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goodin10tions's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
foreverbeautifulbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This book has a super low rating and I was nervous to start it, but I gotta be honest-- this was one of my favorite adventure of the new canon. It dove in deeper to the new characters, and we are filling in the blanks and seeing how truly devious the first order is. One of the main take aways was it was darker-- for a middle grade book, it has some moments were you're kinda nervous. But it also adds a depth to the story telling. I also love this author! She writes some amazing books, so for her to be in the Star Wars universe is kinda amazing.
Still don't get the low ratings, I guess everyone is critical when it comes to Star Wars. This was also female heavy on the heroing so that could also be why. We know the white males of the Star Wars universe fandom tend to look negatively upon that.
Still don't get the low ratings, I guess everyone is critical when it comes to Star Wars. This was also female heavy on the heroing so that could also be why. We know the white males of the Star Wars universe fandom tend to look negatively upon that.
gingerreader99's review against another edition
3.0
For being a Junior readers book it's not bad. It certainly did not give me my star wars fill for this cycle of books so I'll be picking up another but it is nice to piece together a little more of what's happening in the year( I think?) From the end of TLJ to ROS.
ktonalderaan's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
A simple little story between TLJ & TROS. This story was lighthearted and fun!
lddecker's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
inkandplasma's review against another edition
2.0
One of the main things that jumped out at me with this book is that it felt like a side-quest. That's the case with a lot of Star Wars novels, to keep the movie canon coherent, but where Resistance Reborn (above) handled it well, this one just felt like nothing happened? The plot was fine, I guess, but there wasn't any development. No background development, no First Order development, and definitely no character development. Honestly? It annoyed the shit out of me.
This is supposed to bridge the gap between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. Not that you'd know that until page 141 of this 224 page book. Two thirds of the way in before there's any acknowledgement! At all! References to The Last Jedi are so infrequent I actually kept track. It happened three times. Three. Page 141, page 179 and page 203. Honestly, if Rose wasn't one of the main characters in this story I would genuinely insist that this book was set after The Force Awakens and had been mislabelled. Especially when they talked about expecting back up - the point of The Last Jedi's ending was that they were all alone. Who is this back up?
There's the hill I'm apparently going to die on, too, which is that kids can have a little violence in their books. The Star Wars movies are violent. People die, people get hit with blasters and don't get up again. If a kid can watch a movie in which Poe Dameron explodes a TIE fighter with the pilot still inside, they can read a book in which Poe Dameron blasts someone in a fire fight. There's a point in this book where Poe knocked someone out in the middle of combat and stopped to disable their blaster. Who the hell has time for that during a fire fight. It was so ridiculous it knocked me right out of the book for a minute. I wrote in my notes that I could let this go, but since then I've read other kids books that have handled violence really well, and you know what? I can't let this go. This avoiding violence to the point of pantomimery shit is so annoying, and it does not tonally match a series where several characters get their HANDS CUT OFF at all.
It's not just the violence that is massively oversimplified. I fully believe that children can understand morally grey characters. One of the major themes in Star Wars is the dark and the light and the space in between. Redemption, and forgiveness. So why is this book so black and white? Rey coming out of The Last Jedi is a conflicted character. She saw light in Ben Solo, and darkness in Kylo Ren and she's coming to terms with them. So whyyyy the hellll does she sound like Rey from The Force Awakens in this book? She talks about him like he's a monster, and like she's only ever heard rumours of him. Where is the woman who threw hands with Luke Skywalker halfway through The Last Jedi? I would just love some character complexity, and it felt like the character development in this book was going backwards. Treating kids like they can't understand complexities in character motivations is pretty patronising. Poe felt out of character for most of the book too, and there was no mention of where Finn was or why he wasn't there. I'm not convinced he was even mentioned during the story.
The plot was fine, and I'm sure children would probably still enjoy this, but honestly? Buy them a better Star Wars story, they deserve it.
This is supposed to bridge the gap between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. Not that you'd know that until page 141 of this 224 page book. Two thirds of the way in before there's any acknowledgement! At all! References to The Last Jedi are so infrequent I actually kept track. It happened three times. Three. Page 141, page 179 and page 203. Honestly, if Rose wasn't one of the main characters in this story I would genuinely insist that this book was set after The Force Awakens and had been mislabelled. Especially when they talked about expecting back up - the point of The Last Jedi's ending was that they were all alone. Who is this back up?
There's the hill I'm apparently going to die on, too, which is that kids can have a little violence in their books. The Star Wars movies are violent. People die, people get hit with blasters and don't get up again. If a kid can watch a movie in which Poe Dameron explodes a TIE fighter with the pilot still inside, they can read a book in which Poe Dameron blasts someone in a fire fight. There's a point in this book where Poe knocked someone out in the middle of combat and stopped to disable their blaster. Who the hell has time for that during a fire fight. It was so ridiculous it knocked me right out of the book for a minute. I wrote in my notes that I could let this go, but since then I've read other kids books that have handled violence really well, and you know what? I can't let this go. This avoiding violence to the point of pantomimery shit is so annoying, and it does not tonally match a series where several characters get their HANDS CUT OFF at all.
It's not just the violence that is massively oversimplified. I fully believe that children can understand morally grey characters. One of the major themes in Star Wars is the dark and the light and the space in between. Redemption, and forgiveness. So why is this book so black and white? Rey coming out of The Last Jedi is a conflicted character. She saw light in Ben Solo, and darkness in Kylo Ren and she's coming to terms with them. So whyyyy the hellll does she sound like Rey from The Force Awakens in this book? She talks about him like he's a monster, and like she's only ever heard rumours of him. Where is the woman who threw hands with Luke Skywalker halfway through The Last Jedi? I would just love some character complexity, and it felt like the character development in this book was going backwards. Treating kids like they can't understand complexities in character motivations is pretty patronising. Poe felt out of character for most of the book too, and there was no mention of where Finn was or why he wasn't there. I'm not convinced he was even mentioned during the story.
The plot was fine, and I'm sure children would probably still enjoy this, but honestly? Buy them a better Star Wars story, they deserve it.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this one so, so, so much. I love Rey. I loved Rose. I loved Finn. I loved Poe. Of course, being a middle-grade book, this story wasn't deeply complex, but it did feel more balanced character-wise than the adult release book from the same time. I just really, really loved it. Rose's heart. Rey's waffling. Poe's .... hair.
Including my live plurk below:
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
ALL MY FAVORITE NEW BABIES MENTIONED IN THE FIRST PAGES.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Oh, no. It's so cute so far. Rose has named all the Porgs. Poe really, really, really wants to fly the Falcon. Rey is still uncertain about the Force.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Magical new race, that is very hospitable!
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love that there is so much Rose in this (especially given the drastic loud rumblings of the internet since Rose got removed from so much of the merchandise).
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
“How did you know it was Poe Dameron?”
“Who else has that hair?”
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love their name, and I love Rose feeling the thing following her/them, and no one else doing it. Just her and BB-8.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love Rey continually trying to figure out 'this Force thing.'
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Totally listening to storm troopers scream as creatures carry them off today then for breakfast. I may collect them all in hardcover, but my first foray into each book may always be in audio, given they are all done radio play style. I like foe the sweeping music themes.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
SPY SPY SPY SPY
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
All the narration and thoughts about fanning the spark of rebellion/resistance into a flame the whole galaxy could see and rally behind.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I’m laughing.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
The junior officers know its Poe because he’s got that hair. Main evil guy of the book even thinks Poe is irritatingly good looking.
Including my live plurk below:
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
ALL MY FAVORITE NEW BABIES MENTIONED IN THE FIRST PAGES.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Oh, no. It's so cute so far. Rose has named all the Porgs. Poe really, really, really wants to fly the Falcon. Rey is still uncertain about the Force.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Magical new race, that is very hospitable!
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love that there is so much Rose in this (especially given the drastic loud rumblings of the internet since Rose got removed from so much of the merchandise).
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
“How did you know it was Poe Dameron?”
“Who else has that hair?”
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love their name, and I love Rose feeling the thing following her/them, and no one else doing it. Just her and BB-8.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I love Rey continually trying to figure out 'this Force thing.'
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
Totally listening to storm troopers scream as creatures carry them off today then for breakfast. I may collect them all in hardcover, but my first foray into each book may always be in audio, given they are all done radio play style. I like foe the sweeping music themes.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
SPY SPY SPY SPY
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
All the narration and thoughts about fanning the spark of rebellion/resistance into a flame the whole galaxy could see and rally behind.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
I’m laughing.
ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
The junior officers know its Poe because he’s got that hair. Main evil guy of the book even thinks Poe is irritatingly good looking.
esseastri's review against another edition
4.0
Justina Ireland's ability to capture the wonder that Star Wars holds for kids and put it down on paper is amazing. Spark is the perfect bridge for middle graders getting hyped for Rise of Skywalker--written at their level, just for them, with the same cool space battles and new, fuzzy critters that populate the movies. This book will leave kids with a better understanding of where the Resistance is going post-The Last Jedi, and why that end--though dark--will turn out all right in the last movie. We're turning toward the light, and this spark is going to ignite a lot of little hearts with pure joy.
jazin95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a tremendous in-between novel. It shows Rey struggling with the force and Poe still dealing with his new role in Rebellion along with Finn and Rose. I know I'm not the ideal audience and there was a few moments where I felt the writing was definitely for younger audiences. Yet, I still enjoyed the novel and I felt the ending was so satisfying.