Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi

Image: Disney

Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi. Pandava Quartet #2. Unabridged downloadable e-audiobook, ~ 12 hours. Read by Soneela Nankani. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, April, 2019. 9780525587620. (Review of finished downloadable audiobook borrowed from public library. Own hardcover.)

Middle Grade Monday features book two of the Pandava Quartet, Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi.  Aru Shah is back! Shortly after her adventures from book one, Aru Shah and the End of Time, Aru finds herself accused of stealing Cupid's bow and arrow and shooting humans with them causing a zombie apocalypse. Aru and Mini have 28 days to find the real culprit or Aru will be forever banned from the Otherworld. She teams up with Brynne and Aiden, both of whom have secrets of their own. Together they face a series of perils, such as a giant swan attack, fiery cows and nightmare hounds. Aru also contemplates good and evil as she quests.  

Fast-paced and humorous, this series will definitely appeal to fans of Rick Riordan. (The series is published under his imprint at Disney.) The stories have a terrific blend of pop culture and Indian mythology. Soneela Nankani's narration was well paced and engaging - a very nice match. Book two ends nicely, but this is a quartet and I am primed and waiting for book three, Aru Shah and the Wish Tree, which is due in the spring of 2020.