Book Review: When Arya Fell Through the Fault

Book: When Arya Fell Through The Fault

Author: Reenita Malhotra Hora

Publisher: Om Books International

Genre: Fiction | Fantasy

Pages: 207

Price: 124 INR

Blurb:

When Arya Fell Through The Fault Is The Magical, Coming-Of-Age Tale Of Arya, A 12-Year-Old Boy From San Francisco, Who Is Ridiculed By Bullies. Anything To Do With His Ethnicity—Food, Traditions Or The Fascinating Mythological Stories He Has Been Raised With, Has Become The Building Block Of Unpleasant School Experiences. 
In The Wake Of An Accident That Confines His Once Vibrant Mother To A Hospital Ward—Kept Alive By Tubes And Machines—Arya Clings To The Only Remnant Of Their Bond: An Old, Battered Copy Of The Ramayana, India’S Ancient Epic Story Of Rama’S Battle Against Demons.
One Night, Arya Falls Through A Fault In The Earth Into The Wild Woods, Where Ravana—The Demon King—Strategises To Destroy His Ramayana—The Last Copy Left—And Threatens To Rewrite History From His Evil Perspective. 
Will Arya Be Able To Save The Story Of Rama, Heal His Mother And Return Home To Tackle The Demons In His Ordinary World?

My Rating

Plot: 3.5/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Character Sketch: 4/5

My Review

"When Arya Fell Through The Fault" is the story of Arya, a twelve year old Indian boy who stays in San Francisco with his parents. His mother, an Ayurvedic doctor packs khichdi for him in lunch every day that results in Arya getting bullied by his classmates who call him a goop eater. 

Arya dislikes his mother for packing khichdi for him in lunch that makes him the subject of jokes. 

Despite the differences with his mother, Arya loves listening to the Ramayana, which his mother reads to him daily. He is enchanted by the bravery of Lord Rama and idolizes to be like him. The bullying doesn't stop at his school. His school fellows insult anything that is related to his ethnicity. 

Life goes in the same pattern for Arya until his mother meets an accident and goes into coma. Arya clings to the old, battered copy of the Ramayana that signifies the bond he had shared with his mother. One night, there is an earthquake and Arya falls through a fault in the earth into some unknown wild woods. 

He learns that it is the land of Ravana who has planned to destroy the old battered copy of the Ramayana so that he can rewrite history. He comes across a group of vanaras and a sage who helps him to understand that only he can save the world from the evil clutches of Ravana. 

Since then, a battle between good and evil starts. Arya soon realizes his inner strengths and his good qualities. He gears up for the battle against evil without any restraints.

While battling with Ravana, he realizes that there is Ravana inside him too. His most important battle is to kill his inner demon (read: Ravana) to restore good within and around him. 

"Staring me in the face was the image of a shattered boy who had never stood up to the demons, but let them control his life." (pg 179)

"When Arya Fell Through the Fault" is an adventurous tale of how a young 12 year old boy manages to fight his inner demons. However, I felt that in the middle of the book, the pace dropped. The narration was good in parts. In some places, it was bland. 

There are some good quotes in the book. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Life was a myriad of experiences. Some good, some bad and others that made no sense at all. However over time, even the most nonsensical things would make perfect sense."

I would give the book 3.5 for the adventurous ride and for the beautiful morals embedded in the story.

Highly recommended for children as they will find this book extremely intriguing.

I got a review copy from Word Bite for an honest review. The opinions are my own.