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Star Wars Rebels chapter books #3

Star Wars Rebels: Droids in Distress

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Based on the upcoming Animated Series.

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2014

9 people are currently reading
295 people want to read

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Walt Disney Company

38.3k books2,876 followers
Note: The decision was made to consolidate all Disney publications under the name Walt Disney Company. This profile is for Walt Disney, the characters he created, and the company he founded. Any questions, please ask in the Librarian's Group.

Walter Elias “Walt” Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Disney became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion.

Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created some of the world's most famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, a character for which Disney himself was the original voice. He has been awarded four honorary Academy Awards and has won twenty-two competitive Academy Awards out of fifty-nine nominations, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual. He also won seven Emmy Awards. He is the namesake for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, as well as the international resorts Tokyo Disney, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyland Hong Kong.

Disney died of lung cancer in Burbank, California, on December 15, 1966. The following year, construction began on Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. His brother Roy Disney inaugurated the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) (commonly referred to as Disney) is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company was reincorporated as Walt Disney Productions in 1929. Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. Taking on its current name in 1986, The Walt Disney Company expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theatre, radio, publishing, and online media. In addition, it has created new divisions of the company in order to market more mature content than it typically associates with its flagship family-oriented brands.

The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 11 theme parks around the world. On January 23, 2006, it was announced that Disney would purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. The deal was finalized on May 5. On December 31, 2009, Disney Company acquired the Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for $4.24 billion. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. An early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, Mickey Mouse, is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

--from Wikipedia

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5 stars
36 (23%)
4 stars
23 (15%)
3 stars
60 (39%)
2 stars
25 (16%)
1 star
8 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah Ryder.
1,056 reviews243 followers
September 19, 2023
Well that was disappointing.

The first four chapters are just a very badly done recap in fast forward of the first two episodes that The Rebellion Begins already covered so why are we doing it again and worse at that? Made no sense.

The rest of the book isn’t much better—the episode Droids in Distress is probably one of my least favorite ones plus some key and funny parts were missing which soured me towards it even more. I do really like Rise of the Old Masters but was very disappointed by this bare as bleached bones execution that again cut out some really great and funny lines, not to mention didn’t dive into what could have been some great scenes and thoughts between Ezra and Kanan but nope it’s just bypassed because I guess depth in a kids book is overrated. 🙄

This book felt like no one really cared to put any effort into it which makes me wonder why they published it. I wouldn’t recommend you waste your time on this one.


‼️Content‼️

Violence: fighting with weapons and the Force (not detailed); mention that a character’s race was slaughtered

Other: the Force (“magic”)
Profile Image for Chelsea.
2,102 reviews63 followers
March 16, 2022
Very disappointing. The first story is a rehash of Rise of the Rebellion which is its own novel? And this just summarizes the episode instead of translating it to prose. The second story was just nonsensical and really not even essential in the Rebels show. The final story was Ezra's introduction to the Grand Inquisitor. Which was cool but also way before any of the previous stories?

There's a reason this isn't listed on the canon list apparently and I discovered it. Definitely just skip this one, the rest of the series is better, this one was confusing.
Profile Image for Andrew.
534 reviews15 followers
July 15, 2020
Droids in Distress adapts three episodes from the first season of the Star Wars Rebels TV show - Spark of Rebellion, Droids in Distress, and Rise of the Old Masters. I found this odd because the previous book in the series, The Rebellion Begins, is a much more in-depth adaptation of Spark of Rebellion, so this book ends up covering some of the same ground before it gets to new content. I think the disconnect is the target audience - this title is aimed at younger readers while The Rebellion Begins is for slightly older ones. This made reading this a bit of a disappointment, but at least it was a quick read.

As an adaptation the book seems to cover all of the important story beats in a fun and engaging manner. It'll keep you reading, but mainly because you'll be blowing through it so quickly. Each part has four chapters and covers one episode, and you can get through them in less time that it would take for you to watch it.

Overall I think Droids in Distress achieves what it set out to do - adapt three episodes from the series into a book for young readers. I enjoyed it as a quick little read to be a completionist, but unless you're going for that as well, you can skip this one.
Profile Image for DAYADEW.
68 reviews
August 1, 2017
Definitely meant for younger readers.

I got into this story thinking I could get more meat out of its corresponding episodes in Rebels, similar to how Rebels - The Rebellion Begins and Rebels - Ezra's Gamble, were written. They provided insight, a little backstory, and expounded on scenes I didn't even think needed explaining but went off without a hitch.

This book, however... it's like the equivalent of reading the episode summaries on wiki? I found my eyes going over the words as if they were on fast forward due to the hunch that I wouldn't get much more out of them than what was shown in the episodes anyway (the hunch was right). I suppose I shouldn't expect much more from a junior novelization, but I was definitely hoping for more depth. It's a nice enough read, but kind of unnecessary if you've already watched the series.
Profile Image for Leensey.
314 reviews27 followers
April 25, 2022
Alas, I finally finished this book. First half started off really...disconnected and repetitive. Nothing new or fresh or engaging, I had to skip the Ezra chapters.

Eventually, the second and third parts, managed to find its footing somewhat, made for more interesting read and retelling of those particular Rebels episodes.

Overall, the weakest of the Rebels set of novels, but still all right. I acknowledge that I'm not its target audience and I shouldn't expect much from it.

I am still eager to see the remaining books though, as Star Wars Rebels is perhaps my favorite piece of Star Wars TV media, and having the books as an extension of it is satisfying.
Profile Image for Ahdom.
1,314 reviews25 followers
May 15, 2019
This was my least favorite of the Rebels books I have read so far, simply because of the jumps in stories and the lack of character insight that I usually glean from these. However, it was still an enjoyable read and great way to revisit the events in the respective episodes of Rebels. I have grown to appreciate the series more and more as it continued in later seasons, but the books also have increased how I value the events of the show as well, especially the first season that these mostly pertain to.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,437 reviews1 follower
July 13, 2022
This was my least favorite of the Rebels middle grade chapter books. The first story covered the same episode that the previous book did, but in such a cursory way that it was rather disappointing. Maybe it’s for a younger age range? The other episodes it covered were okay. Not as much depth as the other books in this series. Fine for young readers who love Rebels though.
Profile Image for Liv.
58 reviews3 followers
August 13, 2022
This wasn't that good. Almost a quarter of this adaptation was filler summary of the last chapter book Rebels Rising. The remaining 3/4 was compressed tightly so it also felt like a rushed summary rather than a text adaptation of the show. I felt that if I hadn't seen the Rebels animation first, I'd have been unable to follow the fractured stories in this book.
Profile Image for K.
645 reviews3 followers
September 24, 2023
ケイナン、エズラを訓練することに対してもう迷わないことに。
do or do not, there is no try って難しい概念だよな。
自分がきちんと訓練を終了していないという思いと一歩間違えればダークサイドに落としてまう可能性もあるわけで。
でもケイナンは迷いを振り切ってやることにしたんだね。
エズラを信じることで自分のことも信じられるようになるみたいな感じかな...これまでつちかってきた実戦経験もあるしな。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kieran McAndrew.
3,087 reviews20 followers
May 12, 2021
Ezra Bridger comes across a protocol droid and an Artoo unit as he tries to evade capture by the Empire.

A novelisation of three episodes of 'Star Wars: Rebels'.
Profile Image for Lynn.
335 reviews
January 10, 2017
I was very pleased with this chapter book for Grades 1-4. It will probably only appeal to Star Wars fans, but I thought it was well-written. The action gets you immediately involved in the story and the presentation is engaging with illustrations interspersed.
Profile Image for Brandt.
693 reviews17 followers
April 8, 2016
This is adaptation of three episodes of Rebels, one of which was already adapted by Kogge in a much in-depth format. I have no problems with adapting existing visual media like films or TV, but we don't get much out of these adaptations, especially the adaptation of "Rise of the Old Masters" which could have been written as a great character study of Kanan, but like so many books for young readers, decides it wants to treat children like they are shallow and stupid and unable to handle more complex plots and emotions, which is just not true. Books for young readers don't need to be insipid--just ask Jason Fry.
Profile Image for Athenenike.
49 reviews
December 28, 2014
Pretty straightforward adaptation of the Star Wars Rebels cartoon. Very quick read.
Profile Image for Amber.
131 reviews8 followers
February 4, 2015
Pretty much the barest of novelizations.
2 reviews
May 17, 2017
I like this book becus it had a lot of advencher and it was about a great thing and I like it cus I like starwars.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
1,045 reviews
November 11, 2015
My 5 year old liked it pretty well, but for me it often felt like reading in an unknown language.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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