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ehmannky's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.25
A deep dive on everything that happens to Jyn between Saw rescuing her from the cave to when she's rescued at the beginning of Rogue One. Spoilers, it's a conga-line of trauma. I think this is an interesting look into one of my favorite Star Wars characters, even if the prose wasn't my favorite. I agree with some of the other reviews here that it's odd this is a YA book when it could have easily been told from a more adult perspective. All in all, I felt like this is a book mostly for people (like myself) obsessed with Rogue One and want more background info to fill in the gaps of the characters' story. I did feel like this book does a very good job at highlighting why Jyn is so incredibly jaded and depressed going into the rebellion.
Also, this book just once again highlights how interesting Saw is as a character and how conflicted Star Wars feels as a whole when dealing with him. Because he's always painted as this hardcore radical who is just too much and does too many bad things to be in the rebellion proper, but I never feel like the narrative ever really fully condemns him for the things he does (like help murder some imperials with a high civilian casualty rate). Like Star Wars as a whole seems to hover around the idea of yes, some of the things he does are really awful, but at the end of the day, he is right. Like, the rebellion was too cautious, they weren't acting out strongly or quickly enough to stop the Empire, a war came anyway. Just very interesting.
Also, this book just once again highlights how interesting Saw is as a character and how conflicted Star Wars feels as a whole when dealing with him. Because he's always painted as this hardcore radical who is just too much and does too many bad things to be in the rebellion proper, but I never feel like the narrative ever really fully condemns him for the things he does (like help murder some imperials with a high civilian casualty rate). Like Star Wars as a whole seems to hover around the idea of yes, some of the things he does are really awful, but at the end of the day, he is right. Like, the rebellion was too cautious, they weren't acting out strongly or quickly enough to stop the Empire, a war came anyway. Just very interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, and War
josiah17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Especially considering it's a YA novel, and a Star Wars YA novel at that.
I decided to read this in hopes to rekindle some sort of enjoyment for Star Wars again, and I think it actually worked. This made me crave Rogue One again. It was a nice self contained coming-of-age story for Jyn before the events of her adult life in Rogue One. And this book gets fairly grim at some points for a YA novel, which was interesting to see.
And ody enough, I think I actually have a greater appreciation for Andor after reading this as well. Obviously I still want to move on from the Skywalker Saga in Star Wars, and so much feels repetitive in that universe, but stories like Rebel Rising can gladly stay within the Skywalker Saga as long as their executed properly as this one was. Solid, quick, and a fun read.
I decided to read this in hopes to rekindle some sort of enjoyment for Star Wars again, and I think it actually worked. This made me crave Rogue One again. It was a nice self contained coming-of-age story for Jyn before the events of her adult life in Rogue One. And this book gets fairly grim at some points for a YA novel, which was interesting to see.
And ody enough, I think I actually have a greater appreciation for Andor after reading this as well. Obviously I still want to move on from the Skywalker Saga in Star Wars, and so much feels repetitive in that universe, but stories like Rebel Rising can gladly stay within the Skywalker Saga as long as their executed properly as this one was. Solid, quick, and a fun read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Abandonment
magneto's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Wavering between 2.5 and 3 stars for this. Rogue One is my fave Star Wars film and I enjoyed the Guardians of the Whills novel tie-in. This book tried to do a lot and didn't really know how to pull it off. The first act really hit the tone of Rogue One but then there was a rushed romantic interlude in the middle. This is supposed to be a pivotal moment in turning Jyn into someone who is neither rebel nor imperial but the motivations felt very surface level. The last third of the book felt really rushed and tried to do a lot to cement where we find Jyn in Rogue One but it fell flat and was very heavy handed. Not worth the read as a standalone novel and doesn't really add much to the overall story of Rogue One if you enjoyed the movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Drug abuse and Slavery
coredrive's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
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