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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Another Star Wars book completely mis-categorized as a young adult book.
Are the characters under 30? Yes.
Is it a short book? Yes
Should it only be read by people between the ages of 11-15? - NO
The book is broken up into three stories- Finn, Rey, and Poe. Each story gives a glimpse into their lives pre-Force Awakens and each delves more into their character and inner dialogue. FN-2187 is a fantastically trained stormtrooper, Rey is a loner trying to survive, and Poe is well .... everything.
Poe's story is my favorite - action packed, and was the one I wished was an entirely full length book. It gave a brief glimpse into the Republic, the First Order and the Resistance.
I recommend the read.
Are the characters under 30? Yes.
Is it a short book? Yes
Should it only be read by people between the ages of 11-15? - NO
The book is broken up into three stories- Finn, Rey, and Poe. Each story gives a glimpse into their lives pre-Force Awakens and each delves more into their character and inner dialogue. FN-2187 is a fantastically trained stormtrooper, Rey is a loner trying to survive, and Poe is well .... everything.
Poe's story is my favorite - action packed, and was the one I wished was an entirely full length book. It gave a brief glimpse into the Republic, the First Order and the Resistance.
I recommend the read.
I really loved seeing what happened to Rey, Finn, and Poe before the movie!
Before the Awakening brings us 3 short stories that take place before the film The Force Awakens. The first story is about FN-2187's (who later becomes Finn) struggle with feelings of empathy. On paper, he's the best, he's everything a Stormtrooper should be. But he cares too much about his team and feels like an outsider. Captain Phasma takes notice. It's interesting enough to read through once, but not particularly memorable.
Rey's story comes next, and whereas Finn's story was more about "human vs the self", Rey's is one of "human vs nature". It follows her as she survives on Jakku. Eventually, she discovers a ship that's salvageable enough to fix up. Inevitably, someone else takes notice. This story is a little more interesting for me personally, because I've always liked survival stories, but it's still doesn't stand out.
The best story in the book is Poe Dameron's. He and his squad go on a bit of a rogue mission that gets the attention of General Leia. I enjoyed reading the squad's banter and seeing the bond between them gave this story more depth and emotional investment than the others. On top of that, we've got Leia being really remarkable. After the loss of Carrie Fisher so recently, reading and imagining her like this makes the story that much more special.
Phil Noto does a cover and a middle page per story. All in greyscale with some red accents. They're more of a bonus than anything.
Rey's story comes next, and whereas Finn's story was more about "human vs the self", Rey's is one of "human vs nature". It follows her as she survives on Jakku. Eventually, she discovers a ship that's salvageable enough to fix up. Inevitably, someone else takes notice. This story is a little more interesting for me personally, because I've always liked survival stories, but it's still doesn't stand out.
The best story in the book is Poe Dameron's. He and his squad go on a bit of a rogue mission that gets the attention of General Leia. I enjoyed reading the squad's banter and seeing the bond between them gave this story more depth and emotional investment than the others. On top of that, we've got Leia being really remarkable. After the loss of Carrie Fisher so recently, reading and imagining her like this makes the story that much more special.
Phil Noto does a cover and a middle page per story. All in greyscale with some red accents. They're more of a bonus than anything.
I checked this out from the library partly because the red, white, and black illustrations caught my attention and I liked them so much, and not just because Poe is looking all kinds of fine in his flight suit on that cover. I also was intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about Rey, Finn, and Poe's origins. I got what I wanted, to varying degrees. The book consists of three short stories, each focusing on one character and exploring what they were doing before The Force Awakens.
Finn's story happens right before The Force Awakens, and I felt it was the weakest of the three. You get to see more of Finn's moral dilemma as he struggles to fulfill his duties as a stormtrooper, but it just didn't feel as exciting as it could have been.
Rey's story has a stronger plot and introduces more Jakku characters, so it expanded the world introduced in the movie and was more satisfying than Finn's story. I struggled with Rey's actions and at first felt that they contradicted her character, but by the end I realized that they really contradicted what I wanted her to do, not what she would have wanted to do. Besides, what I wanted her to do would have prevented The Force Awakens from happening, so I guess I shouldn't have been distracted by that, anyway.
I enjoyed Poe's story the most by far. Typically action-packed sequences and battles in books bore me, but the maneuvers Rucka describes are genuinely exciting. Combined with a more complex story than the other two in the book and legitimate backstory (including information about his parents and how he became involved in the Resistance), this makes for enjoyable reading and ends the book on a strong note.
And what about the fact that this is middle grade fiction? Well, it was noticeable, primarily in the lack of ambiguity. Characters' thoughts, emotions, and motivations are made more explicit and less open to interpretation than if this were adult fiction. And there's a certain safe quality to the writing; despite a couple of examples, it's clear that nothing truly irreparable is going to happen. And I mean, of course it's not, and of course there aren't going to be huge revelations, because it would make no sense for events to contradict The Force Awakens, and they're not going to waste huge plot points and twists on a chapter book. However, Rucka writes with respect for his readers, and he doesn't dumb down the vocabulary just because he's writing for a younger audience.
So, while I was slightly self-conscious about reading a kids' book, it didn't prevent me from enjoying it. And it didn't prevent me from checking out other new Star Wars chapter books despite being a grown-ass lady. #noshame
Finn's story happens right before The Force Awakens, and I felt it was the weakest of the three. You get to see more of Finn's moral dilemma as he struggles to fulfill his duties as a stormtrooper, but it just didn't feel as exciting as it could have been.
Rey's story has a stronger plot and introduces more Jakku characters, so it expanded the world introduced in the movie and was more satisfying than Finn's story. I struggled with Rey's actions and at first felt that they contradicted her character, but by the end I realized that they really contradicted what I wanted her to do, not what she would have wanted to do. Besides, what I wanted her to do would have prevented The Force Awakens from happening, so I guess I shouldn't have been distracted by that, anyway.
I enjoyed Poe's story the most by far. Typically action-packed sequences and battles in books bore me, but the maneuvers Rucka describes are genuinely exciting. Combined with a more complex story than the other two in the book and legitimate backstory (including information about his parents and how he became involved in the Resistance), this makes for enjoyable reading and ends the book on a strong note.
And what about the fact that this is middle grade fiction? Well, it was noticeable, primarily in the lack of ambiguity. Characters' thoughts, emotions, and motivations are made more explicit and less open to interpretation than if this were adult fiction. And there's a certain safe quality to the writing; despite a couple of examples, it's clear that nothing truly irreparable is going to happen. And I mean, of course it's not, and of course there aren't going to be huge revelations, because it would make no sense for events to contradict The Force Awakens, and they're not going to waste huge plot points and twists on a chapter book. However, Rucka writes with respect for his readers, and he doesn't dumb down the vocabulary just because he's writing for a younger audience.
So, while I was slightly self-conscious about reading a kids' book, it didn't prevent me from enjoying it. And it didn't prevent me from checking out other new Star Wars chapter books despite being a grown-ass lady. #noshame
This is a nice little addition to the SW:TFA lore. I was most surprised by Rey's story, which was really quite an episode. All three give some extra insight into their characters, and Phil Noto's artwork is, as always, lovely.
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
