Rey: Putting the Puzzle Together

The Force Awakens gave Star Wars fans PLENTY to enjoy but also left a lot of questions unanswered. The mystery of Rey especially has captivated fans and been the subject of much debate. We know she says she's waiting for her family, but who exactly? And why is she there without them?

While we await answers to come in Episode 8 (let's hope!) here’s a look what books to read to piece together what is available to know about Rey so far. (All of these titles are suitable for middle-grade readers.)

In Before the Awakening, nearly a third of the book is a story starring Rey shortly before The Force Awakens. Readers will get a good feel of how difficult day-to-day life is for a young scavenger on Jakku. This story emphasizes the challenges of Rey having no friends to trust and no one to turn to. She truly is on her own.  The story also details how it is that Rey knows so much about flying starships even though she’s never left the planet. 

In a different way Rey’s Survival Guide covers a lot of the same information found in Before the Awakening – with a lot more little nuggets and facts to discover. Instead of a story in chapters, here the details are written as notes and comments like a scrapbook or journal. This one has plenty of illustrations too. It also leads directly into the events of The Force Awakens.

Every young Star Wars fan should read The Force Awakens Junior Novelization too. If you’ve seen the movie there’s no big surprises here, but it's a very entertaining way to re-experience the story. Above that, there is an extra scene of Rey! In the movie as Rey meets BB-8 she tells the droid “in the morning, you go”. The next time they’re on screen it’s already morning. In this book readers get a short scene of Rey and BB-8’s one night together before meeting Finn.

For some reason this little scene is not in Rey’s Story, a complete re-telling of The Force Awakens entirely focused on Rey. Readers don’t really get into Rey’s thoughts but are alongside her for the adventure. If you want to focus on Rey's story, well, Rey's Story is the best place to turn to!

If you prefer your information in a more get-to-the-point way, check out The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary and the newly updated Star Wars Character Encyclopedia. Both terrific books contain details about Rey and life on Jakku.

Yes that’s a lot of reading, but it’s certainly entertaining reading! Enjoy all these titles and hopefully more to come as the mystery of Rey becomes revealed!