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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness, Infertility, Blood, Medical content
Writing the backstories of iconic characters is probably a bad idea almost all the time. It certainly is for Princess Leia. Claudia Gray's novel about Leia a little before Episode 4 is really bad. I can accept that perhaps Leia was once a ridiculous teenager, going through bland, stereotypical teenager problems; but I don't want to read about it. And now I have anyway--for which I blame myself, of course. :)
Much of the novel feels like a generic YA story with Star Wars characters and locations awkwardly shoehorned in: pathfinder training, adolescent relationship with parents, first crush, and so forth. Not much happens in the novel, and it passes without much spark. Because this is a Claudia Gray novel about teenagers, of course there is a scene where Leia's first love "undoes her braids," so to speak--in both the literal sense and the uncomfortable Alderaanian figurative sense. Yuck. I much prefer to think of Leia as untouched when we meet her in Episode 4. It makes a lot more sense, given her character arc in the original trilogy.
Weird moments: when Leia visits the Naboo system, and talks with a generic queen and the former Captain Panaka--who meets a disappointing fate for no substantial reason at all. I guess that's what happens to a guy named Quarsh. There is no "bad feeling about this" in the novel, but there is a "good feeling about this." There is a corny scene where Leia nearly hires a YT freighter in need of repairs, which I'm sure we're supposed to think is perhaps a near-miss of her first meeting of Han. This is not a particularly large galaxy, apparently. And finally, it seems that Leia's mother is a little bit like Iron Man, which is kind of a strange detail. It's not a convincing reason why she and Bail adopted Leia. Surely in a galaxy that has cloning, Bail and Breha could have created a biological child of their own.
The novel includes at least a couple of small hints about The Last Jedi. Amilyn Holdo and the planet Crait are introduced. That's actually more reveal than the "Journey to..." books have tended to provide in the past. I'll be interested to see the payoff in the film.
Politics in Star Wars novels is always inept, and that's true in this story, too. But this novel includes several scenes with Grand Moff Tarkin, and he is just a fantastic character. For some reason, he works in any format--movie or book. His scenes are the most interesting ones in an otherwise very unremarkable novel. But even so: how dumb can he be? Surely he knows what's going on, and yet does nothing to stop it.
A commitment to reading everything in the Star Wars canon is sometimes more painful than it really ought to be. I'm just thankful to the public library, which has kept me from spending any money on these things.
Much of the novel feels like a generic YA story with Star Wars characters and locations awkwardly shoehorned in: pathfinder training, adolescent relationship with parents, first crush, and so forth. Not much happens in the novel, and it passes without much spark. Because this is a Claudia Gray novel about teenagers, of course there is a scene where Leia's first love "undoes her braids," so to speak--in both the literal sense and the uncomfortable Alderaanian figurative sense. Yuck. I much prefer to think of Leia as untouched when we meet her in Episode 4. It makes a lot more sense, given her character arc in the original trilogy.
Weird moments: when Leia visits the Naboo system, and talks with a generic queen and the former Captain Panaka--who meets a disappointing fate for no substantial reason at all. I guess that's what happens to a guy named Quarsh. There is no "bad feeling about this" in the novel, but there is a "good feeling about this." There is a corny scene where Leia nearly hires a YT freighter in need of repairs, which I'm sure we're supposed to think is perhaps a near-miss of her first meeting of Han. This is not a particularly large galaxy, apparently. And finally, it seems that Leia's mother is a little bit like Iron Man, which is kind of a strange detail. It's not a convincing reason why she and Bail adopted Leia. Surely in a galaxy that has cloning, Bail and Breha could have created a biological child of their own.
The novel includes at least a couple of small hints about The Last Jedi. Amilyn Holdo and the planet Crait are introduced. That's actually more reveal than the "Journey to..." books have tended to provide in the past. I'll be interested to see the payoff in the film.
Politics in Star Wars novels is always inept, and that's true in this story, too. But this novel includes several scenes with Grand Moff Tarkin, and he is just a fantastic character. For some reason, he works in any format--movie or book. His scenes are the most interesting ones in an otherwise very unremarkable novel. But even so: how dumb can he be? Surely he knows what's going on, and yet does nothing to stop it.
A commitment to reading everything in the Star Wars canon is sometimes more painful than it really ought to be. I'm just thankful to the public library, which has kept me from spending any money on these things.
Satisfies my ongoing Princess Leia itch! Claudia Gray masterfully captures Leia's voice and perspective. Perfect for anyone who loves Star Wars.
An unoriginal origin story, though it does nicely show Leia's character formation. Still, everything is too predictable. If not for the fascinating setting I would have put the book down a while ago
***ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WHAT A NERD GIRL SAYS***
To start off, I’ll say this: I normally don’t tend to like extended canon novels. I usually like my stories the way they are, and if I feel like any extra, I’ll go read some fan fiction. I love fan fiction. I’ve had a hard time with some of the new novels that have come out in this new canon Star Wars universe because it often times feels like I’m reading fan fiction. Now, to be fair, its really GOOD fan fiction, because its written by really great authors but it still just feels weird and I think that’s why I give it four instead of a full five stars.
That being said, I did really enjoy it. This could potentially be because I have an extreme bias when it comes to anything Princess Leia, because she has been my absolute favorite fictional character since I was about five years old. It helps that I am obsessed with the original trilogy and feel more of a connection to the Rebel Alliance (check the tattoo on the back of my neck) than I do to Jedi or Sith or Empire. So getting extra stories and insight on my favorite character and the creation and beginning of the Rebel Alliance was plenty enough to keep me reading from page one until the end.
But again, I did enjoy it! I liked that we got to see so much more of Leia’s character outside of being an integral part of the rebellion. There has always been so much to her character, how smart she is and all of that but to see her actually put that in action was fantastic. I liked seeing all the different ways she had to prove herself worthy of the throne. I liked that it was physical and mental and emotional. I liked that these trials made sense to me, knowing the person that she becomes in the future. I enjoyed watching my favorite character climb mountains, and delve into the issues plaguing the galaxy and make connections. Its a wonderful beginning to the strong and diplomatic character that we know.
I did also like that they gave her a love interest in the novel. Some people may not necessarily agree with that but I loved every bit of that. It makes 100% sense to me. She’s heir to a throne, and a huge plot of the novel is her undertaking the challenges to prove her worth as an heir and of course that is eventually going to include choosing the right person to be her viceroy, her partner in crime for life when she becomes queen. I, of course, love Leia and Han so much. They are my original OTP and all that. But I think it makes their relationship that much better to know that Leia has experienced love prior to that. It just makes everything seem so much more realistic and relatable to me.
Lastly, I really loved that this novel addressed something that we don’t see much when it comes to the Rebel Alliance. This is the very very small beginnings of it (though i think technically this slightly around the same time of Star Wars: Rebels, the animated television show I’ve recently started watching) and I loved how they tackle the tough questions. In the original trilogy, the Rebel Alliance is painted very much as the good guys but let’s be real, there was a lot of bloodshed in order to make the rebellion a reality. They weren’t completely innocent and they had blood on their own hands. They had to, to make change happen. I like that we see the characters in this novel come face to face with that. They’re at the very beginning and they sometimes can be idealistic but they realize they’re never going to make any change if they don’t make those sacrifices and I thought it was really to see that brought up.
All in all, a totally enjoyable book. If you’re not a Star Wars fan, at all, you most likely won’t enjoy it much but I think if you are a fan, and you’re interested in learning more of the backstory and more about the history of Leia and her parents, its a definite must read. Claudia Gray is a great storyteller and I think she does an excellent job with Leia.
To start off, I’ll say this: I normally don’t tend to like extended canon novels. I usually like my stories the way they are, and if I feel like any extra, I’ll go read some fan fiction. I love fan fiction. I’ve had a hard time with some of the new novels that have come out in this new canon Star Wars universe because it often times feels like I’m reading fan fiction. Now, to be fair, its really GOOD fan fiction, because its written by really great authors but it still just feels weird and I think that’s why I give it four instead of a full five stars.
That being said, I did really enjoy it. This could potentially be because I have an extreme bias when it comes to anything Princess Leia, because she has been my absolute favorite fictional character since I was about five years old. It helps that I am obsessed with the original trilogy and feel more of a connection to the Rebel Alliance (check the tattoo on the back of my neck) than I do to Jedi or Sith or Empire. So getting extra stories and insight on my favorite character and the creation and beginning of the Rebel Alliance was plenty enough to keep me reading from page one until the end.
But again, I did enjoy it! I liked that we got to see so much more of Leia’s character outside of being an integral part of the rebellion. There has always been so much to her character, how smart she is and all of that but to see her actually put that in action was fantastic. I liked seeing all the different ways she had to prove herself worthy of the throne. I liked that it was physical and mental and emotional. I liked that these trials made sense to me, knowing the person that she becomes in the future. I enjoyed watching my favorite character climb mountains, and delve into the issues plaguing the galaxy and make connections. Its a wonderful beginning to the strong and diplomatic character that we know.
I did also like that they gave her a love interest in the novel. Some people may not necessarily agree with that but I loved every bit of that. It makes 100% sense to me. She’s heir to a throne, and a huge plot of the novel is her undertaking the challenges to prove her worth as an heir and of course that is eventually going to include choosing the right person to be her viceroy, her partner in crime for life when she becomes queen. I, of course, love Leia and Han so much. They are my original OTP and all that. But I think it makes their relationship that much better to know that Leia has experienced love prior to that. It just makes everything seem so much more realistic and relatable to me.
Lastly, I really loved that this novel addressed something that we don’t see much when it comes to the Rebel Alliance. This is the very very small beginnings of it (though i think technically this slightly around the same time of Star Wars: Rebels, the animated television show I’ve recently started watching) and I loved how they tackle the tough questions. In the original trilogy, the Rebel Alliance is painted very much as the good guys but let’s be real, there was a lot of bloodshed in order to make the rebellion a reality. They weren’t completely innocent and they had blood on their own hands. They had to, to make change happen. I like that we see the characters in this novel come face to face with that. They’re at the very beginning and they sometimes can be idealistic but they realize they’re never going to make any change if they don’t make those sacrifices and I thought it was really to see that brought up.
All in all, a totally enjoyable book. If you’re not a Star Wars fan, at all, you most likely won’t enjoy it much but I think if you are a fan, and you’re interested in learning more of the backstory and more about the history of Leia and her parents, its a definite must read. Claudia Gray is a great storyteller and I think she does an excellent job with Leia.
4 stars! Because I liked how it was writing, Leila was very well portrayed.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
I really enjoyed reading this! It gave me a new insight into Leia and what shaped her into the woman we saw in "A New Hope."