purplesaturday's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What I thought this book did best, was showing the relationship between Leia and her parents - the good and the bad. It felt very natural to me.
I didn’t think I’d like any romance in this book, but I found Kier likeable and a valuable perspective on things that differs from her parents belief. Though of course the entire time, I was just waiting for him to leave or die.
I really liked how this book kind of explained Leia’s lack of emotion for her entire planet being destroyed. We see, from her perspective, how she is able to to focus on her mission above all else, seeming eerily calm in moments of crisis to others.
I didn’t think I’d like any romance in this book, but I found Kier likeable and a valuable perspective on things that differs from her parents belief. Though of course the entire time, I was just waiting for him to leave or die.
I really liked how this book kind of explained Leia’s lack of emotion for her entire planet being destroyed. We see, from her perspective, how she is able to to focus on her mission above all else, seeming eerily calm in moments of crisis to others.
Spoiler
”When her fear or despair reached its absolute height, her mind turned crystalline—hard, set, focused, straight.”Spoiler
I’ve just read Queen’s Peril, so seeing the state of Naboo was particularly saddening. The way the new queen is reduced to a mere puppet when past queens were so respected, and everything that has happened to Panaka.. I kind of wish they’d left it unclear if he’d revealed Leia’s true parentage to Palpatine or not, but I understand why they didn’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Slavery, Grief, Classism, and Colonisation
Minor: War
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Excuse me, Claudia Gray, but I did not sign up for a book that would set this kind of heartbreaking ending. I would like my money back for emotional damage, please (never mind that I got it from the library).
We all know and love Leia Organa. I'm a prequel girl all the way, but Leia is as badass as her mom, and she was the original warrior princess. This book is a good introduction to how she became the Leia we first meet in A New Hope. It's very much YA (she's a bit whiny at times, like every teenager in existence), but the steps she takes here and the friendships she makes inform a lot of her character in the movies.
Two side characters got my attention in particular, alongside Leia:
1) Kier. I knew from the very beginning (like the moment they started flirting) what the twist would be, but I did not expect that ending. I don't remember how I got spoiled, but I knew it would happened and Claudia Gray still managed to rip my heart right out of my chest with that one. Kier is that lawful good character that is set up for failure from the very beginning because of those morals, and it provides great contrast to what Leia becomes once she joins the Rebellion.
2)Amilyn. My girl is autistic-coded as hell and I was LIVING for it. I did not realize it was that character from the sequels (because I tend to ignore the existence of episodes 8 and 9 as best I can 🙃 ) and I will probably have to rewatch to see if that characterization holds up in the movies (doubt it), but she is everything and I love her with all my heart.
Because it was released in 2017, it doesn't perfectly hold up with more recent canon (like the fact that Leia already met Obi-Wan in the Kenobi series, and that the same show pictured the Aldera palace as a modern skyscraper rather than an expansive household built on historical foundations). However, I think it's a very good read for young people who want to know more about Leia. Gift this to your Star Wars-loving teens and young adults. And then take a few hours to borrow and read it yourself!
We all know and love Leia Organa. I'm a prequel girl all the way, but Leia is as badass as her mom, and she was the original warrior princess. This book is a good introduction to how she became the Leia we first meet in A New Hope. It's very much YA (she's a bit whiny at times, like every teenager in existence), but the steps she takes here and the friendships she makes inform a lot of her character in the movies.
Two side characters got my attention in particular, alongside Leia:
1) Kier. I knew from the very beginning (like the moment they started flirting) what the twist would be, but I did not expect that ending. I don't remember how I got spoiled
Spoiler
about his death, and let's be real, we all knew he had to be gone before A New Hope2)Amilyn. My girl is autistic-coded as hell and I was LIVING for it. I did not realize it was that character from the sequels (because I tend to ignore the existence of episodes 8 and 9 as best I can 🙃 ) and I will probably have to rewatch to see if that characterization holds up in the movies (doubt it), but she is everything and I love her with all my heart.
Because it was released in 2017, it doesn't perfectly hold up with more recent canon (like the fact that Leia already met Obi-Wan in the Kenobi series, and that the same show pictured the Aldera palace as a modern skyscraper rather than an expansive household built on historical foundations). However, I think it's a very good read for young people who want to know more about Leia. Gift this to your Star Wars-loving teens and young adults. And then take a few hours to borrow and read it yourself!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Death, Grief, Colonisation, Deportation, and Classism
Minor: War, Body shaming, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, and Blood
heather667's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Deportation, Child death, Colonisation, and Genocide
Moderate: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Alcohol
melsage1823's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An absolutely amazing character study on Leia, Breha and Bail and the planet Alderaan itself. Be warned that this book will leave you emotional and extremely angry at the empire for destroying Alderaan.
Leia was perfectly characterised and set up to become the strong Princess she is in A New Hope. From her point of view we get to see what she thought of the empire and the struggles she generally faced coping during such a difficult time in her life after her Day Of Demand. Gray just gets Leia and understands how to write her in such a poetic way.
Speaking of characters I am so glad we get even more development from Leia's parents Bail and Breha and that's absolutely amazing as not even the prequel era gave them both the development we deserved to see. Gray gets both characters and makes sure to show us why we should care about their relationship with Leia and their eventual deaths. Sure we get to see Bail in other media but Breha barely gets any focus so I'm glad she was put to good use in this book.
I also like how this book gets me to like things from The Last Jedi I hated such as the character of Amilyn Holdo and the planet Crait and gets me to like them and appreciate their importance to the Star Wars universe. It once again proves to me female characters shouldn't be written without a women's voice at the writers table. Amilyn next to Leias parents was definitely one of my favourite side characters in this book.
Alderaan another thing underused in other Star Wars media was written beautiful and described so well it made me ache when thinking back to what happens to it in A New Hope. Alderaan feels like a character in his own write and Gray brings to life the landscape of the planet and the culture and royal traditions of the planet so well. Learning about Leia's day of demand left me feeling extremely emotional.
Overall and absolutely incredible book that developed characters and parts of the Star Wars universe that haven't been explored much extremely well. Highly recommend this book to any Star Wars fan especially if Leia Organa is your favourite character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
ohgull's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was so good! It was my first ever Star Wars book and I am glad I started with this one. I have always liked Leia, but this book adds so much more depth to her and made her one of my favorite characters in the original trilogy. (Luke will always be my favorite lol)
I loved the aspects of her personal journey and growth. Even though she was a bit younger than me, I felt like I could relate to her a lot about growing up and assuming more responsibility. This was an amazing book and it came at just the right time in my life.
I enjoyed seeing familiar faces and new ones alike. The returnees provided a sense of familiarity and grounded the story so that the new cast members and locations could mold the story and give it more potential. I felt like I could focus more on the intricacies of the characters and meanings. This story expanded the Star Wars universe in a meaningful way. I loved the development of the Organa's involvement in the Rebellion, from peacemakers to rebels.
The moral conflicts in this book was rough. Yes, there were a lot of instances where there was a clear cut bad guy and good guy, but most of the time it was bad guys with good intentions and good guys doing bad things. That look at the Imperial Era is so interesting because people in the galaxy are having to choose between self-preservation or greater good. Both options have repercussions, who knows what the right answer is.
TLDR: Loved this book, not just because it's Star Wars, but because it brought up a lot of complicated issues and ideas. Tarkin makes me mad as usual. 4.75/5, would be 5/5 if it weren't for Tarkin lol.
I loved the aspects of her personal journey and growth. Even though she was a bit younger than me, I felt like I could relate to her a lot about growing up and assuming more responsibility. This was an amazing book and it came at just the right time in my life.
I enjoyed seeing familiar faces and new ones alike. The returnees provided a sense of familiarity and grounded the story so that the new cast members and locations could mold the story and give it more potential. I felt like I could focus more on the intricacies of the characters and meanings. This story expanded the Star Wars universe in a meaningful way. I loved the development of the Organa's involvement in the Rebellion, from peacemakers to rebels.
The moral conflicts in this book was rough. Yes, there were a lot of instances where there was a clear cut bad guy and good guy, but most of the time it was bad guys with good intentions and good guys doing bad things. That look at the Imperial Era is so interesting because people in the galaxy are having to choose between self-preservation or greater good. Both options have repercussions, who knows what the right answer is.
TLDR: Loved this book, not just because it's Star Wars, but because it brought up a lot of complicated issues and ideas. Tarkin makes me mad as usual. 4.75/5, would be 5/5 if it weren't for Tarkin lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, War, Death, Slavery, and Colonisation
Minor: Classism, Grief, Blood, and Genocide
fretsandflour's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
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