Read, You Must: Spark of the Resistance

“We are the spark, that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down.”
- Poe Dameron, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Continuing the series of movie tie-in middle-grade Star Wars novels from Disney-Lucasfilm Press is Spark of the Resistance, released last year as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker promotions.

Author Justina Ireland (Lando's Luck) gives us a fun and exciting side adventure featuring Rey, Poe, Rose and BB-8. There are no major connections to the events of the movie, but it gives an idea of what the Resistance were up to between the films, and how they managed to regrow the movement against the First Order after the devastating losses at the end of The Last Jedi.

Rey, Poe, Rose and BB-8 are on a special mission when they detect a distress call from the planet Minfar. Being the "good guys" they are, they ignore their orders from Leia and decide to help. Once there they encounter the Zixon, an alien species who live in an amazing underground society after their fights with the Empire. Now the First Order are the new enemy, and the Zixon aren't going to take it any more.

The plot revolves around a race against time to find an experimental and dangerous new technology called the Echo Horn before the First Order can use it against unwilling citizens of the galaxy.

The other half of the story involves the internal power struggles of mid-level leadership within the First Order, namely a pompous new character Commander Spiftz, who will stop at nothing to capture the Resistance leaders and the prized Millennium Falcon! 

His clashes with his scientist advisors and his core belief that he is always the smartest person in the room make him a great new villain. Much of the humour in this 224 page novel revolves around Spiftz, some of the inept people below him, and his own delusions of grandeur.

With occasional illustrations by the always-excellent Phil Noto, the book is a fun addition to a young Star Wars fan's bookshelf.

Star Wars: Spark of the Resistence is a fast-paced and enjoyable adventure, particularly for fans of Rey and Poe.

(Publisher's Recommendation: 8 -12 years)

Read, You Can: The Last Jedi

With The Last Jedi now available for home viewing, or coming soon depending on where you live, you may be looking for ways to expand on your enjoyment of the movie. Or perhaps you're looking for something to do between repeat viewings?

Here are several books for young readers that expand or enhance the story from the latest Star Wars film.

The Last Jedi Junior Novel - Author Michael Kogge (The Force Awakens Junior Novel, Poe Dameron: Flight Log) retells The Last Jedi for middle-grade readers, with deleted and extended scenes, as well as exclusive scenes you won't find anywhere else featuring Rey, Chewbacca, R2-D2, Finn, and more! This book also includes an 8-page full-color insert.

The Legends of Luke Skywalker - In The Last Jedi, the issue of Luke's status as a hero and legend has become a concern for the aging Jedi. This collection of tales (written by award-winning author Ken Liu) told by the crew aboard a cargo ship gives readers an idea of the kinds of stories floating around about Luke. But are the stories true, or merely tall tales passed from one corner of the galaxy to another? Readers will have to decide for themselves!


Colbalt Squadron - Author Elizabeth Wein offers this adventure starring sisters Rose and Paige Tico sets up their stories in The Last Jedi. Similar to previous middle-grade novels like Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target, which both also featured art by Phil Noto, this story goes into the lives of the Resistance flight crew members. Like Before the Awakening did for The Force Awakens, Colbalt Squardon leads up to the events of The Last Jedi.

Bomber Command - covering similar ground to Cobalt Squadron, frequent Star Wars author Jason Fry creates the journal of Paige Tico, the ill-fated sister of Rose. This covers many aspects of The Last Jedi from the perspective of the Resistance fighter. Much like previous journals from Studio Fun (Rey's Survival Guide, Sabine: My Rebel Sketchbook) it is fully-illustrated with Paige's notes plus diagrams, sketches and fold-out sections.


Star Wars The Last Jedi The Visual Dictionary - Can never say enough good things about the Visual Dictionary books. In-depth details and photos of nearly every alien, droid, weapon, helmet, vehicle and more.

Star Wars The Last Jedi Incredible Cross-Sections - for the extremely detail-oriented fans, the Incredible Cross-Sections books show all the ins and outs of key vehicles and spaceships and more! Plus gorgeous large-size photos from the movie. Illustrated by the amazing Kemp Remillard (The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections) with descriptions by the above-mentioned Jason Fry.

That's not every tie-in book but it's sure a great start to expanding on your enjoyment of The Last Jedi!

Read. You Must: Darth Vader: Sith Lord

“Jedi? Sith? Man or Machine?”

In 2017 there are still many unanswered questions about Anakin Skywalker, but 40 years ago young minds were blown by this terrifying but engrossing new villain!

Between 1977 and 1980, with only one Star Wars movie to discuss, fans weren’t even sure if he was human! Kids and adults alike argued over whether or not Darth Vader was a droid. Even Obi-Wan in A New Hope says of Vader “He’s more machine now, than man,” fueling the hotly debated topic!

 

The fact that Darth Vader actually was Anakin Skywalker wasn’t solidified until 1983 but that then raised many more questions. The prequel movies of Episodes 1 -3 (1999 – 2005) focused on Anakin’s fall the Dark Side and the rise of the Empire, and finally clarified much of Vader’s story.

As time goes on and new Star Wars TV shows, comics and of course movies come out, more and more periods of Anakin/Vader’s life become revealed. Learning about all these events means a lot of reading and watching which may not always be age-appropriate for all fans. 

Star Wars Backstories Darth Vader: Sith Lord is a brand new biography from Scholastic Press of the legendary Dark Lord of the Sith. In a middle-grade paperback format, the book gathers the life story of young Anakin, from childhood slavery to his heroic days as Jedi Knight. In 128 pages it continues with Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side of the Force and life as fearsome servant of the Emperor, Darth Vader.

Considering how little is known about some characters (what was Luke’s life like before A New Hope, or between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens? Or the hundreds of years of mystery in Yoda’s past?), Anakin/Vader’s story is pretty well told through the Star Wars saga. This book brings most of it together in one place.

Chapter by chapter, author Jason Fry chronologically tells the known story of Vader. This includes not only the information given in Star Wars movies, but also covers major events from The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels and Marvel comic books. Along the way, the gory details are spared, but the book never tries to pretend Vader was anything but a villain. Anakin’s downfall and Vader’s evil deeds are here, but presented appropriately for middle-grade readers. Many wonderful black-and-white illustrations by Randy Martinez highlight the key moments, with additional artwork by Rick Burchett and cover art by Phil Noto.

Also available now

Scholastic’s Backstories series began featuring Star Wars characters for the first time with the terrific Princess Leia: Royal Rebel last year. Hopefully these books will continue as they are great for young readers who may want to know the major moments of a Star Wars character’s story but not have access to all the TV episodes or are not ready for Teen-rated comics.

Jason Fry is possibly the most prolific Star Wars author with many wonderful books to his credit: Weapon of a Jedi, Aliens of the Galaxy, Rey’s Survival Guide, the Servants of the Empire series, and many more! Once again Fry shows his love of Star Wars and his talent for telling it well. 

In Darth Vader: Sith Lord, Fry begins the book with a foreword “by Darth Vader” which solidifies Vader's belief that he was “born” when Anakin “died”, a notion that Luke never totally believed. It may have been interesting to keep the book going as if it were written by Vader himself, but it’s hard to imagine the Dark Lord sitting down to write his memoirs. It’s probably for the best that it was done the way it was.

Randy Martinez is a well-established Star Wars artist having illustrated many Topps Star Wars trading cards, Star Wars Celebration official artwork and even cover illustrations for Scholastic’s Star Wars: Rebel Force middle-grade novel series (2008-2010).

The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

For die-hard, read-everything fans Darth Vader: Sith Lord may have few surprises but it is a well-written, well-illustrated recap of just about everything we know about one of the most tragic stories in all of Star Wars.

Publisher's Recommendation Ages 8 - 12

Also highly recommended if you can find it: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader by Ryder Windham (Scholastic 2008)