just have to learn how to see them in a different light.”
Yet another really fun addition to what is such a sweet, adventurous series.
In this one, Aru is fourteen and I loved the way her getting older is handled. She's still young and naive, but there's beginning to be moments of realizations throughout the story as she's becoming aware that the world isn't quite as easily divided as she'd once believed.
Amidst that, there's also plenty of silly humor and fun hijinks. It was nice to be back with these characters and I appreciated Mini getting some more attention. She's such a sweet character and it was cool to see her strengths represented more in this one.
I did feel like a lot of the book felt pretty repetitive, but that can happen really easily with quest books where they're going from place to place.
There's also quite a few Harry Potter references in here which... is understandable, but always a bit jarring lol.
Overall, I stand by the fact this really is such an underrated middle grade series and I will continue to recommend it to everyone looking for a series for their kids (or anyone that loves middle grade.)
Yet another really fun addition to what is such a sweet, adventurous series.
In this one, Aru is fourteen and I loved the way her getting older is handled. She's still young and naive, but there's beginning to be moments of realizations throughout the story as she's becoming aware that the world isn't quite as easily divided as she'd once believed.
Amidst that, there's also plenty of silly humor and fun hijinks. It was nice to be back with these characters and I appreciated Mini getting some more attention. She's such a sweet character and it was cool to see her strengths represented more in this one.
I did feel like a lot of the book felt pretty repetitive, but that can happen really easily with quest books where they're going from place to place.
There's also quite a few Harry Potter references in here which... is understandable, but always a bit jarring lol.
Overall, I stand by the fact this really is such an underrated middle grade series and I will continue to recommend it to everyone looking for a series for their kids (or anyone that loves middle grade.)
crosswarrior7's review against another edition
4.0
❧ Aru Shah returns alongside her sisters (and Wifey) return in another attempt to stop the Sleeper from ending the world, this time by keeping him from getting his hands on a prophecy. A prophecy that ends up being spoken by one of the twins that complete the five Pandava siblings. Being a complete set won’t make their task any easier, though, especially when the Sleeper’s army hears the prophecy and the Pandavas are labeled a failure and put on lockdown. They can’t stay put, though, not when they discover the Sleeper is after the Tree of Wishes, and only they can stop him. With a shadow of a potential untrue sister and having to stay undercover hanging over them, the Pandavas may be on their hardest mission yet.
❧ THESE BOOKS ARE SO GOOD. I don’t know how much I can keep praising these books for how much they continue to delve into the grey, but ugggh. This book does it even more than all of the other books. We explore so much more about the Sleeper and what he experienced prior to becoming the Sleeper. I feel so bad for the moral struggle that Aru is going through, but also, it is soooo delicious *eats it all up*.
❧ The new characters were also great. The final Pandavas need to be given very tight hugs, and the latest friend/traveling companion was very enjoyable in his eccentric personality. Had a moment of wanting to buy a sidewalk. Seriously, how would one not enjoy the idiot?
This said, it was odd to me to sidelike the final two Pandavas through an age thing and instead bring in another new character to travel with the Pandavas this book. Nothing against the book, but given the name of the series, it was odd. It makes it feel like the original three are the main Pandavas with the final two just being side characters that had to be there to fill in the five slots. I get it. Can’t control mythology. And it was nice seeing Aru and the others interact with young siblings. But… I dunno. Just weird to me.
❧ There was a choice with a character that felt a bit… abrupt to me. I just felt like it could have been set up better because of how major the choice it was, maybe a couple more off-hand remarks from others, a few doubts of their own shown, just something a little more. Maybe there’s a couple of things I’m forgetting about, but thinking back, there is only one hint I can recall to point toward what was going to happen (besides a prophecy line). Again, not enough to push the book down for me, but enough to make me go ehhh, you know?
❧ But overall, this book is an amazing addition to the Pandava series. The character growth continues to be great. I adore the direction of the story, and I’m increasingly nervous to see how Aru will tackle all of this growing conflict within her. Also, I'm very glad I don’t have to deal with the cliffhanger of this book.
On to the City of Gold!
❧ THESE BOOKS ARE SO GOOD. I don’t know how much I can keep praising these books for how much they continue to delve into the grey, but ugggh. This book does it even more than all of the other books. We explore so much more about the Sleeper and what he experienced prior to becoming the Sleeper. I feel so bad for the moral struggle that Aru is going through, but also, it is soooo delicious *eats it all up*.
❧ The new characters were also great. The final Pandavas need to be given very tight hugs, and the latest friend/traveling companion was very enjoyable in his eccentric personality. Had a moment of wanting to buy a sidewalk. Seriously, how would one not enjoy the idiot?
This said, it was odd to me to sidelike the final two Pandavas through an age thing and instead bring in another new character to travel with the Pandavas this book. Nothing against the book, but given the name of the series, it was odd. It makes it feel like the original three are the main Pandavas with the final two just being side characters that had to be there to fill in the five slots. I get it. Can’t control mythology. And it was nice seeing Aru and the others interact with young siblings. But… I dunno. Just weird to me.
❧ There was a choice with a character that felt a bit… abrupt to me. I just felt like it could have been set up better because of how major the choice it was, maybe a couple more off-hand remarks from others, a few doubts of their own shown, just something a little more. Maybe there’s a couple of things I’m forgetting about, but thinking back, there is only one hint I can recall to point toward what was going to happen (besides a prophecy line). Again, not enough to push the book down for me, but enough to make me go ehhh, you know?
❧ But overall, this book is an amazing addition to the Pandava series. The character growth continues to be great. I adore the direction of the story, and I’m increasingly nervous to see how Aru will tackle all of this growing conflict within her. Also, I'm very glad I don’t have to deal with the cliffhanger of this book.
On to the City of Gold!
bookishbrainfart's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
ina_loves_books's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
chickchick22's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Love love love this series!
arian_dragonelf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
mogar_pogar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gabalodon's review against another edition
5.0
These are still delightful fun, and this time we have two new sisters! There were a couple things that seemed unnecessary or decisions that seemed to serve no actual purpose (e.g. They spend the whole book insisting they have to keep their mission and their identities a secret and I'm pretty sure literally everyone along the way very easily figures out that it's them. And also Nikita and Sheela switch clothes during the climax and I get why they chose to do that but then it had absolutely no effect on the outcome.), but it's pretty easy to set those weird bits aside and enjoy the romp. This is the first one that didn't end with some sort of tidy resolution so fair warning - you may want the next one locked and loaded and ready to go, although I can't think that the penultimate one will end any better, and the fifth one isn't out until April 2022.
jody_diou's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0