Reviews

The Force Awakens - A Junior Novel by Michael Kogge

thebookishelfgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

5.0

thebookishelfgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

5.0

gatun's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the first time I have listened to a novelization of a movie, and a junior novelization at that. Before I discuss the audiobook I just want to clarify a few points. The junior novel is 5 hours and 22 minutes while the adult novel is 10 hours and 21 minutes. There are two different authors, Michael Kogge for the junior and Alan Dean Foster for the adult. Finally there are different narrators, Jonathan Davis for the junior and Marc Thompson for the adult. Also from the sample on Audible, the adult seems to have background music, which frankly I dislike with a passion so I am very glad I am reviewing the junior novel.I feel it is very important to establish the which age group this audiobook is targeting. I asked a friend in grad school who had already listened to it and it was her opinion it was aimed at high school students. I would say middle school but she is much better educated than I am so we will go with her assessment.
If you have seen the movie, this is not a screenplay converted to prose. It does not contain every line of dialog, every moment of action, nor does it describe every breathtaking scene in detail. For those of a certain age it is like the Reader’s Digest condensed version. But that should in no way scare you away from this title. It has very strong merits of its own.
The story is well told. It includes all the high points and establishes characters well. It does not include sound effects or background music (thank you whoever produced this audiobook). We meet Rey, Poe, Finn and Kylo Ren in the same manner as the movie. This is a spoiler free review so let’s just say there are some familiar faces who also make appearances of varying length.
The production values were very good. There were no extraneous sounds and the volume was a constant level. Mr. Davis did a very good job narration this title. His voice creates the characters well whether they are male, female, homo sapien or other species. I especially appreciated how he did the female voices. Again being a no spoiler review, I can only say that he does almost a spot on imitation of the one male character including the infamous attitude. Mr. Davis’s pace matches the action and emotion he is describing.
I did see the movie but that was about three months ago. The audiobook did a nice job of bringing back the full story to my mind. If you have a child who likes Star Wars, this title is great. If you are an adult who wants a shorter version or a version with speech only, no sound effects, you will enjoy the title, too.

Story (Plot) 5
Performance 5
Production Quality 5
Attention Holding 5
Overall: 5

This audiobook was provided by Audiobook Reviewer at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Merged review:

This is the first time I have listened to a novelization of a movie, and a junior novelization at that. Before I discuss the audiobook I just want to clarify a few points. The junior novel is 5 hours and 22 minutes while the adult novel is 10 hours and 21 minutes. There are two different authors, Michael Kogge for the junior and Alan Dean Foster for the adult. Finally there are different narrators, Jonathan Davis for the junior and Marc Thompson for the adult. Also from the sample on Audible, the adult seems to have background music, which frankly I dislike with a passion so I am very glad I am reviewing the junior novel.I feel it is very important to establish the which age group this audiobook is targeting. I asked a friend in grad school who had already listened to it and it was her opinion it was aimed at high school students. I would say middle school but she is much better educated than I am so we will go with her assessment.
If you have seen the movie, this is not a screenplay converted to prose. It does not contain every line of dialog, every moment of action, nor does it describe every breathtaking scene in detail. For those of a certain age it is like the Reader’s Digest condensed version. But that should in no way scare you away from this title. It has very strong merits of its own.
The story is well told. It includes all the high points and establishes characters well. It does not include sound effects or background music (thank you whoever produced this audiobook). We meet Rey, Poe, Finn and Kylo Ren in the same manner as the movie. This is a spoiler free review so let’s just say there are some familiar faces who also make appearances of varying length.
The production values were very good. There were no extraneous sounds and the volume was a constant level. Mr. Davis did a very good job narration this title. His voice creates the characters well whether they are male, female, homo sapien or other species. I especially appreciated how he did the female voices. Again being a no spoiler review, I can only say that he does almost a spot on imitation of the one male character including the infamous attitude. Mr. Davis’s pace matches the action and emotion he is describing.
I did see the movie but that was about three months ago. The audiobook did a nice job of bringing back the full story to my mind. If you have a child who likes Star Wars, this title is great. If you are an adult who wants a shorter version or a version with speech only, no sound effects, you will enjoy the title, too.

Story (Plot) 5
Performance 5
Production Quality 5
Attention Holding 5
Overall: 5

This audiobook was provided by Audiobook Reviewer at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

youreadtoomuch's review against another edition

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5.0

This isn't a review, just a reflection of a few things.
1. I can never really distinguish if they were fighting with a lightsaber or a sword because the book names them both as blades during battle. Okay, never mind really. I just learned and saw an image of Ren's lightsaber.
2. Why did it feel like Rey had feelings for Finn? I'm not here for "girl has first ever encounter with boy and can I make it anymore obvious?" People can be friends, Martha. But I'd also like to point out I am only here for support of headcanon #21 Rey is asexual. Leave her alone.
3. Guess what I'm marathoning this weekend? (Or next?)

faemorgan's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a fun read for me, though I originally brought this for my brother. I had obviously watched the movie before reading this and I was happy to see some of my favourite scenes in the book. Though some were changed a little.

shipatfirstsight's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is better than the adult one, which was a weird experience for me.

watsontheslytherin's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

glaciergalyas's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

cursedherondale's review against another edition

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4.0

I live for Reylo. Also Scoundress. And Stormpilot friendship. General Hux angst. And Bb-8's adorableness (is that even a word? Dunno, idc, lol)

ivshadowsbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

На вълна "Междузвездни войни" съм. От доста време се каня да започна някои от книгите. На мен тази ми беше интересна. Имаше различен поглед върху някои любими сцени и други по-подробни. Е, аз може би съм малко пристрастна. Забавлявах се, докато я четох.