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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I was gifted this book as a birthday present. A wonderful coming of age story that sees Leia become the strong, intelligent, and brave heroine she is. Claudia Gray did an amazing job of using the character of Leia while expanding on the Star Wars universe. Worth the read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this look at a young Leia finding her way amidst galactic politics and nascent insurrection, navigating her first love and finding lifelong friends in unexpected places, all sent against the backdrop of an Empire seeking to destroy any notion of an uprising.
I had high hopes for Leia, Princess of Alderaan after reading Claudia Gray's fantastic Leia novel, Bloodlines. This one follows a younger Leia, just a few years before we meet her in A New Hope.
Not quite as good as Gray’s other Star Wars novels, but still a great entry into the back story of Princess Leia. I think it suffers from awkward attempts to maintain continuity between Lucasfilm canon and Disney characters, but these issues are not of Gray’s creation. She’s playing the hand she was dealt, and is giving us insight into the life of Leia Organa, prior to the events of A New Hope. It’s interesting and mildly ‘teen-angsty,’ but it works. It was an enjoyable read.
rating: 2.5/5
it's a galaxy full of sup-plots & a pointless romantic interest. the friendship between leia & holdo should've been more of the focus; especially if this was supposed to flow into tlj. at least leia got to fuck before all hell broke loose tho.
on its own, it's a decent enough coming of age story. if you do give it a go i highly recommend the audiobook.
it's a galaxy full of sup-plots & a pointless romantic interest. the friendship between leia & holdo should've been more of the focus; especially if this was supposed to flow into tlj. at least leia got to fuck before all hell broke loose tho.
on its own, it's a decent enough coming of age story. if you do give it a go i highly recommend the audiobook.
4.5!!
claudia gray you have done it again … leia’s voice and character was captured perfectly and this book somehow converted me into a holdo enjoyer when i was previously indifferent to her? the last lines though … she really twisted the knife in
claudia gray you have done it again … leia’s voice and character was captured perfectly and this book somehow converted me into a holdo enjoyer when i was previously indifferent to her? the last lines though … she really twisted the knife in
A good read about young Leia. I like that it ties Holdo in to the story and explains Leia's parents' very direct role in the beginnings of the Rebellion.
My favorite part is when Leia visits a moon of Naboo and interacts with the queen who is quite like her biological mother (though Leia doesn't know of course). They talk with an Imperial and Naboo native named Moff Panaka who is struck by how much Leia resembles someone he used to know. He starts asking her questions about her parents, and based on her age and the fact that she was adopted has him suspecting something and says he will speak with the Emperor about her. Of course he doesn't get to tell the Emperor ;) I loved the tie in with Padme and how there are people around who know the truth about Leia's parents, but it's always kept from her.
I preferred Bloodline (also written by Claudia Gray) where the truth about Leia's father in particular is made known to the galaxy, but this was a nice "origin story" as well.
My favorite part is when Leia visits a moon of Naboo and interacts with the queen who is quite like her biological mother (though Leia doesn't know of course). They talk with an Imperial and Naboo native named Moff Panaka who is struck by how much Leia resembles someone he used to know. He starts asking her questions about her parents, and based on her age and the fact that she was adopted has him suspecting something and says he will speak with the Emperor about her. Of course he doesn't get to tell the Emperor ;) I loved the tie in with Padme and how there are people around who know the truth about Leia's parents, but it's always kept from her.
I preferred Bloodline (also written by Claudia Gray) where the truth about Leia's father in particular is made known to the galaxy, but this was a nice "origin story" as well.
Disclaimer: I liked Lost Stars. I don't mind YA titles, nor the idea of a romantic one. This book though is profoundly frustrating. About halfway through, I gave up hoping to enjoy it and kept going in case any new bits of the canon were fleshed out. They weren't. There's really no good reason to read this book.
Why is it so frustrating? The novel goes out of its way to both point out Leia's privilege and her awareness of it, but it's just so dull to observe Leia learning what we already know about the nascent Rebellion. It's a fatal flaw, as this tack just makes her come across as young Picard in "Rascals" rather than someone we can empathize with.
Why is it so frustrating? The novel goes out of its way to both point out Leia's privilege and her awareness of it, but it's just so dull to observe Leia learning what we already know about the nascent Rebellion. It's a fatal flaw, as this tack just makes her come across as young Picard in "Rascals" rather than someone we can empathize with.
It took me a while to get into this one, hence the almost month long reading time (with another book read in between). Parts were really enjoyable, other parts I felt like I just needed to get through. I'd still recommend it to any Leia fan though.
I was expecting a fun light read but it gave me emotions ;_;
It also IS a fun light read for the most part, with lots of sweet and funny moments, good star wars atmosphere, and likable characters. The pacing was a little weird, and dialogue/character interactions seemed a bit stiff at times; I probably wouldn't have given it a whole four stars if it hadn't effectively kicked me in the heart in the last section, but it did and here we are.
I really appreciated how the book tackled the moral questions around armed resistance. It was authentic to Leia's character, it had nuance, and it made sense (yes, it's morally acceptable to resist a dictatorship). I'm having a bit of trouble conveying my point here, but, in contrast to some of the heavy-handed, inconsistent, poorly thought through moral questioning of many YA novels I've read ('violence is bad and makes you as bad as them! But wait violence against faceless goons is completely acceptable and doesn't even have a moral impact on the characters'), this was very refreshingly on point.
It also IS a fun light read for the most part, with lots of sweet and funny moments, good star wars atmosphere, and likable characters. The pacing was a little weird, and dialogue/character interactions seemed a bit stiff at times; I probably wouldn't have given it a whole four stars if it hadn't effectively kicked me in the heart in the last section, but it did and here we are.
I really appreciated how the book tackled the moral questions around armed resistance. It was authentic to Leia's character, it had nuance, and it made sense (yes, it's morally acceptable to resist a dictatorship). I'm having a bit of trouble conveying my point here, but, in contrast to some of the heavy-handed, inconsistent, poorly thought through moral questioning of many YA novels I've read ('violence is bad and makes you as bad as them! But wait violence against faceless goons is completely acceptable and doesn't even have a moral impact on the characters'), this was very refreshingly on point.