Although Aru Shah goes to a private middle school, she doesn't fit in with all of her snobby rich classmates. Instead of flying to a far away vacation home for break, Aru is spending her break at the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, which her mom curates. As an attempt to fit in, Aru constantly tells lies to impress people, about the clothes she wears, or where she is going for vacation. When three of Aru's classmates arrive at the museum to catch her in a lie about the cursed Lamp of Bharata, Aru had to either light the lamp, or face humiliation in front of her entire school. So she lights the lamp. But lighting the lamp unleashes the Sleeper, a demon who is determined to end all time. In order to stop the world from ending, Aru, her sister Mini, and a talking pigeon named Boo have to go on a wild journey through the Kingdom of Death. Will these heroes stop the Sleeper, or will everything they know and love disappear? Read this inspirational book to find out. I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to older elementary school age kids. This book has a great twist on Hindu mythology, and you learn a lot while reading it. It also conveys great themes, about friendship and makng the right choices. If you want to read an exciting and interesting fantasy story, this is the book for you!

Although Aru Shah goes to a private middle school, she doesn't fit in with all of her snobby rich classmates. Instead of flying to a far away vacation home for break, Aru is spending her break at the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, which her mom curates. As an attempt to fit in, Aru constantly tells lies to impress people, about the clothes she wears, or where she is going for vacation. When three of Aru's classmates arrive at the museum to catch her in a lie about the cursed Lamp of Bharata, Aru had to either light the lamp, or face humiliation in front of her entire school. So she lights the lamp. But lighting the lamp unleashes the Sleeper, a demon who is determined to end all time. In order to stop the world from ending, Aru, her sister Mini, and a talking pigeon named Boo have to go on a wild journey through the Kingdom of Death. Will these heroes stop the Sleeper, or will everything they know and love disappear? Read this inspirational book to find out. I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to older elementary school age kids. This book has a great twist on Hindu mythology, and you learn a lot while reading it. It also conveys great themes, about friendship and makng the right choices. If you want to read an exciting and interesting fantasy story, this is the book for you!