Book: Aru Shah And The Tree Of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Published April 2020 by Rick Riordan Presents|358 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Pandava Quartet #3

Genre: MG

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 . . . 

I really liked this one!  I’ve enjoyed the series a lot, and this book was no exception.

We meet two more of the Pandava sisters, though we didn’t spend a lot of time with them.  I’m sure we will in the next book, which would be nice.  The twins are definitely the younger sisters of the group- they want to be part of things, but aren’t completely included because they’re still too young.  Still, they did help in their own way, and hopefully, they’ll have more of a role to play in the next book.  It would be a shame if they were introduced only to have a very minor role to play.

I really liked seeing Aru think about her father, and how things could have been different.  She reflects a lot on their relationship and I think she’s changed in the sense that we wouldn’t have seen that self-reflection in the first two books.

I have to say, Mini is amazing!  She’s changed so much and she really is wise and thoughtful.  She doesn’t get the attention Aru does, but she really deserve more attention!  This group would be very different with her, though you could say that about all of the characters.  Losing one means that entire group dynamic has changed, and they all work really well together!  But as far as Mini is concerned, you can tell she puts a lot of thought into things.

There’s a lot of adventure, and things aren’t easy for Aru and everyone else.  Still, they get through it together.  They really make a good team, and I can’t wait to see how their new sisters fit in.

4 stars.  I really liked Aru Shah And The Tree Of Wishes.  I loved seeing Aru learn more about her father, and I can’t wait to read the next book.