Awakening Colors by Ritu K. Gupta – 3 stars (out of 5)

Awakening Colors centers on Pari, a young woman whom, after awakening from a coma after a car accident that kills her father, starts seeing clouds of colors surrounding each person she sees. With the guidance of personal notebooks from her mother’s late spiritual leader, Chanakya, and her father’s former associate, Arche, she learns to interpret the colors and the power her new enlightenment brings her. But can she fully understand this new world without following Arche’s dark path?

Thoughts:

-I feel like the following passage sums up my understanding of the book:

Arche’s relationship with his wife was completely open. He told her all that he could. Yet much was lost in the translation. So while she did not fully understand, she did, however, fully trust in his abilities.

This book spent a great deal of time discussing philosophical ideas and I didn’t always grasp what Gupta was trying to say. So while I didn’t fully understand, Gupta’s main point always came across.

-I felt where the book most excelled was in the background stories. I particularly enjoyed hearing about Pari’s father, her “uncle” Raj, and Inspector Jared Walsh’s time as an undercover agent. I would’ve liked to have seen more time spent in Pari’s relationships with them, as well as with her mother, her best friend Navina, and with Arche. I especially feel like there was more to explore between Pari and Arche before their final encounter.

-While the book didn’t end on a cliff hanger, I felt like it left some unanswered questions. Most notably in regard to Navina’s son, Azi, who Pari foretold would do great things and who often spoke of how he would help “fight Arche”, but nothing really ever happened.

-Full disclosure, the author contacted me and asked if I would like to review Awakening Colors, which is basically the coolest thing a new reviewer could ask for. It’s not the type of book I normally would read, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to do so. It spent a little more time on philosophy than I personally like, but overall I found it intriguing and would be interested in reading more from Gupta. I would recommend Awakening Colors to those interested in books that focus on philosophical and religious themes.