Star Wars: The Force Awakens - A Junior Novel

Star Wars Disney Canon Junior Novel

by Michael Kogge

Relive the excitement of one of the most anticipated movies of all time with this action-packed retelling of Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Many years have passed since the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance were victorious over the evil Empire, and the galaxy has been at peace. But now a new darkness is rising. The brave men and women of the Resistance must stand against Kylo Ren and the villainous First Order.

Genres: Star Wars, Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Audiobook

186 pages, Hardcover

First published December 18, 2015

About the author

Michael Kogge is an American screenwriter and author who has written for several Star Wars projects, including the Star Wars Adventure Journal, Star Wars Gamer magazine, Hyperspace, Star Wars Insider magazine, and the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire roleplaying game. He has also authored a series of Star Wars Rebels chapter books, adapting episodes from the show's first season.

Reviews

[CaroKilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you call it when a shorter JUNIOR novelization is actually better that the adult version?
Because despite some (expected) "juniory" clumsiness, this novelization of TFA and its portrayal of the characters was, for the most part, way more effective than its adult counterpart.

[Cynthia Nobuta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy muy contenta pensé que en este mes no iba a tener ningún libro terminado, pero este fue tan fácil y agradable de leer que lo pude terminar y eso que le dedicaba unos minutos al día. Este libro ya saben que esta basado en la película de, El Despertar de la Fuerza y como tengo una obsesión no pude evitar leerlo y más porque estoy en espera de la novela del, Último Jedi.

En si es un libro entretenido que aunque es fiel a los sucesos de la película podemos encontrar algunos extras sobre los sentimiento por ejemplo de Han Solo sobre su hijo, De como Poe sale vivo y regresa con la resistencia, inclusive de Chewbaca cuando SPOILER.................. muere Han Solo. Aparte al final tiene unas paginas a color con fotos de la película, son solo como tres paginas, pero esta bien que tenga un extra. Ahora una cosa que quiero mencionar esta es la versión juvenil, por ahí vi que la de adultos estaba algo chafa y que la juvenil estaba mucho mejor y por eso compres esta y no me arrepiento, pero me quede con curiosidad de leer la adulta porque tiene algo que me interesa.

Bueno ya veremos si la compro o no.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πολύ πρόσφατα είχα την χαρά να δω την ταινία ο Τελευταίος Τζεντάι την οποία και ερωτεύτηκα ακαριαία. Αποφάσισα λοιπόν πως ήρθε και εμένα η ώρα μου να μπω σε αυτόν τον κόσμο που δημιούργησε τόσο καιρό πριν ο George Lukas και οι χαρακτήρες του.
Δεν είναι εύκολη υπόθεση να καταφέρεις να βρεις μόνος σου μια αρχή - υπάρχουν τόσα πολλά κόμικς, νουβέλες, πρόσθετα ένθετα, που πραγματικά δεν νόμιζα πως θα καταφέρω να ξεκινήσω αυτό το ταξίδι. Τα κατάφερα όμως και αυτό οφείλεται σε αυτό το βιβλίο, το οποίο κάνει ότι ακριβώς υπόσχεται: συστήνει τους μικρότερους σε ηλικία αναγνώστες τον κόσμο που γενιές πριν από αυτούς λάτρεψαν.
Δεν θα πω ότι είναι τέλειο, αν είναι δυνατόν, αλλά πετυχαίνει κάτι πολύ σημαντικό: χωράει μέσα σε 200 σελίδες μια ταινία δυόμιση ωρών, με όμορφες περιγραφές, σχεδόν ακριβείς διαλόγους και υπέροχη διήγηση. Όντως κάποια πράγματα θα μπορούσαν να έχουν γραφτεί καλύτερα, να έχει κάποιες περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες, αλλά ας μην ξεχνάμε το γεγονός ότι αυτό το βιβλίο είναι γραμμένο όσο πιο απλοϊκά γίνεται έτσι ώστε να γίνει πλήρως αντιληπτό από μικρά παιδιά.
Ένα μεγάλο μπράβο στον συγγραφέα Michael Kogge για την υπέροχη δουλειά. Είμαι σίγουρη πως κάποια στιγμή θα διαβάσω και την ''ενήλικη'' έκδοσή του, αυτή τη φορά δια χειρός Alan Dean Foster. Νιώθω πως αρχίζω να κολυμπάω σε επικίνδυνα νερά, και πως το όλο fandom θα με συνθλίψει, αλλά νομίζω πως θα πάρω το ρίσκο.

Το Last Jedi στην ''ενήλικη'' έκδοση του θα κυκλοφορήσει στις 6 Μαρτίου γραμμένο από τον Jason Fry, ενώ η παιδική-junior έκδοση (καλή ώρα σαν αυτή που διάβασα εγώ) θα κυκλοφορήσει την ίδια μέρα από τον ίδιο συγγραφέα. Ανυπομονώ για την επόμενη αναγνωστική μου περιπέτεια.

(Αν θες να δεις την μίνι κριτική μου για την ταινία μπορείς να πας στο μπλοκ μου: http://koitatinousia.blogspot.gr/2018...

#maytheforcebewithyou

[AK 김 승 주 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book, it is just the book version of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". The only problem I have is that the book didn't really have the correct details from the movie.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

don't @ me. i've fallen down a rabbit hole again. nothing to see here.
i liked this. when you're feeling too lazy to rewatch the full movie, just turn to this. it's a quick read and hits all the major plot points without becoming repetitive.

[Dianna (SavingsInSeconds blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a risky question -- "Hey kids, pick an audiobook for us to listen to."
My son (age 8) immediately requested something Star Wars, and we chose the Audible version of The Force Awakens. I'm not a Star Wars fan, but was willing to suffer through.

This was fabulous!!

Keep in mind that it was meant to please an 8-year-old, so the junior novelization was perfect in terms of language and content. We enjoyed this story every day on our commute. The narrator was excellent, intoning just the right amount of drama and emotion in each chapter. I found the story to be quite informative; the movies never made complete sense to me, and I actually learned a few things about the whole Star Wars world through this book (and my son's patient explanations.) We're planning to look for more books like this.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I listened to this version, too, read by Jonathan Davis (and, on the audio recording, at least, credited to a different author). It's stripped down, compared to the Marc Thompson version--just narration, no music or sound effects, and adapted to about half the length, though there are some details that aren't in the other version. This version of the audiobook improves as it progresses--because of the way it's written, the number of times poor Jonathan Davis has to say "FN-2187" in the beginning is distracting in a way it wouldn't be on the page.

[Martina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Either the author or I have grasped the concept of The force awakens differently. It was fun though.

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Already have my ticket for Star Wars: The Last Jedi !! IMAX! And, yes I'm a Reylo fan now(:

[Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed being able to listen to this on an audiobook on downtime :D It made me excited for when the Last Jedi book comes out in March!

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buena novelización de la película El Despertar de la Fuerza. Ágil y entretenida al igual que la película, ofrece un poco más de detalle que la película para entender mejor algunas de las motivaciones de los personajes, en especial de Rey y Finn. Vemos también algunas escenas que finalmente no se incluyeron en la película, como una maravillosa escena de Chewie justo antes de rescatar a Finn y Rey del planeta de la Base Starkiller. Maravillosa escritura y una adecuada traducción.
Sin embargo, es imposible dejar de lado las comparaciones con la versión de Alan Dean Foster, que no ha llegado y no creo que vaya a llegar a México. Ésta versión juvenil, escrita por Michael Kogge, omite muchas de las descripciones técnicas, y más explicaciones del estado de la galaxia, además de la parte de la relación entre la Resistencia y la República Galáctica, que culmina en la destrucción de Hosnian Prime.
Pero si tiene algo a su favor fue el tiempo extra que tuvo para prepararse y así evitar los problemas de cambios finales en el guión de la película que terminan afectando la novela de Foster.
De cualquier manera, es altamente recomendable, y cualquier fan de Star Wars debe intentar leer las dos versiones para tener todos los detalles posibles.

[Christopher Backa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this version of the story. There are some differences between the book and the movie. There are some additional character elements in the book not in the film, and this book feels like a sequel to Before The Awakening. I recommend this book. Not the audiobook does not have sound effects or music. It's a quick listen and I liked it better than the Alan Dean Foster version

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually kind of like this more than the “adult” novelisation, as this one is a bit more engaging and gives each character more of a personality. The style is also more evocative...

It is quite short and to the point, though, so you get the bare-bones only, but I think it just works better than the “adult” one...

Also, Reylo fans will like the wording here more, I think.

[IvShadow's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

На вълна "Междузвездни войни" съм. От доста време се каня да започна някои от книгите. На мен тази ми беше интересна. Имаше различен поглед върху някои любими сцени и други по-подробни. Е, аз може би съм малко пристрастна. Забавлявах се, докато я четох.

[Iain Hawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, the best thing I could say about this novelization is that it reminded me just how vapid a film TFA was. :(

Honestly, the only thing I could say for this book is that it includes some extra scenes explaining how Poe got off Jakku, and explained why Starkiller Base's laser beam was visible across the galaxy despite light speed making this impossible under normal circumstances, but these are little things. Honestly, if you have to read a novelization of TFA, go with Alan Dean Foster's version.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I love the movie (and watched it so many times that I now know most of the lines by heart and was actually writing in the dialogue from the film into the margins) -- this wasn't a perfect novelization, yet better than the adult novel as others have said.

My thoughts on the novel by itself (things I liked)
1. I loved the extra details and expansions on the characters such as Finn, Poe, and Rey:

- I like the beginning sequence with FN-2187 and his other stormtrooper comrades -- how this novel introduces him as pretty much the best stormtrooper, so when he experiences actual combat, loses a "friend"(?), and refuses to shoot the villagers on Jakku, his defiance becomes more significant.

- I like how this novel made clear how exactly Poe got off Jakku and back to the Resistance.

- I like how Rey's lifestyle on Jakku was expanded upon, from her living conditions to her possessions, to even her workout routine. (I even like the added detail that she learned how to fly because of a flight simulator she had at home.)

2. I appreciated the additional focus on Chewie after Han's death. Those two were best friends, inseperable, The duo -- and one thing this novel accomplishes that the film failed to do is focus on Chewie after he witnessed his best friend die. His fury, his rampage, his grief, his thoughts... it added more emotional impact to Han's death and I wish it was shown more in the film.

My thoughts on the novel after watching The Last Jedi (which are things I didn't like)

There were only a couple of aspects I didn't like about this book, but it's mostly because I have TLJ to consider now:

1. How much of a monster Kylo Ren was portrayed as
I know, he was supposed to be introduced as the Vader-esque villain of this trilogy. I understand how the author couldn't really delve into Kylo's thoughts (unlike the other characters) because that may give obvious hints to his potential redemption arc?? *

Yeah, Kylo wasn't given a lot of focus in this book compared to the other characters; his scenes were all surface-level like, what you saw in the film, you read the same thing on page. The deepest we go in terms of what he's feeling/thinking is all "rage" and "rage".

But after TLJ, we see more of Kylo's conflict, especially beneath the mask, so of course some of that would have been expressed in TFA, only less obvious then.

However there were still a couple of additions concerning Kylo that I can appreciate:

[Kylo and Rey's first encounter, after he Force-froze her]
"You would kill me, knowing nothing about me?"
Rey's tongue remained mobile. "Why wouldn't I kill you? I know about the First Order."
He circled her. "So afraid, yet I am the one who should be scared. You shot first. You speak of the Order as if it were barbaric. Yet, it is I who was forced to defend myself against you."

^ see, stuff like that. I love stuff like that and I wish I got more of this in this novel but I understand why I couldn't.

Another addition I enjoyed:

"This scavenger, this girl, resisted you?" Supreme Leader Snoke's hologram, large and imposing on the dais, glared down at Ren.
"That's all she is, yes. A scavenger from Jakku. Completely untrained, but strong with the Force. Stronger than she knows," Ren said, rising.
"You have compassion for her."
"Compassion? For an enemy of the Order? No, never," Ren insisted.
"It isn't her strength that is making you fail. It's your weakness," Snoke said."

Post-TLJ: Kylo definitely has compassion for Rey, don't @ me.

Which leads me to the second thing I didn't really like about this novelization (thinking post-TLJ here):
2. How the author assumed a Finn/Rey romance so he tried to set that up. FinnRey shippers must love this novel, though.
But at this point, not regarding this book, it's pretty much established that Finn and Rey are just friends and Finn belongs to Poe and/or Rose while Rey will end up with Kylo Ben.


* I've recently read Ryder Windham's junior novelizations of the original trilogy, and since they were published around the time Revenge of the Sith came out, of course we would already know that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker and he would be redeemed at the end. So I've noticed how we got to see Vader's thoughts throughout the Ep IV-VI novelizations and therefore, a glimpse of his humanity and goodness that still remained.

Since The Rise of Skywalker doesn't come out for another few months, we still don't know Kylo's actual fate (though I strongly believe in Bendemption), but I hope that in the near future, maybe DLF would hire someone to rewrite/republish these books with more elaboration on Kylo's characters, especially his inner thoughts, were we can clearly see the conflict going on inside him throughout this sequel trilogy.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I attempted to read the TFA novelization by Alan Dean Foster twice and just couldn’t do it. Of all the Star Wars novelizations I’ve read so far, that was the only one I couldn’t stand so much that I couldn’t even finish it. So I decided to try out this junior novelization by Michael Kogge, because I was still curious to read a novelization of the movie, and Michael Kogge wrote some Rebels episode novelizations that I really liked.

This book is only about 80 pages shorter than the adult novelization, but it’s SO MUCH better. It maybe doesn’t add quite as much depth to the story as some of the adult novelizations do, but it’s still just an overall well-written book. I don’t know what age range they envisioned a “junior novelization” to be for, but the vocabulary is pretty extensive too, so it doesn’t have too much of a childish feel. Probably good for junior high level independent reading or higher.

If you want to read a novelization of The Force Awakens, read this one. I would happily read Michael Kogge’s novelizations of the next two movies if our library had them.

(Interestingly, one similarity with the adult novelization that I’ve now read about three times in different places is that Rae first agreed with Unkar Plutt to sell BB-8 before changing her mind; she bargains for more, actually. I wonder if it was originally meant to be that way in the movie?)

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kogge has a nice sense of what reads as "Star Wars"-y and the added details about Poe's escape from Jakku, etc., compliment the film nicely. I really appreciated the added detail around R2's sudden "awakening" that help explain why he didn't just hand over the plans in the first place. It's always nice when the novelization is true to the film but smooths out or expands things in a way books can where films can't.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una muy buena lectura para profundizar la historia de la pantalla grande. Contesta muchas de las preguntas que quedan latentes al ver la película y profundiza acentuando las emociones de los personajes principales.
De rápida lectura y buen estilo, hizo que me guste más la historia que al ver la película.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done. I actually quite prefer this version to Foster's novelization. I feel it's far more fun and exciting and emotionally engaging. Lots of great character moments. Similar to Foster's novel it includes scenes that explain how Poe got off Jakku. Unlike Foster's novel (pretty sure) there's a BRILLIANT scene focused on Chewie immediately after THAT THING happens.

[Christiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfectly fine adaptation for kids who have seen the movie and are interested in getting a little more backstory on the characters. The best part is the cover---which has heroine Rey front and center, right where she should be!

[Josh Harms · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the novelization of The Force Awakens that I wanted. Much better than the adult novelization. If it was beefed up a bit (it was abridged a little to be a junior novel), it would be perfect.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This junior novel is so much more emotionally gripping than the adult novelization. Sometimes, less is more.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel brings back Memories I watch the movie and even thought I can see it in person the story really make you imagine the hole movie in a new way.

[SuperPiggy5000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent novelization

This was a pretty simple and straightforward novelization of the film. All the main story beats were there, and not much new, other than a few bits of thoughts from the characters that helped the story.

As far as I am aware, this book was based off of an early screenplay/script of the movie, which clearly shows. A lot of dialogue differences, (especially for Han), and scenes playing out differently (such as the lack of a ROTJ trench run sequence that the movie had).

Overall, good book, I enjoyed it. I don't know how it compares to the adult novelization, but from what I've heard, I believe this is the better version of the two.

One of my Favourite quotes in this book:
"The name hung in the air like a ghost. A ghost everyone in the First Order, from the lowest tech to the most decorated admiral, had been taught to loathe. They blamed the man with that name for the murders of their beloved Emperor and his most trusted envoy, Darth Vader."

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que al ser una novela adaptada de una película se defiende , hubo algunas escenas que se me hicieron bastante aburridas como las de Poe, tal vez sea porque el personaje no es de mis favoritos jajajajaja. Me hubiesen gustado más escenas de Rey o de Kylo/ Ben, uno de mis personajes favoritos fue Han y me dolió más su muerte en el libro que en la película. Ojalá que la novela de los últimos Jedi sea mucho mejor

[Sean Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the majority of the book, I would say 3.5-4 stars but the prologue and epilogue just kind of ruin the vibe. Trying to start every paragraph with “Once there was..” just didn’t work how I think the author wanted it to. Still suggest this book for a child into start wars, good to read and obviously follows the movie with a little more look into what the characters were feeling at different points in the story.

[Raul Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly, right? Reading the Junior novelization of a film I've seen at least a half dozen times. Not to mention the fact that I've read the adult novelization twice. Well, that's what I just did, and glad I did so.

Michael Kogge's adaptation is great! Highly recommended.

My rating: 4 Stars

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid junior novelization. This may be actually one of the few times where I prefer the junior novel to the adult novelization. I enjoyed some of the additional insight we got into Kylo.

[Agus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Review: It was good, I laughed, I cried and I fangirled<3