Brief (Spoiler-Free!) Synopsis
“Song of Death” is the second book in the Aru Shah series by Roshani Chokshi, and sees young Aru Shah and her friends trying to prove their innocence after they are accused of stealing Kamadeva’s bow and arrow. She’ll have to work with two new companions, Aiden and Brynne, along with her BFF Mini, to not only prove their innocence, but save the world…
Content Warnings: Violence (PG)
What Do I Think?
Roshani Chokshi continues to delight me with this series. I loved the first Aru Shah novel, “The End of Time”, and “Song of Death” is no less charming. Despite being written in third person (which can make voice difficult to come by), the pages are absolutely dripping with Aru’s personality – it is impossible to escape her over-confident, snarky personality. I found myself frequently having to stifle a laugh from her wacky antics.
The plot is non-stop action, with Aru and company going from one threat to the next not quite with less terrifying efficiency and more sheer dumb luck. Don’t be mistaken, though – their luck isn’t just at the whim of the author, but very much is helped by a plethora of magical powers, gifts, and gods/goddesses. The pages are full of Indian mythology, and thank goodness Chokshi included a glossary in the back to help keep track of it all.
The two new main characters, Aiden and Brynne, help to balance out the now-four-person team: while Aiden serves as part-damsel, part-crush-interest, Brynne acts as Aru’s main rival to provide her with competition, both of which are roles that were previously missing in the first book. It adds depth and helps the reader to see different aspects of Aru’s personality we haven’t gotten to see before, and it works really, really well!
In all honesty, I don’t really have any criticisms of this book. It is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys middle-grade fantasy.
Jacob Ryckman 