Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
I picked up about 5 books and subsequently put them down prior to trying Lost Stars, and before I knew it I was 150 pages through. It really sucked me in and I got through it so quickly. The setting was obviously great, it's a galaxy far, far away. It was great seeing the battles depicted in the movies from the view of Empire officers and Rebel soldiers, as well as seeing new planets. I liked the characters of Ciena and Thane, I think they could have been developed a bit more, but I liked how they dealt with loyalty and their thought processes regarding the Empire felt real and understandable. I really liked how war was portrayed, it was quite mature for a YA book, and it was nice seeing reactions to Alderaan's destruction. My one biggest nitpick about the original movie is that Leia barely seemed to care that her home planet was destroyed, so the emphasis it had on the characters in this book made me feel a lot better. I don't really have many negatives, I wish we got a more concrete wrap up for Ciena, and sometimes it felt a bit juvenile when the author was spelling things out for us.
I really strongly considered giving this 5 stars, but I think it will have to be 4.5.
I really strongly considered giving this 5 stars, but I think it will have to be 4.5.
My initial foray into the Star Wars library is Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. For a fan of the first three and last three movies, I was hoping to enjoy a story set in the world of Star Wars. This story is set during the time of the Empire when emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are battling The Resistance. First, the story starts a bit further back with the meeting of the two lead protagonists, Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree when they are young children. Their journey begins with their hopes to one day become pilots in the Empire's military. They begin their training in earnest and over the years master their skills with flying aircraft on their home planet. As young adults, they recruited by the Empire and join the academy in the distance plant of Corustant. The strict guidelines and ultra competitive nature of the academy tests the relationship of the two friends. As the Resistance gains strength the two eventually join the Empire's galactic battle with other planets and pockets of the Resistance. At this point in the story, the larger characters of the original Star Wars movies are interwoven into the plot but are not the main focus. The battles continue for many years and culminate in a final test of friendship, love and loyalty.
I found the story mostly entertaining but at times found the lead characters a bit too predictable. There is obvious romantic tension that builds up once they are both adults and the resulting romance is expected. The story takes place in a familiar galaxy and expects the reader to be familiar with it as well. Still, I think the setting could have used more descriptive detail especially when it wasn't set on familiar planets and places. It is a rich world of creatures and worlds that could be better utilized to make the story more interesting and multi-layered.
I found the story mostly entertaining but at times found the lead characters a bit too predictable. There is obvious romantic tension that builds up once they are both adults and the resulting romance is expected. The story takes place in a familiar galaxy and expects the reader to be familiar with it as well. Still, I think the setting could have used more descriptive detail especially when it wasn't set on familiar planets and places. It is a rich world of creatures and worlds that could be better utilized to make the story more interesting and multi-layered.
“Ciena had been raised knowing that her word was her bond and her honor the only possession that could ever truly matter.”
“Besides, Thane could already tell—in spite of all their differences, he and Ciena ree were going to be friends.”
“I don’t doubt it. I don’t doubt you. So stop doubting yourself, okay? We can do this.”
“Thane closes his eyes and whispered, seemingly to himself, ‘I’m out of here. I’m gone.’”
“Thane was one of the very top slots for piloting—and one of the few names that ever came in above his was Ciena Ree’s.”
“Thane recognized the way she ran, the shape of her black curled braided at the nape of her neck. She’s beautiful.”
“Those countless days soaring through the valets of Jelucan had taught them to understand each other without words.”
“You think everything the academy and the Empire do is perfect.”
“And you think every authority figure is evil like your father.”
“Then, quickly, he bent and kissed her on the cheek. Cienna’s full lips parted slightly in surprise and pleasure. Thane realized he should’ve done that a long time ago.”
“You’re still the girl from the valleys. You won’t go against your word, even when you’ve promised yourself to a leader and a fleet that don’t deserve you.”
“And you’re still the second-waver. You find it easier to break your promises than to keep them.”
“And even though he’d spent the better part of the last three hours learning absolutely every detail of her body, it still exhilarated him to see her lying next to him, wearing nothing but a corner of the sheet.”
“How much time have you wasted here?”
“Wasted? I was waiting for you.”
“From that day on, her service to the empire would be more than her duty: it would be her atonement for loving even one person in the galaxy more than her honor.”
“Ciena. Always Ciena. Did thane possess a memory worth having that she wasn’t a part of? Could he drink enough to blot out even the thought of her?”
“I guess—I guess she chose me.”
“The empire was never worthy of you.”
“Now that Ciena had found her way out, she felt only relief. The pain of merely existing day to day had become wholly clear to her now that it had been lifted and she didn’t have to bear it one hour more.”
“Good people can start to serve the empire. But if they stay, they stop being good. You do one thing you thought you’d never do—follow one order that makes you feel sick inside—and you tell yourself it’s the only time. This is an exception. This isn’t the way it’s always going to be.”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
This piece is one in a million, somehow checked every box, and affirmed the fact that Star Wars is my heart and soul. Please become a movie. Please.
“Besides, Thane could already tell—in spite of all their differences, he and Ciena ree were going to be friends.”
“I don’t doubt it. I don’t doubt you. So stop doubting yourself, okay? We can do this.”
“Thane closes his eyes and whispered, seemingly to himself, ‘I’m out of here. I’m gone.’”
“Thane was one of the very top slots for piloting—and one of the few names that ever came in above his was Ciena Ree’s.”
“Thane recognized the way she ran, the shape of her black curled braided at the nape of her neck. She’s beautiful.”
“Those countless days soaring through the valets of Jelucan had taught them to understand each other without words.”
“You think everything the academy and the Empire do is perfect.”
“And you think every authority figure is evil like your father.”
“Then, quickly, he bent and kissed her on the cheek. Cienna’s full lips parted slightly in surprise and pleasure. Thane realized he should’ve done that a long time ago.”
“You’re still the girl from the valleys. You won’t go against your word, even when you’ve promised yourself to a leader and a fleet that don’t deserve you.”
“And you’re still the second-waver. You find it easier to break your promises than to keep them.”
“And even though he’d spent the better part of the last three hours learning absolutely every detail of her body, it still exhilarated him to see her lying next to him, wearing nothing but a corner of the sheet.”
“How much time have you wasted here?”
“Wasted? I was waiting for you.”
“From that day on, her service to the empire would be more than her duty: it would be her atonement for loving even one person in the galaxy more than her honor.”
“Ciena. Always Ciena. Did thane possess a memory worth having that she wasn’t a part of? Could he drink enough to blot out even the thought of her?”
“I guess—I guess she chose me.”
“The empire was never worthy of you.”
“Now that Ciena had found her way out, she felt only relief. The pain of merely existing day to day had become wholly clear to her now that it had been lifted and she didn’t have to bear it one hour more.”
“Good people can start to serve the empire. But if they stay, they stop being good. You do one thing you thought you’d never do—follow one order that makes you feel sick inside—and you tell yourself it’s the only time. This is an exception. This isn’t the way it’s always going to be.”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
This piece is one in a million, somehow checked every box, and affirmed the fact that Star Wars is my heart and soul. Please become a movie. Please.
Despite being a young adult novel, I thought this was the best-written and most interesting of all the new canon books.
I don't want to be too harsh as this is essentially a kids' book but I was left rather disappointed. Now I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with writing a YA book about main characters that are growing up as the elite in a totalitarian genocidal regime but it does bring up some pretty heavy topics that need to be handled with care. Unfortunately, this books attempts at handling topics of genocide, coercion, loyalty and trauma fall short of what I would consider "good" even in a book written for tweens. The effect is that while Thane's motivations to are really shallow and uninteresting, Ciena's moral dilemmas for much of the book are downright insufferable and offensively simplistic.
On the topic of the target audience though, while it is marketed as a YA romance and written on a level for ten- to twelve-year-olds, the book also struggles under the suffocating weight of canon. It really feels like its pitching hard to fans of the OG trilogy who are all in at least their 50s. Over the course of the story, we are essentially treated to a retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy and a prequel to The Force Awakens from the PoV of inconsequential background extras. I cannot stress enough how detrimental it is for character development to have most of the impactful high-stakes moments be scenes from the movies where our characters are either passive observers or inconsequential participants that cannot affect the outcome.
It comes down to this. This is a space fantasy story about teenagers falling in love while going to an intense private school and then they are almost torn asunder by war and tragedy. It isn't everyone's cup of tea but its exactly the kind of story I am an absolute sucker for. Unfortunately, the execution left me really disappointed and uninvested.
Spoiler
desert the Empire and join the RebellionOn the topic of the target audience though, while it is marketed as a YA romance and written on a level for ten- to twelve-year-olds, the book also struggles under the suffocating weight of canon. It really feels like its pitching hard to fans of the OG trilogy who are all in at least their 50s. Over the course of the story, we are essentially treated to a retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy and a prequel to The Force Awakens from the PoV of inconsequential background extras. I cannot stress enough how detrimental it is for character development to have most of the impactful high-stakes moments be scenes from the movies where our characters are either passive observers or inconsequential participants that cannot affect the outcome.
It comes down to this. This is a space fantasy story about teenagers falling in love while going to an intense private school and then they are almost torn asunder by war and tragedy. It isn't everyone's cup of tea but its exactly the kind of story I am an absolute sucker for. Unfortunately, the execution left me really disappointed and uninvested.
The concept of star-crossed lovers has been a classic trope in stories for millennia, and yet in all of those stories, it's been rare for one to literally involve characters being separated by stars. In Lost Stars, however, Claudia Gray tells just such a story, set within the new Star Wars universe. One of the first books to be released within the new framework of The Journey to the Force Awakens, this book is canon within the Star Wars universe, secondary only to the films themselves.
Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree have grown up on the planet Jelucan, separated not by a vast distance on the small Outer Rim world, but rather by culture and circumstance. Thane is from a high-class family among the newer arrivals to the world, while Ciena is from a simple farming family in the first wave of settlers on Jelucan. Despite their differences, they bond over a shared love of ships and piloting, and a chance encounter with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who encourages them to consider becoming pilots for the newly forming Empire, which is solidifying its rule following the collapse of the Old Republic. Through their friendship, which gradually blossoms into more, we also follow the events of the galaxy from the rise of the Empire, through the rise and victories of the Rebellion and the destructions of both Death Stars, and lastly to the final defeat of the Empire at the desert world of Jakku.
While the story takes us through these major events, and other smaller encounters that fit well within the Star Wars lore we all know and love, the fate of the galaxy is only tangential to the lives and relationships of Thane and Ciena. Through the turbulence of a war torn galaxy, and through moral crises that each responds to in their own ways, we experience the reality and brokenness of war, and we see not big heroes, or Jedi and Sith battling away in grand style, but the lives of everyday people making their way in the galaxy. Their relationships are the stars of this story, and much like the beloved television series Firefly, the focus of the story is not the events happening around them, but how they interact with each other and with those around them.
Claudia Gray shows her incredible writing skill, marking her as potentially one of the great Star Wars authors along with such names as Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston. She avoids using excessive technical detail or archaic terms, but instead showcasing a beautifully minimalistic writing style that draws you in to the story, without distracting you with flowery language. The characters have true depth and emotion, and you understand their motivations as well as how they perceive the others around them with heart-rending detail. Lost Stars is well worth the read, and a wonderful indication that the legacy of Star Wars novels will continue to be one with incredible stories and deep characters despite restarting into a new universe.
Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree have grown up on the planet Jelucan, separated not by a vast distance on the small Outer Rim world, but rather by culture and circumstance. Thane is from a high-class family among the newer arrivals to the world, while Ciena is from a simple farming family in the first wave of settlers on Jelucan. Despite their differences, they bond over a shared love of ships and piloting, and a chance encounter with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who encourages them to consider becoming pilots for the newly forming Empire, which is solidifying its rule following the collapse of the Old Republic. Through their friendship, which gradually blossoms into more, we also follow the events of the galaxy from the rise of the Empire, through the rise and victories of the Rebellion and the destructions of both Death Stars, and lastly to the final defeat of the Empire at the desert world of Jakku.
While the story takes us through these major events, and other smaller encounters that fit well within the Star Wars lore we all know and love, the fate of the galaxy is only tangential to the lives and relationships of Thane and Ciena. Through the turbulence of a war torn galaxy, and through moral crises that each responds to in their own ways, we experience the reality and brokenness of war, and we see not big heroes, or Jedi and Sith battling away in grand style, but the lives of everyday people making their way in the galaxy. Their relationships are the stars of this story, and much like the beloved television series Firefly, the focus of the story is not the events happening around them, but how they interact with each other and with those around them.
Claudia Gray shows her incredible writing skill, marking her as potentially one of the great Star Wars authors along with such names as Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston. She avoids using excessive technical detail or archaic terms, but instead showcasing a beautifully minimalistic writing style that draws you in to the story, without distracting you with flowery language. The characters have true depth and emotion, and you understand their motivations as well as how they perceive the others around them with heart-rending detail. Lost Stars is well worth the read, and a wonderful indication that the legacy of Star Wars novels will continue to be one with incredible stories and deep characters despite restarting into a new universe.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A surprising read. Excellent for Star Wars fans (obviously).
Fantastic read. Easily one of the best Star Wars novels out there and so far my favorite of the new canon. B