Review: Tree of Wishes

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava #3) by Roshani Chokshi.
Rick Riordan Presents, Disney Hyperion, New York, 2020.
MG fantasy, 386 pages including back matter.
Lexile: 760L .
AR Level: 5.4 (worth 13.0 points) .
NOTE: This review will contain spoilers for previous books in the series.

Aru and company manage to flub their mission to protect two targets and receive a prophecy, only to find that the targets are twin sisters and their last remaining Pandava siblings. Moreover, the prophecy has a line about one sister being untrue which has everyone second guessing each other and allows the Sleeper to sow dissension among the group. Aru believes the only way to fix this mess is to find Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree from the Ocean of Milk. She’ll need her allies both old and new to surmount this new quest!

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi.

I was not prepared for this to include foster children. Granted, some aspects of care are different in the magical world of the Pandavas, but that still was something I hadn’t seen in other reviews before reading this for myself. While it didn’t quite match with the logistical details of real-life foster care, the emotional aspects rang true, and I was willing to forgive some magical hand-waving here. In particular, the backstory about Nikita’s love for fashion and their parents leaving them in care to protect them were especially moving.

The twins are Guyanese – open for a wide variation in appearance, but they are described as Black and blue-eyed. The official illustrations are lighter than I’d imagined from the text. Nikita has plant-based powers, while prophetess Sheela is simpler and more sensitive. The girls are only ten, so even when officially recognized by their godly ‘fathers,’ they don’t receive weapons. Instead each gets a choker necklace (Sheela a silver star, Nikita a green heart) which serves as a tracking device and placeholder. Chokshi’s attempts to include such a wide variety of representation for Indian-Americans with various cultural backgrounds and family situations are welcome and well-done.

Secrets are building, and tension is mounting as Aru continues to feel like a failure because she sympathizes with the asuras and her estranged father who is leading them. She goes to great lengths to keep her secrets, and is also accidentally privy to some secrets of others in the group. The relationships amongst the group and jokes among the clique (like Aiden’s nickname “Wifey”) continue to be developed.

Mild spoiler but I was delighted to learn that the naga prince Rudy suffered from deuteranopia, more commonly known as red/green colorblindness. It’s a fairly frequent problem which is severely unrepresented in children’s literature.

Aru also spends a lot of time doubting herself and overthinking the group dynamics in this book, which is pretty typical for both her and most other tweens/teens. She somewhat resents emerging as a leader of the group while also enjoying the status and not desiring to give it up.

Admidst all the angst and questing and drama, Chokshi manages to keep the fun humorous tone. Frequent references to Harry Potter and Twilight hit rather differently now than they did when written, and may one day date the book, but there’s also plenty of funny timeless awkward teenager moments. Chokshi sprinkles in enough references to other mythology and pop culture that the loss of a few won’t ruin the snappy dialogue. She also keeps the pace moving briskly, so if one element isn’t to your liking, there’s only a bit of reading until the next exciting or interesting bit.

I’m torn about this installment. For a mid-series novel, it’s very good, and I can see how Chokshi simply has so much to fit in to the story – she continues to bring new places and people and elements of mythology to life with each volume. For readers unfamiliar with her source material, it’s wonderful to see just how much Indian mythology exists.

On the other hand, there’s a lot to keep track of and this deep in, reminders are fleeting. When reading the Love Sugar Magic trilogy, I repeatedly wished there had been a fourth book – it just wrapped up too quickly and the final installment felt rushed. Now it seems this series might run a tad too long. Chokshi does write a humorous glossary yet again, and it was needed.

Content warnings include mild flirting, theft, impersonation, kidnapping, memory loss, mention of menstruation, lying and concealing the truth, public relations, betrayal, imprisonment, falling from great heights, near drowning, and all sorts of peril.

Recommended.