THANExCIENA! 4-ever!

. . . I don’t care what happened at the end of the book! They got married and had babies and lived a beautiful life filled with love and random trips to Naboo (cause it perfect for them! and so PRETTY!) AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE! YOLO!

Sorry for spoiling it everyone.

I’d draw hearts all over this review, though clearly I can’t do that. So what I’m going to do is write about this amazing book that takes us through the Original Trilogy in a totally original way. Some might be put off by the label of Young Adult Romance Novel, but those people are fools who claim that the label is filled with trope abusing books. To be honest some do abuse tropes, others . . . well, others are like Lost Star by Claudia Grey. An additional truth is that not all tropes are bad and when in the hands of a good writer they often go unlooked. Even when you do see them, it doesn’t always spoil the book. So what about this trope filled young adult novel make it worth braving the waves of possible corny tropes? Simple answer: Star Wars. Accurate answer: IT JUST A REALLY GOOD BOOK! and it’s Star Wars.

Throwing you into the Star Wars Universe 8 years after raise of the Empire, the purge of the Jedi and some years before Rebels we meet two young spirits eager to fly. One is from an abusive, but wealthy family. The other from a poorer honor bound family. It seems like we’re primed for our two heroes to follow predictable paths. The boy, Thane Kyrell would be expected to remain in the Empire choice the path of the abuser. While our honor bound, moral compass Ciena Ree would end up with the Rebel Alliance. Switch that, spin it around and then check yourself! The path to rebellion is paved with a hundred skeptical incidences and one horrified realization for Thane. Meanwhile Ciena’s existence reinforces that the Empire for all it’s flaws are still the right path or that maybe she can change it from within. Interesting doesn’t begin to cover the fascination that comes from reading these divergent paths. While I love Ciena and see how she can delude herself into staying with the Empire. I enjoyed Thane’s journey into the Rebellion more. It was so realistic. An article from Eleven-ThirtyEight highlights this concept, clearly. No one becomes a Rebel with being inflicted with a special kind of crazy, a crazy that is very rare unless you are given no other choice. Thane has a choice, he slowly grows into that craziness that makes it easy for him to decide. Even if he doesn’t believe in the Republic, he feels like he can’t just let the abuse of the Empire go unanswered. I also love that his skepticism doesn’t disappear, but that as he works within the Rebellion he comes to take on more of the optimistic attitude of Ciena. It’s so refreshing to see a male protagonist learn from his partner within necessarily needing to be taught. This also reflects in Ciena’s choice to stay with the Empire and seeing how she tries to maintain her optimism only to acquire Thane’s skeptic attitude. Yet the story isn’t just about them.

The extended cast, from their friends at the Imperial Academy to those they meet along their journey. It was fun meeting these new faces of the Star Wars Universe. Jude, Nash, and the Countess brought the struggled to life, while also displaying interesting paths of their own. Especially Nash, who has to be one of the most contested minor characters to come out of this book. An Aldeeraanian who stays with the Empire even after his home world is destroyed then by the end becomes an fanatical believer in the Empire. This is such a sharp contrast to Thane who in some ways is his foil, along with a potential nemesis? In the end, their stories are so easy to invest in and something I hope other author will explore in other books. Though maybe Claudia Grey could just write a sequel.

Given our characters are naturally the best of the best out the Academy, it means they end up in a lot of the major events of the Original Trilogy. Where once you only saw the end of a super destructive, evil weapon and the Grand Moff who controlled it, now I’ll see Jude and a million others some of whom might have eventually sided with the Rebellion if they hadn’t been on board the Death Star. Dantooine isn’t merely a clever toss away base name by Leia, but is now the reason why Thane lives long enough to join the Empire. I’ll admit that sometimes it feels like a bit much, but I wouldn’t agree with the idea that the book should have been split up as to minimize the amount this book handled. In my opinion, that would have made those awkward moment stand out more and brought a feeling of fan-service. The inclusion of these things, a change in how we view the big events of the OT and bring another ‘certain point of view’ in light allows for the movies to be seen in a new light. It also allows for us to feel like our characters are impacting the larger galaxy even if they don’t know they are.

While many would jump to say this book is superior to Aftermath. I get that Lost Stars set out to accomplish something else. It set out to tell a story of those who live in this galaxy far far away, to get us to understand that despite the simplistic duality of the OT that there are shades of grey in those who serve the Empire. It also brought other things like a certain Star Destroy from The Force Awakens’ trailer into the forefront of my thoughts. No longer was it just an interesting background piece. It was an active story or stories that were all being told. Even those seemingly faceless Imperial Officers, the many Stormtroopers and of course our lovable Rebels; all have stories that just aren’t told yet. Perhaps their stories are of separated lovers or maybe they are hiding from things in their past. Whatever their stories, I now feel like I can explore them. Lost Stars has made it okay to explore this galaxy in a new way.

Fangirl Rating: 4.9 out 5

Another highlight, learning more about the Imperial and the Rebel systems. Seeing how they compare, contrast and what the future holds for them is just as cool as the story at times. Though this aspects get better when you read Aftermath and see the galaxy after the Battle of Endor.

Suggested Read: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig and the comic Shattered Empire.