The heart wants what the heart wants, and our hearts want books.

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What makes a book that’s great for book club?  One that inspires conversation.  Doesn’t  When No One is Watching feel like a great book club title?  What happens when no one is watching does indeed feel like a fun conversation, and one I hope you’ll join us for on Friday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. CDT.  Sign up here if you’re interested in this discussion, reading a thriller with a group, or diving into Alyssa Cole’s titles.  We’re here for all three and hope you will be too!

Well darling readers, we’ve done it again.  Not only is this week’s book more ancient religion still in practice than mythology, but it’s also more historical reimagining than a reimagining of religious stories.  Oh well, because it was a very fun read that kept me engaged, so I’m taking that win and moving on to tell you more about She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.  

When we first meet the Zhu family in 1345, there are three, a father, a son, and a daughter, and famine has ravaged their home village and the countryside around it.  They’re hanging on by a thread, and when that thread snaps, the daughter is all that’s left.  She Who Became the Sun is her story, as she strives to become great, which the fortune teller said is her brother’s fate, not hers.  This story spans more than a decade as Zhu finds herself free from the shackles of family and society and then transforms into who she wants to be, leading readers who search for deep meaning into the contemplation of fate – is it something you’re born with or something you can shape and reform as you go along?  We know the Greeks have feelings about this, and Shelley Parker-Chan gives us some insight into how the Chinese feel about it as well.  In addition, there are also religious practices discussed around ancestors, ghosts, and what happens when those particular traditions are ignored.  We learn what a “mandate from Heaven” is and how complex it can be to have, and hang on to, and contemplate how our actions in this life can affect future lives, and what it would feel like to remember all your past lives.  And, our main characters demonstrate the different forms love can take, and how lasting betrayal and family trauma can be.  The marketing copy says this title is a reimagining of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, but as I’ve just shared, it’s so much more.  

On the page, She Who Became the Sun is the story of a girl who is orphaned by famine and bandits, then takes on her brother’s identity in an effort to survive.  We learn early on that she has an iron will and is determined to live the life she has, even if it isn’t really hers.  She finds refuge, grows into a determined young adult, and then continues on to see what she can achieve using these qualities.  The journey is magnificent, and all the more so for the other characters who come into play teaching her more and more about herself along the way.  

I do have several questions about the ending, but overall it’s solid enough for me to not be mad, and just deep dive the actual history of the Ming Dynasty to fill in the gaps.  I would have loved an author’s note about which other characters are real and which belong to the author, but again, I can figure that out myself (and also by reading Parker-Chan’s website), I’m just being lazy.  For the story, with all of its layers and depth, and for the picturesque, engaging writing, I’m giving She Who Became the Sun a solid four stars, with the caveat that I did consider higher.  I’m holding out to see how the second book in the duology goes (surprise Ashley!  I just found out).  I don’t think it’s needed for the story, but I’m not sad to get to spend more time with these characters learning about Chinese history in a fun way.  

What’s a title that wasn’t what you expected, but you really liked?

~Nikki

Shelley Parker-Chan is an Asian-Australian author whose debut novel She Who Became The Sun is an international bestseller. As a former diplomat and international development advisor, she has spent her time working for human rights, gender rights, and LGBT rights in Southeast Asia. She Who Became The Sun owes much of its fantastical and thematic elements to Parker-Chan’s childhood diet of Greek myths, Arthurian tradition, and Chinese stories of suffering and tragic romance. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family. I think it’s hilarious that Nikki just figured out while writing this blog post that we’re discussing book one of The Radiant Emperor duology. Though, to be fair, I didn’t figure it out until after we were done reading it, too. Ha!

Oh, darling readers, I really don’t know what I thought we were going to get when we started reading this book. As Nikki stated above, this is definitely not a ‘mythology’ title. Gender-bending speculative historical fantasy might cover it. Regardless of the genre mishap for our mythology theme purposes, She Who Became the Sun is a book filled with such amazing descriptions and characters with depth I couldn’t put it down. I read the book in big chunks, especially after the 50% mark. A major component of what sucked me into the book was the poetic way that Parker-Chan described literally everything. I rarely have a highlight in the books I read before the second chapter (unless it’s a re-read), but I highlighted the second and third sentences in chapter 1. “All around there was nothing but the bare yellow earth, cracked into the pattern of a turtle’s shell, and the sere bone smell of hot dust. It was the fourth year of the drought.” I already knew that the village of Zhongli was in the middle of a drought, I saw that cracked earth image like a photograph in my mind. There were other instances of such description, like the air in the monastery where Zhu grows up, or the feeling of being surrounded by ghosts. Delicious little tidbits of writing that continually shock the reader’s attention, to have to go back and think about the image that the words create. Yum.

Yes, the plot and characters had me researching the beginning of the Ming Dynasty on wikipedia after I finished the novel, and I, like Nikki, desire a comprehensive author’s note at the end of book two so that we curious readers can get more insight into the writing process and inspiration of this epic tale of what it means to “live like your head is on fire.” I’m giving She Who Became the Sun, which we should all note is a homophone for She Who Became the Son, four solid stars. I can’t wait until there’s a publication date for book two so that I can recommend it to the library post-haste.

~Ashley

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Today, we’re reviewing a middle grade book by an author of YA books we adore.  Soon, we’ll be discussing a thriller by an author of historical romance books we adore.  Will you join us for Virtual Book Club on Friday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. CST for a discussion of Alyssa Cole’s When No One is Watching?  If you can make it, sign up here to get the link, and if you’ve read any of Cole’s other titles, do let us know!  We’d love to know what you think of her work before and after reading her first thriller!  

What a happy accident that Ashley and I had already secured Aru Shah and the End of Time from Amazon’s Prime Reading (where it is still available to borrow for free) when my 10 year old consumed the first four books in the quartet (yes friends, you read that correctly, hang on, I’ll circle back) and insisted that I’d love them and should read them too.  Darling readers, he doesn’t get my full reading tastes yet, but he knows I love The Song of the Lioness Quartet (which he has yet to finish, two years later) and have thoroughly enjoyed the several Rick Riordan books I’ve read, and he’s seen me scrolling through Roshani Chokshi’s glorious Instagram posts, and he was 100% right about this.  (We could also discuss the things he’s not right about – Dog Man, Big Nate, etc., but not today.)  Also, I want to state for the record, I’m SO proud of him for spoiling NOTHING about this book or those that follow (so far…I’m not trying to jinx us).  He did tell me the chapter titles were one of his favorite parts, and they’re pretty fantastic.

Aru Shah is a twelve year old Indian-American girl living in Atlanta with her mother, who operates the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture.  Aru is attending a new school and struggling to fit in, so when challenged by her classmates, she lights an ancient lamp, thinking it won’t be a big deal, but it’s the spark (pun intended) that sets off the action in this middle-grade novel.  If you or your people have enjoyed any of Rick Riordan’s novels, or others on his imprint, this is likely everything you (or they) want it to be.  Aru is struggling with some of the realities of her life, she finds herself in the middle of the next, as of yet, unwritten chapter of a Hindu epic poem, and the result is amazing.  Chokshi’s writing and voice that I love from The Gilded Wolves trilogy adapts easily from Young Adult to middle grade, and the gorgeous opulence of that world (and her own, as seen via Instagram) is seen only in bits and pieces in this fantastic adventure through the worlds of one Hindu epic poem and parts of the US.  

Aru Shah and the End of Time also impressed me from a storytelling / religion standpoint.  While I’m not well versed in all things Hindu, I am (or was 15+ years ago at least) more informed than most.  My non-western civilization course in college was on the religions and traditions of India and I had the pleasure of participating in a summer program through my university in South India, so I’ve been to numerous ancient temples (and one not so ancient outside of Nashville) dedicated to a variety of deities, including several mentioned in this book, and am familiar with the major themes of the Hindu epics.  These epics are traditionally told to younger generations through oral storytelling, although they are also written epic poems, translated by scholars from ancient texts.  This is one point that gave us some pause about including Aru’s tale during our mythology month.  When I think of a myth, I think of a story from an ancient religion, and typically one that is no longer widely practiced (like the Greek and Roman religions).  The Hindu religion is an ancient, active, vibrant religion practiced today by people I know and respect, just as I know (from the outside) and strive to respect their religious beliefs.  We decided to include this title because Chokshi, an Indian-American, decided to include it on an imprint that is focused on modern tales focused around mythology and oral storytelling traditions, not out of any disrespect to the author, the ancient epic poem, the Hindu religion, or those who practice it.  

I’m giving Aru Shah and the End of Time 4 solid stars.  While I don’t anticipate rereading, I do anticipate reading the rest of the quartet and the fifth book, which is due out in April.  (Dear authors, if you’re writing a quartet, I will 100% give you side-eye when you write just one more book to follow it, even if I do adore you.)  Chokshi writes in a familiar fashion, adapted to the voice of this protagonist and built upon my knowledge of the Hindu traditions, while also keeping me engaged (see also: no more reading rut!) and giving me another fun book to discuss with my people.  

What’s a book you expected to be good, but still pleasantly surprised you?

~Nikki 

Let’s start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start. The beginning in this instance is that we’ve done complete reviews on 3 of Chokshi’s books, one each of The Gilded Wolves trilogy. And the first biography I wrote about her in The Gilded Wolves post still gives the best overview of this award-winning, best-selling author’s work and life. Of important note to this book review, we STILL do not have a production date from Paramount Pictures about Aru Shah and the End of Time finally arriving on screen. Which is frustrating but typical. Chokshi still lives in Georgia with her husband and cat “whose diabolical plans must be regularly thwarted.”

Sometimes it takes an action packed plot based around an epic quest to get your reading life traveling at the same pace. Middle grade adventure books are, to my experience, always a great choice for that. They’re fast paced and quick reads, not just because of their usual length of approximately 300 pages (even though Aru clocks in at 366), but because the vocabulary and sentence structure for a typical middle grade reader doesn’t lend itself to involved subordinate clauses or reading with a dictionary in hand. Plus, the main character is usually the same age as the intended reader, so the internal struggles are typically based on whatever epic quest they’re on, and their familial and school-based relationships. Yes, the main character is probably questing for the fate of the world, but they’re not also internally struggling over how their family is functioning financially during this world crisis, whether or not the political system will hold up afterward, and what type of job will give them the freedom to continue on epic quests and provide for their physical needs in the future. It’s dangerously fun, magic, and mayhem and we know the hero (HEROINE!) will ultimately prevail, no matter the means to get there.

What I really loved about Aru is how during their trials, she truly begins thinking of her Pandava sister, Mini, as her sister. A best friend who tells her the truth about her faults, but loves her because of them. Mini has strengths where Aru has weaknesses so during their quest, while learning to like each other, they learn to trust and depend on the other as equals. There are sweet moments of appreciation and thankfulness but also full-blown fights where the reader is left to wonder how they will move beyond their differences in order to complete their quest. Big, twelve-year-old feelings can create big problems on an adventure to save all of Time. These are what I would consider big lessons for our little people to learn. Having examples of conflict resolution and what it means to make a good apology even if you don’t want to be the first one to do so, is huge for the growth of littles. Not to mention an understanding and appreciation of a culture that is HUGELY different from the one they currently inhabit but that their peers might have actual lived experience of. To be honest, I can’t wait to invite myself along with Nikki and her littles to re-introduce myself to the Sri Ganesh temple in Nashville when it’s time to show them to the wider world of religious experience. I am also very proud of B not spoiling Aru Shah to ME when I came over for breakfast the other day, since I was right in the middle of reading it and he was so excited about that.

Solid 4 star read from Chokshi, and like Nikki, I doubt I will be re-reading Aru Shah and the End of Time, but I will certainly be finishing up the series at some point in the future, and recommending the titles to anyone interested in a little Hindu history and folklore. The fifth installment comes out on April 5th, and the graphic novel version of Aru Shah and the End of Time releases on April 19th. So at least we have something to anticipate while waiting for a date for the screen production. And what an adventure that promises to be!

~Ashley

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