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

by Roshani Chokshi

She saw a giant scaly creature squish a mountain with its thumb, muttering, “Make a mountain out of a molehill, you say? Ha! How about making a mountain into a molehill! That’s far more interesting. Yes, yes.”

The sip of old age was like that—a happy kind of fullness.

KARMA & SINS Est. at the first hiccup of time Please, no solicitors (As of the 15th century, indulgences are no longer permitted. Nice try.)

Sometimes you don’t even know how special you might be. Sometimes it takes moments of horror or happiness to, if you will, unleash that knowledge.”

“What made Arjuna great wasn’t his strength or his valor, but the way he chose to see the world around him. He looked around, questioned, and doubted. You, too, are perceptive, Aru Shah. What you do with those perceptions is up to you.”

Maybe her imagination wasn’t just something that would keep landing her in trouble. Maybe it could actually help her save people.

It wasn’t that she was particularly anxious to embark on a journey of near-certain doom, but there was always “just one more thing!” when it came to Indian aunties and uncles.

Perhaps memories are the grandest illusion of all,”

In front of her, a bow and arrow appeared on the ground. Oh no. She didn’t even know how to use a bow. Did you string it? Notch it? Aru cursed. She should have paid more attention when she was watching Lord of the Rings last week. Maybe if she’d looked at how Legolas used a bow instead of, you know, just looking at Legolas, she would’ve been a little bit more prepared.

People are a lot like magical pockets. They’re far bigger on the inside than they appear to be on the outside.

“Why couldn’t your mom have dated a nice doctor instead?” “Why does it always have to be a doctor?” “I dunno,” said Mini, shrugging. “That’s what my mom always says: ‘Go to school, study hard, then go to medical school, study even harder, and marry a nice doctor.’”

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

All she could feel was the shame of being hated, and not knowing what she’d done to deserve

“You know, in my day, you could just swoop in and take the person you liked,” said Boo. “It’s far more efficient than talking.” “I’m pretty sure that’s called kidnapping,” said Mini. “It was romantic.” “It’s still kidnapping.”