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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
Enjoyable new-canon timeline Star Wars book. Yes this does have quite a YA-feel, but I mean that in the way of [a:Patrick Ness|370361|Patrick Ness|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1244216486p2/370361.jpg] or [a:Malorie Blackman|172977|Malorie Blackman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1258760862p2/172977.jpg] - and it still feels like a classic Star Wars from the old Extended Universe days. It does feel a little like the events of the Original trilogy are shoe-horned in (the general timeline is pre-Yavin to post-Endor), but since this book follows two young recruits to the Imperial Academy (hence the YA-feel), these events serve merely as a backdrop - we don't know *their* personal story, merely the major events they find themselves suffering through, and it's interesting to see e.g. the destruction of the Death Star from the other side, so to speak. Great start to a new timeline, looking forward to more from Gray.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
This is hands down my favorite Star Wars novel.
Claudia Gray writes Star Wars incredibly well (her novels are my consistently my favorite) and this novel in particular appealed to me in basically every way (this is the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story I've been desperately wanting to read) and I could not put it down.
I need a sequel immediately and also an miniseries adaptation of this on Disney+
Claudia Gray writes Star Wars incredibly well (her novels are my consistently my favorite) and this novel in particular appealed to me in basically every way (this is the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story I've been desperately wanting to read) and I could not put it down.
I need a sequel immediately and also an miniseries adaptation of this on Disney+
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
“Believing in something greater than ourselves isn’t crazy. It’s proof we’re sane. Look how vast the galaxy is. Don’t you have to admit we can’t be the greatest power within it?”
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
This was an excellent Star Wars story and also didn't pull any punches in confronting a lot of the hard topics of the Star Wars universe, war, genocide, indoctrination, slavery, there's lots of heavy topics in here, but handled very well.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
I did enjoy this book. The story was fun and as it went I got more and more invested to see how everything would pan out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol
Full rating: 3.5/5. I enjoyed reading this, but I do think that I grew less interested in the last third of the book. Like the tone at times didn't totally fit the severity of the situation. Also, while I enjoyed the main two characters, some of the others could have been fleshed out a lot more. Especially Nash; I just didn't get him at all. One other thing I didn't like is that the author seems to tell, not show, a lot in this book.