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Star Wars Backstories
Princess Leia: Royal Rebel
Who is Princess Leia? How did a princess become a rebel leader? And what happened to her after the Empire was defeated? In this biography--complete with black-and-white illustrations, timelines, and character profiles--young readers will delight in learning the complete history of Star Wars' royal rebel.
128 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2016
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88 people want to read
About the author
Calliope Glass
83 books25 followersCalliope Glass is an editor and the writer of several popular titles for licenses like Star Wars, Marvel, and the Disney Princesses. She lives in New York City with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
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June 8, 2017:,)
February 11, 2017
Before Leia was introduced as a feisty captured courier for Death Star schematics, she was a well-loved adopted princess of Alderaan--a beautiful, arts-centric planet caught in the middle of a steadily corrupting galactic Empire. Ever out of place as a royal, Leia grew up preferring to spend her time learning strategy and self-defense rather than the delicacy of rhetoric and diplomacy. But she would need all of those skills as the Alliance spy she eventually became...
The book opens with a hesitant and somewhat cantankerous General Leia giving a personal account of her past, in hopes of somehow inspiring others. The first-person telling of the intro holds her voice authentically, with that edge of weariness fans would fully expect. It then switches to a more distant 3rd-person perspective for the rest of the book.
"To be honest, I think this whole biography thing is a bit silly. But this archival droid won't stop following me around..."
For an early-reader chapter book, it has just the right mix of material they already know from the movies and extra motivating backstory that presents a bit of new and character-enriching information. The black and white artwork is interspersed every other page, and does a lovely job of capturing both likeness and expressions where appropriate. My kids (ages 6 and 8) read this with me in 2 sittings, and it generally held their attention and interest.
As an adult fan who grew up with the original three movies as a staple, it was satisfying to see more emotion and humanity lent to the space princess who defied the spoiled, frilly princess stereotypes with a blaster-wielding vengeance. This book gives acknowledgement to the repressed pain of her planet's destruction, weight to her personal stake and responsibilities, and even some plausibility to her biological mother's love story with Anikan that the movie didn't quite achieve. It also may pique reader's curiosity toward the late Queen of Alderaan--Leia's adopted mother, Breha.
While Royal Rebel is mindful to The Force Awakens material, it mysteriously leaves blank the entire time between the birth of Han and Leia's son, Ben, and the events of TFA. I personally found that the most disappointing aspect. It's hard to tell if the material simply hasn't been written to fit the new cannon, or if it's being withheld as a means of incurring interest in planned filler that will be released in the eventual future. (I would guess the later... because $.)
A worthwhile read for Star Wars fans, young and... er ...aging. *cough*
And unbeknownst to the creators, a heart-wrenching and timely release.
The book opens with a hesitant and somewhat cantankerous General Leia giving a personal account of her past, in hopes of somehow inspiring others. The first-person telling of the intro holds her voice authentically, with that edge of weariness fans would fully expect. It then switches to a more distant 3rd-person perspective for the rest of the book.
"To be honest, I think this whole biography thing is a bit silly. But this archival droid won't stop following me around..."
For an early-reader chapter book, it has just the right mix of material they already know from the movies and extra motivating backstory that presents a bit of new and character-enriching information. The black and white artwork is interspersed every other page, and does a lovely job of capturing both likeness and expressions where appropriate. My kids (ages 6 and 8) read this with me in 2 sittings, and it generally held their attention and interest.
As an adult fan who grew up with the original three movies as a staple, it was satisfying to see more emotion and humanity lent to the space princess who defied the spoiled, frilly princess stereotypes with a blaster-wielding vengeance. This book gives acknowledgement to the repressed pain of her planet's destruction, weight to her personal stake and responsibilities, and even some plausibility to her biological mother's love story with Anikan that the movie didn't quite achieve. It also may pique reader's curiosity toward the late Queen of Alderaan--Leia's adopted mother, Breha.
While Royal Rebel is mindful to The Force Awakens material, it mysteriously leaves blank the entire time between the birth of Han and Leia's son, Ben, and the events of TFA. I personally found that the most disappointing aspect. It's hard to tell if the material simply hasn't been written to fit the new cannon, or if it's being withheld as a means of incurring interest in planned filler that will be released in the eventual future. (I would guess the later... because $.)
A worthwhile read for Star Wars fans, young and... er ...aging. *cough*
And unbeknownst to the creators, a heart-wrenching and timely release.
January 27, 2017
Part of me resents the need to release a Leia backstory/biography that is incomplete. If part of her story needs to be left as a mystery, why not wait until it can be revealed?
Right, money.
Still, apart from that and the inclusion of TFA-compliant material that I personally reject (I understand it has to be here, but I still reject it), it was beautifully illustrated and I loved the parts about Leia before ANH; it was good backstory.
Right, money.
Still, apart from that and the inclusion of TFA-compliant material that I personally reject (I understand it has to be here, but I still reject it), it was beautifully illustrated and I loved the parts about Leia before ANH; it was good backstory.
September 2, 2017
So cozy! An excellent beginning biography of a fictional character. Recaps all the known canon stuff, while also adding interesting tidbits (LIKE THAT QUEEN BREHA WAS AN EXPERT IN HAND TO HAND COMBAT?). GJ Book.
June 7, 2018
This book is a great book for star wars fans and tells a lot of background information on Leia.
July 18, 2023
This was a fun and quick read. I love ANYTHING Star Wars and Princess Leia. 🤍
December 31, 2016
5 stars. Because...you know why. Sigh.
December 29, 2016
This was great. Looking at the Star Wars saga as it relates to Leia's life might be my new favorite thing.
Presented as an in-world biography, the book really focused on Leia's incredible strength as she continues to fight for what's right even after continued losing everything over and over. Reading this in the wake of Carrie Fisher's sudden passing was more than a little emotional.
It was full of fun tidbits about minor film characters like Breha (I'm gonna need a whole movie about her and secret fighting skills asap Disney), cute illustrations, and mini-bios that included lines like "[Han Solo] is perhaps best known as the husband of General Leia Organa". Oh yeah, and cover art by Phil Noto. It's like Disney and Scholastic read my Christmas list. ;)
Also this book somehow did a better job at explaining things than the movies themselves? Things like Anakin and Padme's romance actually sounding plausible, the way the New Republic, Resistance and First Order worked actually made sense (and there was emotional weight given to the destruction of Hosnian Prime? Whaaaat).
I kind of want to buy a copy of this for every child I know.
Presented as an in-world biography, the book really focused on Leia's incredible strength as she continues to fight for what's right even after continued losing everything over and over. Reading this in the wake of Carrie Fisher's sudden passing was more than a little emotional.
It was full of fun tidbits about minor film characters like Breha (I'm gonna need a whole movie about her and secret fighting skills asap Disney), cute illustrations, and mini-bios that included lines like "[Han Solo] is perhaps best known as the husband of General Leia Organa". Oh yeah, and cover art by Phil Noto. It's like Disney and Scholastic read my Christmas list. ;)
Also this book somehow did a better job at explaining things than the movies themselves? Things like Anakin and Padme's romance actually sounding plausible, the way the New Republic, Resistance and First Order worked actually made sense (and there was emotional weight given to the destruction of Hosnian Prime? Whaaaat).
I kind of want to buy a copy of this for every child I know.
September 24, 2017
This is essentially just a combined retelling of Leia's parts in the four films, plus Moving Target, the Princess Leia comic and, very briefly, Bloodline. I would've rated it only three stars but I did learn a few things I didn't know before, and that deserved an extra star.
August 2, 2017
Nice compilation of Leia stories aimed at young readers. This is mostly a synopsis of events from other published books and comics but there is a decent amount of new material from her early life on Alderaan, which made this worthwhile for me.
Overall, it does a decent job weaving together her adventures from the movies with the other stories. Aside from the movies, the emphasis appears to be on the Leia comic and the middle grade book, Moving Target. There's only a small mention pulled from Bloodline, and nothing from the ongoing SW comic that I could see.
That Phil Noto cover art is A+.
Overall, it does a decent job weaving together her adventures from the movies with the other stories. Aside from the movies, the emphasis appears to be on the Leia comic and the middle grade book, Moving Target. There's only a small mention pulled from Bloodline, and nothing from the ongoing SW comic that I could see.
That Phil Noto cover art is A+.
February 9, 2017
Written as though it was a real biography, this book doesn't really have any new information about Leia, which was kind of disappointing. The book is a short 125 pages which I guess all that is canon now according to Disney. Though this could be used as a good teaching tool for what a biography should look like since it includes a chronology, timeline and even an index!
February 2, 2025
I'd probably give this 3 or 4 stars if I was a kid. But even grading it on a bit of a curve as an adult, Princess Leia: Royal Rebel is a mediocre look at Leia's life.
One of this book's biggest faults is one of expectations: The introduction, written in character as Princess Leia around the time of The Force Awakens, suggests to me that it would be much more interesting to read a book entirely from her perspective. It set the expectation that the rest of the story might be told with some unique insight from Leia herself -- but that's not the case here.
For the most part: Princess Leia: Royal Rebel is a straightforward retelling of Leia's participation in the first seven Star Wars movies. There's a brief summary of Padme Amidala's life, Leia's birth, the events of the Original Trilogy that she was involved in, and her role in The Force Awakens. But all of these are told from the perspective of a non-specific third-person narrator, and only very occasionally do they contain anything about Leia's thoughts or feelings that wasn't already obvious from the movies. There's really no point to any of this, and I had hoped the focus of the story would be elsewhere. There are some neat illustrations that I could see my child self loving, including diagrams of Echo Base on Hoth, the Tantive IV from A New Hope, and Jabba's sail barge.
This book is part of the "Backstories" series, and one or two of the ten short chapters do give some more information about Leia's background growing up on Alderaan and joining the Rebel Alliance alongside her adoptive father. It's very surface-level though, and I don't feel like I really learned much more about Leia than I would have assumed going into the book. There is also a bit more background beyond the movies due to the inclusion of some information from other media that released prior to this book -- Leia's Season Two appearance on Star Wars Rebels is recapped here in a surprising amount of detail, and her adventures in the Princess Leia comic miniseries and Moving Target junior novel are mentioned briefly as well. It was nice to see these included, since it makes everything feel more cohesive, but it's notable that all events in the flagship Star Wars comic series and almost all events in the novel Bloodline are absent. (As well as, to state the obvious, anything else Leia is revealed to have done in media that releases after this book.)
Bloodline's omission is particularly interesting since this book calls out the lack of information we have about Leia during the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens -- it would've been good to at least give us what we knew at the time of this book's release! I can only hope that this book was written ahead of time or without knowledge of Bloodline's plot. It's also a shame since this book becomes much more interesting in light of the revelations in Bloodline. Royal Rebel almost seems like an in-universe rehabilitation attempt to make Leia's story seem more sympathetic in light of what the galaxy learns about her in that novel.
To be clear, I do understand that I'm reviewing a short little Scholastic kids book that I read in one sitting and is probably made just to sell some copies at school book fairs. And it's not bad for a kid who likes Star Wars. But just know what it is, know what it's not, and know that it's probably not worth the time of anyone but your young child.
One of this book's biggest faults is one of expectations: The introduction, written in character as Princess Leia around the time of The Force Awakens, suggests to me that it would be much more interesting to read a book entirely from her perspective. It set the expectation that the rest of the story might be told with some unique insight from Leia herself -- but that's not the case here.
For the most part: Princess Leia: Royal Rebel is a straightforward retelling of Leia's participation in the first seven Star Wars movies. There's a brief summary of Padme Amidala's life, Leia's birth, the events of the Original Trilogy that she was involved in, and her role in The Force Awakens. But all of these are told from the perspective of a non-specific third-person narrator, and only very occasionally do they contain anything about Leia's thoughts or feelings that wasn't already obvious from the movies. There's really no point to any of this, and I had hoped the focus of the story would be elsewhere. There are some neat illustrations that I could see my child self loving, including diagrams of Echo Base on Hoth, the Tantive IV from A New Hope, and Jabba's sail barge.
This book is part of the "Backstories" series, and one or two of the ten short chapters do give some more information about Leia's background growing up on Alderaan and joining the Rebel Alliance alongside her adoptive father. It's very surface-level though, and I don't feel like I really learned much more about Leia than I would have assumed going into the book. There is also a bit more background beyond the movies due to the inclusion of some information from other media that released prior to this book -- Leia's Season Two appearance on Star Wars Rebels is recapped here in a surprising amount of detail, and her adventures in the Princess Leia comic miniseries and Moving Target junior novel are mentioned briefly as well. It was nice to see these included, since it makes everything feel more cohesive, but it's notable that all events in the flagship Star Wars comic series and almost all events in the novel Bloodline are absent. (As well as, to state the obvious, anything else Leia is revealed to have done in media that releases after this book.)
Bloodline's omission is particularly interesting since this book calls out the lack of information we have about Leia during the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens -- it would've been good to at least give us what we knew at the time of this book's release! I can only hope that this book was written ahead of time or without knowledge of Bloodline's plot. It's also a shame since this book becomes much more interesting in light of the revelations in Bloodline. Royal Rebel almost seems like an in-universe rehabilitation attempt to make Leia's story seem more sympathetic in light of what the galaxy learns about her in that novel.
To be clear, I do understand that I'm reviewing a short little Scholastic kids book that I read in one sitting and is probably made just to sell some copies at school book fairs. And it's not bad for a kid who likes Star Wars. But just know what it is, know what it's not, and know that it's probably not worth the time of anyone but your young child.
July 14, 2017
Synopsis: "Who is Princess Leia? How did a princess become a rebel leader? And what happened to her after the Empire was defeated? In this biography--complete with black-and-white illustrations, timelines, and character profiles--young readers will delight in learning the complete history of Star Wars' royal rebel."
My Review: Being a huge Star Wars fan, I am always looking for a little extra of the story in my life. I picked this one up for my library, and potentially Munchkin. It is a pretty easy read for kids who are just starting to get into chapter books with less illustrations. I like how it gave a nice timeline of Princess Leia's life through the whole saga. There were also illustrations and facts about some of the main players and characters connected with Leia throughout the stories/movies as well. It made for a fun read, maybe a little more geared towards young girls but obviously boy fans will also enjoy it.
My Review: Being a huge Star Wars fan, I am always looking for a little extra of the story in my life. I picked this one up for my library, and potentially Munchkin. It is a pretty easy read for kids who are just starting to get into chapter books with less illustrations. I like how it gave a nice timeline of Princess Leia's life through the whole saga. There were also illustrations and facts about some of the main players and characters connected with Leia throughout the stories/movies as well. It made for a fun read, maybe a little more geared towards young girls but obviously boy fans will also enjoy it.
May 30, 2021
Loved this! If you are a fan of Leia's character, this is such a fun and quick read!
It is basically a biography of Leia's life from the moment she is born until the events of the movie "The Force Awakens". It goes through her childhood in Alderaan, as well as the events of all the original trilogy and The Force Awakens that focus on her life. Even though the book recounts events of Leia's life that we already know from the movies, it also expands upon certain aspects as well as gives us a little more insight on Leia's feelings and thought process. An added bonus is the illustrations in this are gorgeous! I really loved it 💕
It is basically a biography of Leia's life from the moment she is born until the events of the movie "The Force Awakens". It goes through her childhood in Alderaan, as well as the events of all the original trilogy and The Force Awakens that focus on her life. Even though the book recounts events of Leia's life that we already know from the movies, it also expands upon certain aspects as well as gives us a little more insight on Leia's feelings and thought process. An added bonus is the illustrations in this are gorgeous! I really loved it 💕
April 5, 2018
Resumida biografía de la Princesa Leia Organa, desde su nacimiento hasta los eventos de TFA. Si bien se relatan historias ya conocidas, se agregan datos curiosos y algunos inéditos que realmente me emocionaron. Le subí una estrella solamente por las ilustraciones, que son una maravilla y acompañan muy bien al texto.
January 22, 2021
Drawing on all the movies, and the new canon books and comics, Glass presents the life of Princess Leia as if it is a biography by a New Republic writer.
Perfect for young readers who love Star Wars and aren't quite ready for the heavier books.
July 3, 2017
Scarlett (aged 6) *** Poppy (aged 4) *****
December 26, 2017
Really liked this book, great for kids of all ages. Put in perspective all the twists and turns. Fun to read.
February 17, 2019
4.5 stars! Excellent "biography" of Leia Organa aimed at young readers, complete with introduction by General Organa herself.
January 23, 2020
Absolutely adore Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia was always my favourite. This is a quick facts run down of the Star Wars timeline with a focus on Leia's adventures and aimed at young readers.
March 14, 2017
This was a great biography of Princess Leia. It delved a lot into her early years, not only as a Princess on Alderaan, but also as a Rebel Leader. It covers her story through the end of the Force Awakens, but goes no further. What I wished might have been there was more about the gap between Return of the Jedi and the Force Awakens. The illustrations and character profiles were really interesting additions to this book as well.
November 30, 2016
Quick easy read. :-)
February 2, 2017
Good for fans of the movies or to introduce readers unfamiliar with the franchise. Doesn't really add much to the Star Wars backstory, though. Quick and easy read.
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