Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet, #1)

by Roshani Chokshi

“Did you see this sign?” demanded Aru. “It talks about men, but what about women? Rude.”

“Do whales have uvulas?” “How am I supposed to know if it’s a girl whale?” “It’s the dangly punching-bag–looking thing in the back of your throat,” said Mini.

“You want to ride out on whale vomit?”

They hadn’t gotten this far just to be killed by whale halitosis.

“Rogue souls?” repeated Aru, delighted in spite of the weirdness surrounding them. “That’s a great name for a band.”

This is what we get for thinking that scaly orange skin and fake hair could keep that former demon out of elected office.

Now, finally, she could say her dream response to Who are you? “Your worst nightmare,” she said in a deep Batman voice.

Heroes rarely have the guts to demand things. Usually they just sulk until a magical sidekick feels bad for them and does all the work while they get all the credit.”

as if to say Hey guys! Look! Look! It’s me! And, as it turned out, all cats—even celestial ones—were highly intrigued by boxes. The tiger kept sticking its head in one of the wooden crates before awkwardly trying to cram its whole body into the space. Whenever it saw Aru looking, it would stop and lick its front paw self-consciously.

“Ah, well. Annoyance is its own power.”

Sometimes, though, the best kind of friend is the one who doesn’t say anything but just sits beside you. It’s enough.

This was one of those times when she wished she were sitting in a big black leather armchair with a weird-looking cat and an unlit cigar. She wanted to swivel around and say, Feelin’ lucky?