If she did stop to ponder these things, Game of Stars would be richer for it. Kiran does a lot of trying not to think about her hair turning green or what it's like to have the bad guy for a dad or why she's so hard on Neel all the time. Right now DasGupta relies heavily on ridiculous character banter to supply the humor, when there's plenty to be gleaned from the fabulous setting if she'd only take the time to describe it.ĭasGupta could slow down with her characters, as well. It would be fascinating and potentially hilarious to read. DasGupta is welcome to spend a whole chapter describing a demon dentist office down to the kind of chair a giant serpent king could even recline in.

It's like we're all spinning in a wormhole with Kiran through hectic scenes of rhyming demons and ghosts and riddling witches and living underwater palaces and demon dentist offices.

There are so many great places author Sayantani DasGupta could slow down and show us this wild world. This sequel suffers from the same rushed storytelling as we found in Book 1, but it keeps things intriguing with West Bengal folk tale influences and a send-up of reality and game shows. Kiran, the combat boot-wearing princess, finds this mania ridiculous and instead tries to focus on saving her friend. Game of Stars is a fun cautionary tale about how the quest for fame can turn a society upside down. Also, some ghosts and witches who love riddles threaten to steal Kiran's soul and eat her. One beloved character dies in a blinding-light magical way, another is gravely injured but recovers magically. When she returns to the Kingdom Beyond, she learns that the only way to save her friend, Prince Neel, is to compete on the game show Who Wants to Be a Demon Slayer? In the process, she fights big demons and snakes with her arrows. Here, the modern kid is 12-year-old Kiranmala, an Indian girl from another dimension growing up in New Jersey. It thrusts modern kids into the world of mythology and infuses the story with humor. This story will remind you a lot of Rick Riordan's work ( Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles). Parents need to know that Game of Stars: Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond is the second book in a fantasy series featuring a melding of folk tales and folklore from West Bengal, India.

Kiranmala and the kingdom beyond series