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Long before he was a General in the Resistance, Poe Dameron was just…a teenager with attitude! Poe Dameron: Free Fall recounts Poe’s tumultuous teen years as he conflicts with authority and tries to carve out his own destiny…
Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review by Chris: Poe Dameron – Free Fall”
For a character who was originally supposed to die in the opening minutes of The Force Awakens, Poe Dameron has had quite the extended life. Beyond the sequel trilogy, he’s had an excellent on-going comic, starred in an adult novel, and already gotten a little back story in novels/comics before. After his surprise additional backstory introduced in The Rise of Skywalker, we’re getting a YA novel by writer Alex Segura that’ll dive into Poe’s time as a spice smuggler this August, titled Poe Dameron: Free Fall (via Polygon). It’s surprising characters with less backstory and content weren’t chosen for a novel, but here we are. Check out the blurb and some of my thoughts below. Continue reading “YA Novel Poe Dameron: Free Fall Explores Character’s Smuggling Past in August”
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In Force Collector, a YA novel from author Kevin Shinick that’s part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker program, a young man takes his new friend and his droid on a journey to discover the history of the Jedi, coming to understand his own abilities in time. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: Force Collector”
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A Crash of Fate is a young adult novel written by Zoraida Córdova as part of the Galaxy’s Edge tie-in program, taking place primarily at the park’s in-universe location, following two old friends who cross paths again in a romantic and danger filled day-long adventure. The romance is never too heavy handed, the adventure that weaves them across Black Spire Outpost is engaging and fun, and the characters are relatable, but sometimes the park aspect gets a little too on the nose, though overall it results in an enjoyable and unique little tale. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: A Crash of Fate”
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Most Wanted, written by Rae Carson, is a young adult novel focusing on Han Solo and Qi’ra prior to the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s a well-written, fast paced book that gives Qi’ra her due, diving deep into what makes her tick, while focusing more on the idealistic younger Han than the film ever did. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: Most Wanted”
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Written by the fan-favorite (rightfully so) Claudia Gray, Leia: Princess of Alderaan is a Young Adult novel that’s part of the “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” initiative, taking place a couple years before A New Hope. It should come as no surprise I’m highly recommending another Gray novel, as she crafts a compelling tale of Leia’s journey into a larger world, the growing rebellion, and how it effects her and her family as the dangers of action and inaction become more real for all of them. Come for The Last Jedi tidbits, stay for the enthralling character piece. Continue reading “Canon Novel Review: Leia: Princess of Alderaan”
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Rebel Rising by Beth Revis is an excellently told tale about Jyn Erso’s life, set between the opening flashback of Rogue One and her being broke out of prison on Wobani by the Rebellion, while its Young Adult moniker should be ignored if that typically scares you away from a book because RR really highlights the harsher realities of the journey Jyn goes on. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: Rebel Rising”
The Lucasfilm’s Publishing Writer’s Roundtable on Friday was a pleasant panel where we got to spend some time with various authors across various mediums and age-ranges of material discussing their process and writing for Star Wars. It all ended with a bang, as the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi initiative was announced (a similar program was in place for The Force Awakens), where hints for the new film will be hidden in the Phasma novel by Deliah S. Dawson, the Captain Phasma comic miniseries by Kelly Thompson, Leia: The Princess of Alderaan YA novel by Claudia Gray (!!), and Ken Liu’s (!!!) The Legends of Luke Skywalker, and much more! Details within and some additional insights from the Del Rey panel Saturday as well.
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Ahsoka, by E.K. Johnston, is a YA novel that sheds a little light on the fan favorite eponymous character’s life post-The Clone Wars, pre-Star Wars Rebels. Johnston captures reader engagement with an excellent portrayal of Ahsoka Tano, dream character meetings, and a small focus, though that focus, the book’s pacing, and some questionable compositional choices do hinder the overall experience. Overall, Ahsoka fans or people looking for a quick and fun Star Wars book shouldn’t be deterred though, as there is still plenty to enjoy despite the flaws. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: Ahsoka”
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Serving as both a companion piece to the original trilogy character-focused YA novels from “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the film itself, Before the Awakening (written by Greg Rucka, art by Phil Noto) fleshes out the three new highly entertaining and enjoyable leads of the new trilogy, Finn, Rey, and Poe. Overall BtA doesn’t change our perceptions of the characters, but it deepens the strong character work done for them in the film as well as explain the state of the galaxy a little more than the film cared to. Any fan of The Force Awakens and these three new leads should take the time to read their stories within Before the Awakening. Continue reading “Canon Young Adult Novel Review: Star Wars: Before the Awakening”
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