A review by galacticvampire
Padawan by Kiersten White

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

"Obi-Wan looked directly at the gulf of terror inside himself and let it wash over him as he settled on what his fears meant, at their core:
Obi-Wan cared."

Padawan is a beautiful story about growing up, facing your fears and choosing the light. It's Star Wars at it's core.

A perfect companion to Claudia Gray's Master and Apprentice, we see an insecure and green Obi-Wan. His fears of not being good enough, not being able to help people, to never reach his potential as a Jedi, are debilitating to him, and is so great to have another part of the picture on how this absolute need to do the right thing impacts his character.

My minor nitpick with the book (and the reason it isn't a full 5★) is that I feel it could've taken it's time to wrap things up a bit more. I understand his relationship with Qui-Gon couldn't be fixed in this book, and the ending wasn't unsatisfactory per se; but after so many pages exploring Obi-Wan's connections with other beings, the ending felt a little underwhelming.

This is absolutely a feel-good book. And it achieves this vibe while portraying anxiety and pain and fear so weel, but balancing it out with friendship, a surprising amount of lighthearted humor, and the unwavering moral compass of Obi-Wan Kenobi.