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Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Leia, Princess of Alderaan
A young adult novel, written by New York Times Best-selling author Claudia Gray, about sixteen-year-old Princess Leia, set before A New Hope.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2017
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14443 people want to read
About the author
Claudia Gray
79 books14.2k followersClaudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.
I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.
I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.
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January 19, 2026
She nailed it spot on. Claudia Grey nailed Leia’s character and characteristics perfectly. I don’t mean to disrespect anybody, but I honestly don’t think anyone could have written a better origin story for Leia.
At the beginning of the book, I felt a little disappointed that it was going to be about young Leia, but the book was incredible. Like I said, Claudia showed every aspect of Leia’s personality. The princess, the warrior, the patient in-control negotiator, and fiery tempered hellcat.
This Leia’s coming of age story. However, another great thing about this book is also that Claudia did a great job on the side characters. As any Star Wars fan knows how much Leia’s “father” Bail Organa was involved in the rebellion, but not enough credit was given to her “mother” Breha. Many of her talents, if not learned from nurture, were definitely enhanced from there. The final not of praise is the research and loose ends and cameos in this book. For me, everything this book was spot on.
At the beginning of the book, I felt a little disappointed that it was going to be about young Leia, but the book was incredible. Like I said, Claudia showed every aspect of Leia’s personality. The princess, the warrior, the patient in-control negotiator, and fiery tempered hellcat.
This Leia’s coming of age story. However, another great thing about this book is also that Claudia did a great job on the side characters. As any Star Wars fan knows how much Leia’s “father” Bail Organa was involved in the rebellion, but not enough credit was given to her “mother” Breha. Many of her talents, if not learned from nurture, were definitely enhanced from there. The final not of praise is the research and loose ends and cameos in this book. For me, everything this book was spot on.
December 2, 2017
Mark Twain once said that every character in a story should have “sufficient excuse for being there” (Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses). Each of the dramatis personae has to pull their weight, contributing to the narrative arc. It’s best if they can do this without messing up any of the other characters’ arcs while they do this.
This applies to Keir Demati (sp?), the male lead and love interest in Claudia Gray’s Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Keir is one of Leia’s classmates, for lack of a better word, in the junior Senator program that exists under Emperor Palpatine (this book takes place three years before A New Hope). He’s smart, brave, and just as committed to justice as Leia is. He’s also exceptionally handsome, with thick shining black hair that Leia wishes he would grow longer—one of several fleeting moments in the book that could be taken as foreshadowing of Leia’s son Kylo/Ben. (There were plenty of those in Bloodline, too. I’m starting to think Gray is as much of a Kylo fangirl as I am). Leia’s parents, Bail and Brea Organa, like Keir right away, although Brea does tell her daughter that nice boys and “scoundrels” (cough) can make equally good boyfriends.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Keir—nothing wrong with him himself. But his and Leia’s relationship is reciprocal, takes up a lot of the story, and is possibly implied to be consummated (I guess it depends on how far you take the metaphor of him unbraiding her hair).
Whether or not there was an exchange of virtue involved, this messes up Leia’s arc for the original film trilogy. Carrie Fisher once said that she played Leia like a young, sheltered girl just starting to notice men in earnest, and Han was not only the love of her life but also her first real crush.
This makes perfect sense in the context of the films, and adds to the sense of both complementarity and friction between these two characters—he’s selfish and she’s selfless; he knows when to cut his losses and she’s stubborn; he believes in money and she believes in valor; he’s practical and she’s idealistic; he’s down-to-earth and she’s privileged; he’s worldly and she’s naïve. When he asks for her love, she pushes him away; when she seeks comfort from him, he makes her beg for it. They can’t stand each other, but they can’t bear to be separated. I suppose this could still work if she had had one serious boyfriend before him, but the impact of the attracting opposites is diminished by it.
And of course Keir is doomed, because he’s not in A New Hope. Here we come to a common problem among prequels generally—it’s strange when the characters you meet in them, no matter how important they are in the context of the prequel itself, have vanished by the time the original story begins. See the Hobbit movies—if Tauriel were really in the story, someone would have remembered. One doesn’t see an Elf-maid with knee-length red hair striking down scores of orcs with mastery of a dozen weapons every day. (Not hating on those movies or on Tauriel—I actually like them both, sue me—just pointing out a common flaw). If Leia had had a boyfriend who was martyred for the cause, surely he should have been mentioned at some point during the three films. It’s shown in the book to be a traumatic event. Memories like that don’t evaporate in three years—if anything, Keir and what happened to him should have rendered interacting with Han all kinds of triggering for Leia.
The same, to a much lesser extent, goes for Amylin Holdo, who has supposedly been a leader of the Rebels/Resistance all this time but is just showing up now in Episode VIII. She didn’t need to appear in the actual movies—it’s a big galaxy and needed a big Rebel army—but a reference to her or something would have been nice.
I would argue that Princess of Alderaan should have largely bypassed the romance in favor of being a friendship story. Keir dies at age sixteen. His story ends here. Amylin, on the other hand, will be in The Last Jedi. If she and Leia were friends once, as the marketing proclaims, but the general audience hasn’t seen that because Amylin wasn’t created at the time of the original trilogy, then the main job of this book should have been to sell their adolescent friendship and how the tragic circumstances of their adult lives have driven them apart.
Their interactions were easily the best part of the book for me. The contrast between the two girls—our driven, grouchy, uptight, conservative heroine and her airy-voiced, eccentric, peace-loving, possibly pansexual classmate who is shrewd and level-headed under that quirky persona—makes for great comedy. Imagine a book set in the sixties where a buttoned-up Goldwater girl spends the summer with her daisy-chain wearing, perpetually stoned and barefoot hippie cousin, and while they get on each other’s nerves they learn from each other. Then put that story in space, and make the first girl one of the most beloved characters in pop culture. We have a win!
And it’s not that boys can’t be part of this story. They just shouldn’t be the focus. See Shannon Hale’s excellent Bayern novels, which have plenty of romance but the beating heart of the story is the friendship between Isi and Enna, and eventually Dasha and Rin.
And those of you who are hankering for a major romantic plotline, know that there’s a boy right around the corner. He’s a great pilot, he shoots first, and he’s nice men.
I don’t know who to blame for this misapplied focus. Was it Gray being a typical YA author and defaulting to familiar territory? Was it Disney and their famous preoccupation with romance? Eh.
I do like Gray’s writing. There’s nothing poetic about it, but it flows nicely and she gives just enough detail to bring the reader into the Star Wars universe without overwhelming you with the sheer weirdness of its flora and fauna.
And Gray just gets Leia. I admit that I am new to the Star Wars fandom—I didn’t see any of the movies until senior year of high school, and while I liked them a lot they didn’t hook me on the deep level that Lord of the Rings or Narnia did. I found Luke, Leia and Han all likeable characters (though Obi-Wan will probably always be my favorite) but, sadly, it wasn’t until Carrie Fisher died and was mourned with a thousand hot takes and op-eds, most of them Leia-centric, that I really appreciated this character.
She was incredibly brave, determined, dedicated, sassy, and self-sacrificing. She saw her home planet blown up without a single survivor and kept marching on despite her deep grief. She kept her secrets under torture, and when two rather clueless young men and a Wookie broke in to rescue her, she kept her head and wound up rescuing them. She did all this without ever coming across as masculinized or (excuse the French) “bitchy.” She had the potential to be a powerful Jedi, but gave that up to remain a soldier and look for practical solutions. Leia was awesome, in short, and I’m sorry that it took Carrie’s untimely passing for me to notice. (Same with David Bowie. I am a terrible person).
And I am happy to report that this is the Leia who shows up in Gray’s writing—in Bloodline as a mature woman devoted to her cause, and here in Princess of Alderaan as a bright, precocious, somewhat spoiled girl just coming into her own.
Unfortunately, like many YA books now, there just wasn’t enough story to justify 409 pages. Many of the trips didn’t seem to move the narrative forward. Granted, my standards might be a little harsh. I was honestly hoping this would be like one of Scholastic’s Royal Diaries IN SPAAAACE—those are about half the length of this and the plots are tighter. One of the best was the one about Mary, Queen of Scots, where she and her ladies-in-waiting had to catch a rapist without angering his ally, Queen Catherine. The 90s-early 2000s were a great time for juvenile and YA historical fiction, for those of you too young to remember. Anyway…
This is fun reading for Star Wars fans ages thirteen and up, but I wouldn’t call it essential. So far my favorite new canon book by Gray is definitely Bloodline.
P.S. There is a Narnia reference in the first chapter of this book and it is awesome and I love it. Also there’s a Lizzy Bennet quote embedded in something Brea says to Leia in the middle. So there’s that.
This applies to Keir Demati (sp?), the male lead and love interest in Claudia Gray’s Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Keir is one of Leia’s classmates, for lack of a better word, in the junior Senator program that exists under Emperor Palpatine (this book takes place three years before A New Hope). He’s smart, brave, and just as committed to justice as Leia is. He’s also exceptionally handsome, with thick shining black hair that Leia wishes he would grow longer—one of several fleeting moments in the book that could be taken as foreshadowing of Leia’s son Kylo/Ben. (There were plenty of those in Bloodline, too. I’m starting to think Gray is as much of a Kylo fangirl as I am). Leia’s parents, Bail and Brea Organa, like Keir right away, although Brea does tell her daughter that nice boys and “scoundrels” (cough) can make equally good boyfriends.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Keir—nothing wrong with him himself. But his and Leia’s relationship is reciprocal, takes up a lot of the story, and is possibly implied to be consummated (I guess it depends on how far you take the metaphor of him unbraiding her hair).
Whether or not there was an exchange of virtue involved, this messes up Leia’s arc for the original film trilogy. Carrie Fisher once said that she played Leia like a young, sheltered girl just starting to notice men in earnest, and Han was not only the love of her life but also her first real crush.
This makes perfect sense in the context of the films, and adds to the sense of both complementarity and friction between these two characters—he’s selfish and she’s selfless; he knows when to cut his losses and she’s stubborn; he believes in money and she believes in valor; he’s practical and she’s idealistic; he’s down-to-earth and she’s privileged; he’s worldly and she’s naïve. When he asks for her love, she pushes him away; when she seeks comfort from him, he makes her beg for it. They can’t stand each other, but they can’t bear to be separated. I suppose this could still work if she had had one serious boyfriend before him, but the impact of the attracting opposites is diminished by it.
And of course Keir is doomed, because he’s not in A New Hope. Here we come to a common problem among prequels generally—it’s strange when the characters you meet in them, no matter how important they are in the context of the prequel itself, have vanished by the time the original story begins. See the Hobbit movies—if Tauriel were really in the story, someone would have remembered. One doesn’t see an Elf-maid with knee-length red hair striking down scores of orcs with mastery of a dozen weapons every day. (Not hating on those movies or on Tauriel—I actually like them both, sue me—just pointing out a common flaw). If Leia had had a boyfriend who was martyred for the cause, surely he should have been mentioned at some point during the three films. It’s shown in the book to be a traumatic event. Memories like that don’t evaporate in three years—if anything, Keir and what happened to him should have rendered interacting with Han all kinds of triggering for Leia.
The same, to a much lesser extent, goes for Amylin Holdo, who has supposedly been a leader of the Rebels/Resistance all this time but is just showing up now in Episode VIII. She didn’t need to appear in the actual movies—it’s a big galaxy and needed a big Rebel army—but a reference to her or something would have been nice.
I would argue that Princess of Alderaan should have largely bypassed the romance in favor of being a friendship story. Keir dies at age sixteen. His story ends here. Amylin, on the other hand, will be in The Last Jedi. If she and Leia were friends once, as the marketing proclaims, but the general audience hasn’t seen that because Amylin wasn’t created at the time of the original trilogy, then the main job of this book should have been to sell their adolescent friendship and how the tragic circumstances of their adult lives have driven them apart.
Their interactions were easily the best part of the book for me. The contrast between the two girls—our driven, grouchy, uptight, conservative heroine and her airy-voiced, eccentric, peace-loving, possibly pansexual classmate who is shrewd and level-headed under that quirky persona—makes for great comedy. Imagine a book set in the sixties where a buttoned-up Goldwater girl spends the summer with her daisy-chain wearing, perpetually stoned and barefoot hippie cousin, and while they get on each other’s nerves they learn from each other. Then put that story in space, and make the first girl one of the most beloved characters in pop culture. We have a win!
And it’s not that boys can’t be part of this story. They just shouldn’t be the focus. See Shannon Hale’s excellent Bayern novels, which have plenty of romance but the beating heart of the story is the friendship between Isi and Enna, and eventually Dasha and Rin.
And those of you who are hankering for a major romantic plotline, know that there’s a boy right around the corner. He’s a great pilot, he shoots first, and he’s nice men.
I don’t know who to blame for this misapplied focus. Was it Gray being a typical YA author and defaulting to familiar territory? Was it Disney and their famous preoccupation with romance? Eh.
I do like Gray’s writing. There’s nothing poetic about it, but it flows nicely and she gives just enough detail to bring the reader into the Star Wars universe without overwhelming you with the sheer weirdness of its flora and fauna.
And Gray just gets Leia. I admit that I am new to the Star Wars fandom—I didn’t see any of the movies until senior year of high school, and while I liked them a lot they didn’t hook me on the deep level that Lord of the Rings or Narnia did. I found Luke, Leia and Han all likeable characters (though Obi-Wan will probably always be my favorite) but, sadly, it wasn’t until Carrie Fisher died and was mourned with a thousand hot takes and op-eds, most of them Leia-centric, that I really appreciated this character.
She was incredibly brave, determined, dedicated, sassy, and self-sacrificing. She saw her home planet blown up without a single survivor and kept marching on despite her deep grief. She kept her secrets under torture, and when two rather clueless young men and a Wookie broke in to rescue her, she kept her head and wound up rescuing them. She did all this without ever coming across as masculinized or (excuse the French) “bitchy.” She had the potential to be a powerful Jedi, but gave that up to remain a soldier and look for practical solutions. Leia was awesome, in short, and I’m sorry that it took Carrie’s untimely passing for me to notice. (Same with David Bowie. I am a terrible person).
And I am happy to report that this is the Leia who shows up in Gray’s writing—in Bloodline as a mature woman devoted to her cause, and here in Princess of Alderaan as a bright, precocious, somewhat spoiled girl just coming into her own.
Unfortunately, like many YA books now, there just wasn’t enough story to justify 409 pages. Many of the trips didn’t seem to move the narrative forward. Granted, my standards might be a little harsh. I was honestly hoping this would be like one of Scholastic’s Royal Diaries IN SPAAAACE—those are about half the length of this and the plots are tighter. One of the best was the one about Mary, Queen of Scots, where she and her ladies-in-waiting had to catch a rapist without angering his ally, Queen Catherine. The 90s-early 2000s were a great time for juvenile and YA historical fiction, for those of you too young to remember. Anyway…
This is fun reading for Star Wars fans ages thirteen and up, but I wouldn’t call it essential. So far my favorite new canon book by Gray is definitely Bloodline.
P.S. There is a Narnia reference in the first chapter of this book and it is awesome and I love it. Also there’s a Lizzy Bennet quote embedded in something Brea says to Leia in the middle. So there’s that.
December 17, 2017
Leia, Princess of Alderaan is a 2017 publication from Disney Lucasfilm Press which imagines the coming of age of a certain intergalactic princess before events depicted in Star Wars, when Carrie Fisher introduced Princess Leia Organa in 1977. This is my first exposure to the "Expanded Universe" novels set in George Lucas' cinematic universe and written by Claudia Gray, this one uses the Young Adult format to gaze into that universe. It's an exciting concept but one I struggled to get caught up in, until the author raised the stakes and brought the derring-do I expect from Star Wars.
The story stumbles out of the gate on the planet of Alderaan, one of the Core Worlds known throughout the galaxy for its temperate rain forests, medieval palaces and commitment to peace. Sixteen-year-old Princess Leia prepares for Demand Day, a ceremony in which she must declare three character building challenges to establish her claim to the throne. Her Challenge of the Body is a climb to the summit of Appenza Peak, her Challenge of the Mind is representing her world in the Apprentice Legislature and her Challenge of Heart is a humanitarian relief mission.
Leia's adopted father Bail Organa serves in the Imperial Senate on the capital of Coruscant, a planet wide metropolis, where Organa and allies (such as Leia's political mentor, the regal Mon Mothma) work as a check to the tyranny of the Galactic Empire and its evil architect, the Emperor Palpatine. Leia's adopted mother Breha is queen of Alderaan and hasn't let a fall from Apprenza Peak as a teenager, or her artificial heart and lungs, slow her down from planning lavish parties in the palace. Her own royal status, as well as parents' social calendar and their expectations for her, alienate Leia from what might be considered "fun."
The lights fell on her as the amplifier droids hovered close. Leia stood, glad for her experience in public speaking. Some of the others had stammered or hesitated, but she addressed the chamber smoothly. "I'm Leia Organa, princess of the ruling house of Alderaan, heir to the crown, and now a member of the Apprentice Legislature. Since I expect to be involved with the Imperial Senate throughout my life, I'm glad to be able to make a start here, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all." There. She'd mentioned the royal status without overemphasizing it, and hopefully nobody would dwell on it ...
Kier whispered, "Say something personal." When Leia glanced at him, he raised his eyebrows. "Everyone else did."
I've studied Alderaan's history going back to the first human settlement. That was part of her royal education. I've been an intern in my father's senatorial office for two years. That wasn't personal. I'm in a pathfinding class with a few other apprentice legislators. But that, too, was her Challenge of the Body, an official step on her way to being monarch. She'd never realized that she didn't really have a lot of personal interests; her duty and her future consumed nearly every moment, so completely that she hadn't even been able to see it.
"I like storms," she said. "Thunderstorms, I mean. I like to watch them." With that, she sat down, hands clasped in her lap.
Through her pathfinding class, Leia meets two peers who serve with her in the Apprentice Legislature. Keir Domadi is a boy from Alderaan, whose awkwardness, fascination with history and dark looks slowly endear themselves to the princess. Amilyn Holdo, a tall, gangly girl from Gatalenta, is obsessed with astrology but her pluck also endears itself to Leia. There is no love lost between the teenagers and the guest speaker at their first session of the Apprentice Legislature, the icy Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The imperial climber promotes to the assembly what to Leia sounds less like service and more like servitude.
Through her "mercy missions" (a nice nod to throwaway dialogue in Star Wars), Leia gets her first taste of diplomacy, witnessing the ruthlessness of the Emperor's policies and learning how to skirt Imperial regulations to bring humanitarian aid to those worlds. Learning it's easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Leia begins planning relief missions without consulting her parents, befriending an intrepid pilot, Lieutenant Ress Batten, who's game for flying by the seat of her pants. Leia's brash diplomacy complicates the meticulous work her parents are doing behind the scenes to mount a rebellion, which they seek to keep Leia out of at all costs.
Once she discovers what her parents are involved in, Leia seeks to help. Using her royal status, her youth and even her diminutive height--Imperial officers more likely to dismiss her as harmless than suspect her as an insurgent--she begins to gather intelligence against the Empire and assemble allies sympathetic to the rebellion. Her brashness and disregard for her own safety may lead to her downfall. Suspicious of her parents, Tarkin seeks to bring Leia into his confidence and lets her know that he suspects the location of a rebel fleet. Should Leia warn Mon Mothma and save the fleet, even if she exposes herself as a traitor to the Empire?
Leia wasn't optimistic. She figured whatever doubt she was able to instill in her questioners' minds would vanish the instant Grand Moff Tarkin learned of her arrival in the very star system he'd named to her only hours before. Neither Amilyn Holdo nor the Chalhuddans would be able to explain this away.
Either I'm saving the lives of all the rebels in the Paucris system-or I've just condemned even more people to die.
When the Chalhuddan pilot pulled a lever, the vivid blue light of hyperspace changed back into a starfield. The entire ship shuddered so strongly Leia accidentally bit her tongue hard enough to bleed. Amilyn's head knocked against hers so soundly it hurt, but she wasn't too dazed to keep staring at the viewscreen, eyes wide, torn between hope and dread--
"A fleet of planetary and civilian ships massed around repair structures orbiting Paucris Major," croaked the Chalhuddan captain. "Our own ships nearby. No Imperial vessels in the system."
Thank the Force. Leia slumped against Amilyn and exhaled hard. Onscreen, amid the distant cluster of ships, she could make out the distinct lines of the Tantive IV, which had rarely looked so beautiful to her. Amilyn held one first up in the air in a victory salute.
"Don't celebrate too soon." Leia released the safety harness, hopped down from the tall bowl chair, and hurried to the communications console. At her nod, the officer there opened a channel, and she said ,"To any vessels picking up this signal, this is Leia Organa of Alderaan calling Bail Organa or any other individual in charge of--anyone in charge. Repeat, this is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Please respond."
Leia, Princess of Alderaan has the task of living up not only to the cinematic grandeur of the Star Wars franchise but in prose format, fleshing out one of its most iconic characters into something more than a space opera diplomat and spy. Claudia Gray does a yeoman's job of ultimately doing this, but the first half of the novel struggled to hold my attention. The challenges Leia pledges to on her "Demand Day" are trite and at no time does the reader suspect she won't accomplish all of them with flying colors. Even if Leia failed, the stakes are too low. Gray's writing is colorful and her inclusion of female space heroes held me around.
It took most of Leia's royal training to keep that smile on her face. Amilyn wore possibly the most Amilyn thing ever: a flowing caftan of a dress in a swirling, multicolored pattern that reminded Leia of the storms on gas giants. Tiny bells jingled at the ends of the wide bell sleeves, and metallic, sparkly fringe trimmed the hem and the high neck. Amilyn had even managed to dye her hair the same combination of colors as the dress, which made her look like a psychedelic blur broken only by her smiling face. Leia ventured, "It's very bright. Very original and daring."
Great heroes need a great villain and Gray supplies one in Grand Moff Tarkin, who while not as menacing, is cut from the same cloth as Col. Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. Leia's interrogative encounters with Tarkin are the highlight of the novel, which is unable to provide a dynamic that compelling between Leia and her parents. I didn't find enough tension in the first half of the novel, but considering it is a movie tie-in and limited in its scope, I ended up enjoying the space travel, alien worlds and most of all, the development of Leia from little princess to soldier for the cause.
The story stumbles out of the gate on the planet of Alderaan, one of the Core Worlds known throughout the galaxy for its temperate rain forests, medieval palaces and commitment to peace. Sixteen-year-old Princess Leia prepares for Demand Day, a ceremony in which she must declare three character building challenges to establish her claim to the throne. Her Challenge of the Body is a climb to the summit of Appenza Peak, her Challenge of the Mind is representing her world in the Apprentice Legislature and her Challenge of Heart is a humanitarian relief mission.
Leia's adopted father Bail Organa serves in the Imperial Senate on the capital of Coruscant, a planet wide metropolis, where Organa and allies (such as Leia's political mentor, the regal Mon Mothma) work as a check to the tyranny of the Galactic Empire and its evil architect, the Emperor Palpatine. Leia's adopted mother Breha is queen of Alderaan and hasn't let a fall from Apprenza Peak as a teenager, or her artificial heart and lungs, slow her down from planning lavish parties in the palace. Her own royal status, as well as parents' social calendar and their expectations for her, alienate Leia from what might be considered "fun."
The lights fell on her as the amplifier droids hovered close. Leia stood, glad for her experience in public speaking. Some of the others had stammered or hesitated, but she addressed the chamber smoothly. "I'm Leia Organa, princess of the ruling house of Alderaan, heir to the crown, and now a member of the Apprentice Legislature. Since I expect to be involved with the Imperial Senate throughout my life, I'm glad to be able to make a start here, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all." There. She'd mentioned the royal status without overemphasizing it, and hopefully nobody would dwell on it ...
Kier whispered, "Say something personal." When Leia glanced at him, he raised his eyebrows. "Everyone else did."
I've studied Alderaan's history going back to the first human settlement. That was part of her royal education. I've been an intern in my father's senatorial office for two years. That wasn't personal. I'm in a pathfinding class with a few other apprentice legislators. But that, too, was her Challenge of the Body, an official step on her way to being monarch. She'd never realized that she didn't really have a lot of personal interests; her duty and her future consumed nearly every moment, so completely that she hadn't even been able to see it.
"I like storms," she said. "Thunderstorms, I mean. I like to watch them." With that, she sat down, hands clasped in her lap.
Through her pathfinding class, Leia meets two peers who serve with her in the Apprentice Legislature. Keir Domadi is a boy from Alderaan, whose awkwardness, fascination with history and dark looks slowly endear themselves to the princess. Amilyn Holdo, a tall, gangly girl from Gatalenta, is obsessed with astrology but her pluck also endears itself to Leia. There is no love lost between the teenagers and the guest speaker at their first session of the Apprentice Legislature, the icy Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The imperial climber promotes to the assembly what to Leia sounds less like service and more like servitude.
Through her "mercy missions" (a nice nod to throwaway dialogue in Star Wars), Leia gets her first taste of diplomacy, witnessing the ruthlessness of the Emperor's policies and learning how to skirt Imperial regulations to bring humanitarian aid to those worlds. Learning it's easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, Leia begins planning relief missions without consulting her parents, befriending an intrepid pilot, Lieutenant Ress Batten, who's game for flying by the seat of her pants. Leia's brash diplomacy complicates the meticulous work her parents are doing behind the scenes to mount a rebellion, which they seek to keep Leia out of at all costs.
Once she discovers what her parents are involved in, Leia seeks to help. Using her royal status, her youth and even her diminutive height--Imperial officers more likely to dismiss her as harmless than suspect her as an insurgent--she begins to gather intelligence against the Empire and assemble allies sympathetic to the rebellion. Her brashness and disregard for her own safety may lead to her downfall. Suspicious of her parents, Tarkin seeks to bring Leia into his confidence and lets her know that he suspects the location of a rebel fleet. Should Leia warn Mon Mothma and save the fleet, even if she exposes herself as a traitor to the Empire?
Leia wasn't optimistic. She figured whatever doubt she was able to instill in her questioners' minds would vanish the instant Grand Moff Tarkin learned of her arrival in the very star system he'd named to her only hours before. Neither Amilyn Holdo nor the Chalhuddans would be able to explain this away.
Either I'm saving the lives of all the rebels in the Paucris system-or I've just condemned even more people to die.
When the Chalhuddan pilot pulled a lever, the vivid blue light of hyperspace changed back into a starfield. The entire ship shuddered so strongly Leia accidentally bit her tongue hard enough to bleed. Amilyn's head knocked against hers so soundly it hurt, but she wasn't too dazed to keep staring at the viewscreen, eyes wide, torn between hope and dread--
"A fleet of planetary and civilian ships massed around repair structures orbiting Paucris Major," croaked the Chalhuddan captain. "Our own ships nearby. No Imperial vessels in the system."
Thank the Force. Leia slumped against Amilyn and exhaled hard. Onscreen, amid the distant cluster of ships, she could make out the distinct lines of the Tantive IV, which had rarely looked so beautiful to her. Amilyn held one first up in the air in a victory salute.
"Don't celebrate too soon." Leia released the safety harness, hopped down from the tall bowl chair, and hurried to the communications console. At her nod, the officer there opened a channel, and she said ,"To any vessels picking up this signal, this is Leia Organa of Alderaan calling Bail Organa or any other individual in charge of--anyone in charge. Repeat, this is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Please respond."
Leia, Princess of Alderaan has the task of living up not only to the cinematic grandeur of the Star Wars franchise but in prose format, fleshing out one of its most iconic characters into something more than a space opera diplomat and spy. Claudia Gray does a yeoman's job of ultimately doing this, but the first half of the novel struggled to hold my attention. The challenges Leia pledges to on her "Demand Day" are trite and at no time does the reader suspect she won't accomplish all of them with flying colors. Even if Leia failed, the stakes are too low. Gray's writing is colorful and her inclusion of female space heroes held me around.
It took most of Leia's royal training to keep that smile on her face. Amilyn wore possibly the most Amilyn thing ever: a flowing caftan of a dress in a swirling, multicolored pattern that reminded Leia of the storms on gas giants. Tiny bells jingled at the ends of the wide bell sleeves, and metallic, sparkly fringe trimmed the hem and the high neck. Amilyn had even managed to dye her hair the same combination of colors as the dress, which made her look like a psychedelic blur broken only by her smiling face. Leia ventured, "It's very bright. Very original and daring."
Great heroes need a great villain and Gray supplies one in Grand Moff Tarkin, who while not as menacing, is cut from the same cloth as Col. Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. Leia's interrogative encounters with Tarkin are the highlight of the novel, which is unable to provide a dynamic that compelling between Leia and her parents. I didn't find enough tension in the first half of the novel, but considering it is a movie tie-in and limited in its scope, I ended up enjoying the space travel, alien worlds and most of all, the development of Leia from little princess to soldier for the cause.
Want to read
September 9, 2017Hello it is I--Star Wars trash and avid lover of all things Leia.
Just going to casually sell my soul for an ARC, brb.
Just going to casually sell my soul for an ARC, brb.
October 14, 2017
I listened to the audiobook version of this with my kids and I really enjoyed it. I think I probably liked it more than they did! As usual, the Star Wars books have excellent production quality for audio, so that was great. But I also thought the story itself was quite good.
This is very much a YA coming of age story, but it was meaningful and fulfilling to learn about how Leia grows into the kind of person we see her to be when she appears in the films. I thought it read consistently with how she ultimately develops into the iconic character I grew up with and love so much. Recommended for people who love Leia, obviously, but a generally solid addition to the new canon books.
This is very much a YA coming of age story, but it was meaningful and fulfilling to learn about how Leia grows into the kind of person we see her to be when she appears in the films. I thought it read consistently with how she ultimately develops into the iconic character I grew up with and love so much. Recommended for people who love Leia, obviously, but a generally solid addition to the new canon books.
September 3, 2017
This book is amazing, if you like Star Wars you NEED to read it! So much foreshadowing and it presents a great look at leia in her younger years
October 14, 2017
Writing the backstories of iconic characters is probably a bad idea almost all the time. It certainly is for Princess Leia. Claudia Gray's novel about Leia a little before Episode 4 is really bad. I can accept that perhaps Leia was once a ridiculous teenager, going through bland, stereotypical teenager problems; but I don't want to read about it. And now I have anyway--for which I blame myself, of course. :)
Much of the novel feels like a generic YA story with Star Wars characters and locations awkwardly shoehorned in: pathfinder training, adolescent relationship with parents, first crush, and so forth. Not much happens in the novel, and it passes without much spark. Because this is a Claudia Gray novel about teenagers, of course there is a scene where Leia's first love "undoes her braids," so to speak--in both the literal sense and the uncomfortable Alderaanian figurative sense. Yuck. I much prefer to think of Leia as untouched when we meet her in Episode 4. It makes a lot more sense, given her character arc in the original trilogy.
Weird moments: when Leia visits the Naboo system, and talks with a generic queen and the former Captain Panaka--who meets a disappointing fate for no substantial reason at all. I guess that's what happens to a guy named Quarsh. There is no "bad feeling about this" in the novel, but there is a "good feeling about this." There is a corny scene where Leia nearly hires a YT freighter in need of repairs, which I'm sure we're supposed to think is perhaps a near-miss of her first meeting of Han. This is not a particularly large galaxy, apparently. And finally, it seems that Leia's mother is a little bit like Iron Man, which is kind of a strange detail. It's not a convincing reason why she and Bail adopted Leia. Surely in a galaxy that has cloning, Bail and Breha could have created a biological child of their own.
The novel includes at least a couple of small hints about The Last Jedi. Amilyn Holdo and the planet Crait are introduced. That's actually more reveal than the "Journey to..." books have tended to provide in the past. I'll be interested to see the payoff in the film.
Politics in Star Wars novels is always inept, and that's true in this story, too. But this novel includes several scenes with Grand Moff Tarkin, and he is just a fantastic character. For some reason, he works in any format--movie or book. His scenes are the most interesting ones in an otherwise very unremarkable novel. But even so: how dumb can he be? Surely he knows what's going on, and yet does nothing to stop it.
A commitment to reading everything in the Star Wars canon is sometimes more painful than it really ought to be. I'm just thankful to the public library, which has kept me from spending any money on these things.
Much of the novel feels like a generic YA story with Star Wars characters and locations awkwardly shoehorned in: pathfinder training, adolescent relationship with parents, first crush, and so forth. Not much happens in the novel, and it passes without much spark. Because this is a Claudia Gray novel about teenagers, of course there is a scene where Leia's first love "undoes her braids," so to speak--in both the literal sense and the uncomfortable Alderaanian figurative sense. Yuck. I much prefer to think of Leia as untouched when we meet her in Episode 4. It makes a lot more sense, given her character arc in the original trilogy.
Weird moments: when Leia visits the Naboo system, and talks with a generic queen and the former Captain Panaka--who meets a disappointing fate for no substantial reason at all. I guess that's what happens to a guy named Quarsh. There is no "bad feeling about this" in the novel, but there is a "good feeling about this." There is a corny scene where Leia nearly hires a YT freighter in need of repairs, which I'm sure we're supposed to think is perhaps a near-miss of her first meeting of Han. This is not a particularly large galaxy, apparently. And finally, it seems that Leia's mother is a little bit like Iron Man, which is kind of a strange detail. It's not a convincing reason why she and Bail adopted Leia. Surely in a galaxy that has cloning, Bail and Breha could have created a biological child of their own.
The novel includes at least a couple of small hints about The Last Jedi. Amilyn Holdo and the planet Crait are introduced. That's actually more reveal than the "Journey to..." books have tended to provide in the past. I'll be interested to see the payoff in the film.
Politics in Star Wars novels is always inept, and that's true in this story, too. But this novel includes several scenes with Grand Moff Tarkin, and he is just a fantastic character. For some reason, he works in any format--movie or book. His scenes are the most interesting ones in an otherwise very unremarkable novel. But even so: how dumb can he be? Surely he knows what's going on, and yet does nothing to stop it.
A commitment to reading everything in the Star Wars canon is sometimes more painful than it really ought to be. I'm just thankful to the public library, which has kept me from spending any money on these things.
September 4, 2017
This review is gonna be pretty emotional and spoiler heavy (in regards to the book and the future movie, The Last Jedi) so read when you have finished and if you feel that you are down for some musings.
I was so excited for my Force Friday purchases to get this book and start reading it after I finished my non-Star Wars read. I mean, last time, Lost Stars was my read after Force Friday purchases and it not only introduced me to Claudia Gray (and forever solidified anything she wrote in the new EU was beauty untouched) but that the new EU can give me something promising to look forward to.
With this book, Leia: Princess of Alderaan I not only got to relive my excitement and joy of getting another Claudia Gray book (where she focuses on young Leia, after she has already focused on older Leia) but seeing what was in store in terms of The Last Jedi brings me goosebumps and so much joy that I need to share with everyone. Guess what: I'm gonna bring up all three trilogies!
This book, as I said, brings all three trilogies into play. Claudia has proven to me that if we're gonna write about Leia, we gotta bring her past and her future into this. So she has.
What we know about Leia is that her parents were Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. In their own rights, both courageous and instrumental in the focus of the Rebellion and, sadly, The Empire. Leia was adopted by the Organa family after Bail expressed that his wife wanted a child and was unable to give birth.
This book shows that the Organas raised Leia as if she was their own daughter. Leia knows she is adopted, it is not a secret, but she does not know who her parents are. This does not bother Leia one bit. However, it did warm my heart to know that she was told that her parents were great people and died in the Clone Wars - on the side of good. I will also say that there are inklings of The Force being present through Leia's life. During harrowing lessons and trials she must face as part of her three challenges before accepting the title of heir to the throne of Alderaan, The Force is there to allow her to think clearly and find her inner strength. I love how Claudia wrote Brea and Bail, and it pains me that we see very little of Brea in any of the films and for her being involved with orchestrating/carrying out what Leia's birth mother started brings warmth to my heart.
We also see an appearance from Panaka (remember, Padme's old bodyguard?). Apparently he serves Palpatine but against his code and ethics. There is a part in which Leia must travel to Naboo and a needed encounter brings her to see the man who served alongside her mother. He is stunned, shaken, to see that his former queen is standing before him (and dressed in a dress similiar to that of her gown during the parade ceremony in TPM). Yet, to the Queen's surprise, he vows as best as he can to try to keep Naboo protected from Palpatines/The Empires involvements. Leia has no idea who this man is and why he is so interested in knowing if she knew her birth parents, but it does put a seed of doubt for the future that this is something that needs further investigation.
Mon Mothma is so awesome that to see her in this, and Rogue One, make me respect her role in RotJ. She is a much needed 'Aunt' to Leia and is willing to involve her and coach her in the first steps to leading the Rebellion.
Leia also finds love in this book. I rather liked the boy that she friended/had a bit of a relationship with and in no way did it feel as if his romantics with her side-lined the story. The twist at the end was one of those I *did not* see coming, and it was heartbreaking for Leia. I did chuckle when her mother said that she wished her daughter's first boyfriend was a scoundrel.
So, what is linked to The Last Jedi? A couple things actually. One is that Crait is used as a location for the Organas/The Rebellion. The Empire never finds out about this, because the link is deleted from any Rebellion sympathizer involvement. So, based on what one knows about the new film from the trailers, and that the Rebellion is being forced into fleeing... they end up on Crait, because Leia remembered that her family once had an outpost there. Boom.
Remember Laura Dern's character, Amilyn Holdo? She's in here. She is introduced as a Luna Lovegood type character. Very in touch with expression, not caring what others think, willing to help, and always changing her hair color. There are rumors that based on what she says in this book that she may be within the LGBTQ spectrum or just an ally. Either or, I am down. She becomes a friend of Leia's and someone that Leia trusts. She is not bad, as far as I know, but someone that Leia's going to look to for guidance and help. ... Guys, this is amazing. Princess Leia has a friend who she knew and who she can confide in (since her brother is missing, and her husband is gone). Some of the Lego leaks has her with a gun in her hand. YAS. (Knowing that Laura kicked ass in Jurassic Park 1 & 3, I have no doubt she'll kick ass again). So, by reading this book, you will get to see how Leia appreciated her as a teen.
This book is about seeing/reading Leia morph into the crafting, cool headed, caring diplomat that we know her to be from the original trilogy and the new trilogy. I think that having Claudia Gray write for Leia is a must. It will be hard to see someone writing for her, though I am welcome to it. Just that with Claudia Gray you can't go wrong. I praise it for handling her relationship with her adoptive family, her role as a leader in the Rebellion to be, and lastly, for being true to Leia's character.
I was so excited for my Force Friday purchases to get this book and start reading it after I finished my non-Star Wars read. I mean, last time, Lost Stars was my read after Force Friday purchases and it not only introduced me to Claudia Gray (and forever solidified anything she wrote in the new EU was beauty untouched) but that the new EU can give me something promising to look forward to.
With this book, Leia: Princess of Alderaan I not only got to relive my excitement and joy of getting another Claudia Gray book (where she focuses on young Leia, after she has already focused on older Leia) but seeing what was in store in terms of The Last Jedi brings me goosebumps and so much joy that I need to share with everyone. Guess what: I'm gonna bring up all three trilogies!
This book, as I said, brings all three trilogies into play. Claudia has proven to me that if we're gonna write about Leia, we gotta bring her past and her future into this. So she has.
What we know about Leia is that her parents were Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. In their own rights, both courageous and instrumental in the focus of the Rebellion and, sadly, The Empire. Leia was adopted by the Organa family after Bail expressed that his wife wanted a child and was unable to give birth.
This book shows that the Organas raised Leia as if she was their own daughter. Leia knows she is adopted, it is not a secret, but she does not know who her parents are. This does not bother Leia one bit. However, it did warm my heart to know that she was told that her parents were great people and died in the Clone Wars - on the side of good. I will also say that there are inklings of The Force being present through Leia's life. During harrowing lessons and trials she must face as part of her three challenges before accepting the title of heir to the throne of Alderaan, The Force is there to allow her to think clearly and find her inner strength. I love how Claudia wrote Brea and Bail, and it pains me that we see very little of Brea in any of the films and for her being involved with orchestrating/carrying out what Leia's birth mother started brings warmth to my heart.
We also see an appearance from Panaka (remember, Padme's old bodyguard?). Apparently he serves Palpatine but against his code and ethics. There is a part in which Leia must travel to Naboo and a needed encounter brings her to see the man who served alongside her mother. He is stunned, shaken, to see that his former queen is standing before him (and dressed in a dress similiar to that of her gown during the parade ceremony in TPM). Yet, to the Queen's surprise, he vows as best as he can to try to keep Naboo protected from Palpatines/The Empires involvements. Leia has no idea who this man is and why he is so interested in knowing if she knew her birth parents, but it does put a seed of doubt for the future that this is something that needs further investigation.
Mon Mothma is so awesome that to see her in this, and Rogue One, make me respect her role in RotJ. She is a much needed 'Aunt' to Leia and is willing to involve her and coach her in the first steps to leading the Rebellion.
Leia also finds love in this book. I rather liked the boy that she friended/had a bit of a relationship with and in no way did it feel as if his romantics with her side-lined the story. The twist at the end was one of those I *did not* see coming, and it was heartbreaking for Leia. I did chuckle when her mother said that she wished her daughter's first boyfriend was a scoundrel.
So, what is linked to The Last Jedi? A couple things actually. One is that Crait is used as a location for the Organas/The Rebellion. The Empire never finds out about this, because the link is deleted from any Rebellion sympathizer involvement. So, based on what one knows about the new film from the trailers, and that the Rebellion is being forced into fleeing... they end up on Crait, because Leia remembered that her family once had an outpost there. Boom.
Remember Laura Dern's character, Amilyn Holdo? She's in here. She is introduced as a Luna Lovegood type character. Very in touch with expression, not caring what others think, willing to help, and always changing her hair color. There are rumors that based on what she says in this book that she may be within the LGBTQ spectrum or just an ally. Either or, I am down. She becomes a friend of Leia's and someone that Leia trusts. She is not bad, as far as I know, but someone that Leia's going to look to for guidance and help. ... Guys, this is amazing. Princess Leia has a friend who she knew and who she can confide in (since her brother is missing, and her husband is gone). Some of the Lego leaks has her with a gun in her hand. YAS. (Knowing that Laura kicked ass in Jurassic Park 1 & 3, I have no doubt she'll kick ass again). So, by reading this book, you will get to see how Leia appreciated her as a teen.
This book is about seeing/reading Leia morph into the crafting, cool headed, caring diplomat that we know her to be from the original trilogy and the new trilogy. I think that having Claudia Gray write for Leia is a must. It will be hard to see someone writing for her, though I am welcome to it. Just that with Claudia Gray you can't go wrong. I praise it for handling her relationship with her adoptive family, her role as a leader in the Rebellion to be, and lastly, for being true to Leia's character.
May 8, 2025
“Authority can be given, but leadership must be earned.”
This book was so much fun, and I loved every second of it! Hands down my newest and favorite Star Wars books. It was a joy seeing Leia come of age as it was seeing or hearing about new and familiar faces during the course of the story. Reading about sixteen year-old Leia, watching her grow and become the Leia we know and love in the movies, was something I never knew I wanted but am both overjoyed and grateful for.
Other things I enjoyed about this book was learning about Alderaan and its people, especially Bail and Breha Organa; although it makes my heart ache knowing what happens to them in A New Hope. And Amilyn Holdo? I liked her in The Last Jedi, but now? I adore her so much more after reading this book.
This book was so much fun, and I loved every second of it! Hands down my newest and favorite Star Wars books. It was a joy seeing Leia come of age as it was seeing or hearing about new and familiar faces during the course of the story. Reading about sixteen year-old Leia, watching her grow and become the Leia we know and love in the movies, was something I never knew I wanted but am both overjoyed and grateful for.
Other things I enjoyed about this book was learning about Alderaan and its people, especially Bail and Breha Organa; although it makes my heart ache knowing what happens to them in A New Hope. And Amilyn Holdo? I liked her in The Last Jedi, but now? I adore her so much more after reading this book.
September 30, 2017
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/09/30/...
As far as I’m concerned, Claudia Gray has already proven herself capable of writing a damn good Star Wars novel, with fantastic examples like Lost Stars and Bloodline. So when I found out she was penning a new YA novel about Leia, it was automatically added to my must-read list.
The book, titled Leia, Princess of Alderaan, is a look back at the titular character’s early life as a daughter and heir to the throne of one of the most cultured, beautiful, and prosperous core worlds in the galaxy. Before she became a leader of the Rebel Alliance, before she became burdened by the guilt and grief that resulted from the destruction of her home planet, the iconic Princess Leia was vivacious and high-spirited young girl who faced every challenge with a determination to succeed. At sixteen years old, having just officially declared her royal service to Alderaan, Leia is preparing for a series of tests that will prove her worth in the areas of body, mind, and heart. The trials will involve grueling survival courses. Intense political training. Charity missions and relief efforts. Leia is resolved to master them all, and to make her adoptive parents proud.
Unfortunately though, her mother Breha and father Bail Organa appear to be distracted by other matters lately—like throwing dinner parties and other social gatherings with their allies in the Senate. Frustrated by their unwillingness to let her in on their activities, Leia decides to conduct her own investigations, and in doing so, unwittingly uncovers a network of rebel cells and activities operating right under the nose of the Empire’s leaders. And the greatest shock? It looks as if her parents—her peace-loving, diplomatic parents—are at the heart of it all. Realizing that they cannot shield their daughter from the truth anymore, Breha and Bail come clean, leaving Leia with the first of many hard choices she will make in her long and storied life. Will she embrace her parents’ work and help fight the Empire, or focus her efforts on protecting the citizens of Alderaan, her people that she has sworn to serve?
Needless to say, this a book that Leia fans will certainly not want to miss. On the timeline, it takes place in the Star Wars: Rebels era in the period leading up to the events of Rogue One and A New Hope. It is a formative year for Leia Organa, in which she will experience many firsts, including the first time she makes an appearance before Alderaan in an official capacity, the first time she is exposed directly to the harsh conditions of the Empire, the first time she hears about the rebellion, and—most unexpected of all—the first time she falls in love. The lessons she learns from her achievements (and mistakes) here will end up shaping the rest of her life.
And as Claudia Gray has already written a book about Leia, she knows the character inside out and I honestly can’t imagine any other top-class author writing about the Alderaanian princess as well as she does. Despite being a young adult novel, its themes are mature and serious enough that this can be enjoyed by Star Wars fans of all ages, not to mention the compelling plot and rich characters that held my attention from beginning to end. I enjoyed seeing this rare version of Leia, one that is still very much innocent and naïve, though as always, her heart is in the right place. She doesn’t realize what the Empire is capable of yet, and as such, her inexperience leads her to play dangerous games and fall into traps. This story, however, is also bigger than Leia, focusing on the efforts of Breha, Bail, Mon Mothma and the other secret allies in the Senate to fight back against the Empire. Not only do we get a lot of background information into Leia’s origins, we also get a wealth of history about how her resistance force started.
Lore buffs will also delight in the many references to all the movies, with Easter Eggs that go back even to the prequel trilogy. Those paying attention will notice a couple of familiar faces making surprise cameos, and some of the mentions made about Leia’s past in the films are given context as well. And because technically this novel falls under the umbrella of Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, there may be some light foreshadowing related to Leia’s role in the upcoming movie. Bail Organa’s work in establishing the rebel network has been touched upon in many stories including this one, and there are perhaps hints here as to how his daughter will continue his legacy in the places he used to spend his time.
All in all, Claudia Gray is fast becoming one of my favorite Star Wars authors and I hope she will write many more. Leia, Princess of Alderaan is another important piece in the new canon, perfectly encapsulating the personality and spirit of one of the most beloved characters in geek fandom as she comes of age during a tumultuous time. If you love Star Wars and if you love Leia, you will need to read this book—period.
Audiobook Comments: Saskia Maarleveld may be a new narrator to me, but her credits include years of audiobook narrating and voice-over work, and this impressive amount of experience is apparent in her performance. She was a fine choice of reader for this audiobook, and I thought she did a fantastic job portraying young Leia.
As far as I’m concerned, Claudia Gray has already proven herself capable of writing a damn good Star Wars novel, with fantastic examples like Lost Stars and Bloodline. So when I found out she was penning a new YA novel about Leia, it was automatically added to my must-read list.
The book, titled Leia, Princess of Alderaan, is a look back at the titular character’s early life as a daughter and heir to the throne of one of the most cultured, beautiful, and prosperous core worlds in the galaxy. Before she became a leader of the Rebel Alliance, before she became burdened by the guilt and grief that resulted from the destruction of her home planet, the iconic Princess Leia was vivacious and high-spirited young girl who faced every challenge with a determination to succeed. At sixteen years old, having just officially declared her royal service to Alderaan, Leia is preparing for a series of tests that will prove her worth in the areas of body, mind, and heart. The trials will involve grueling survival courses. Intense political training. Charity missions and relief efforts. Leia is resolved to master them all, and to make her adoptive parents proud.
Unfortunately though, her mother Breha and father Bail Organa appear to be distracted by other matters lately—like throwing dinner parties and other social gatherings with their allies in the Senate. Frustrated by their unwillingness to let her in on their activities, Leia decides to conduct her own investigations, and in doing so, unwittingly uncovers a network of rebel cells and activities operating right under the nose of the Empire’s leaders. And the greatest shock? It looks as if her parents—her peace-loving, diplomatic parents—are at the heart of it all. Realizing that they cannot shield their daughter from the truth anymore, Breha and Bail come clean, leaving Leia with the first of many hard choices she will make in her long and storied life. Will she embrace her parents’ work and help fight the Empire, or focus her efforts on protecting the citizens of Alderaan, her people that she has sworn to serve?
Needless to say, this a book that Leia fans will certainly not want to miss. On the timeline, it takes place in the Star Wars: Rebels era in the period leading up to the events of Rogue One and A New Hope. It is a formative year for Leia Organa, in which she will experience many firsts, including the first time she makes an appearance before Alderaan in an official capacity, the first time she is exposed directly to the harsh conditions of the Empire, the first time she hears about the rebellion, and—most unexpected of all—the first time she falls in love. The lessons she learns from her achievements (and mistakes) here will end up shaping the rest of her life.
And as Claudia Gray has already written a book about Leia, she knows the character inside out and I honestly can’t imagine any other top-class author writing about the Alderaanian princess as well as she does. Despite being a young adult novel, its themes are mature and serious enough that this can be enjoyed by Star Wars fans of all ages, not to mention the compelling plot and rich characters that held my attention from beginning to end. I enjoyed seeing this rare version of Leia, one that is still very much innocent and naïve, though as always, her heart is in the right place. She doesn’t realize what the Empire is capable of yet, and as such, her inexperience leads her to play dangerous games and fall into traps. This story, however, is also bigger than Leia, focusing on the efforts of Breha, Bail, Mon Mothma and the other secret allies in the Senate to fight back against the Empire. Not only do we get a lot of background information into Leia’s origins, we also get a wealth of history about how her resistance force started.
Lore buffs will also delight in the many references to all the movies, with Easter Eggs that go back even to the prequel trilogy. Those paying attention will notice a couple of familiar faces making surprise cameos, and some of the mentions made about Leia’s past in the films are given context as well. And because technically this novel falls under the umbrella of Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, there may be some light foreshadowing related to Leia’s role in the upcoming movie. Bail Organa’s work in establishing the rebel network has been touched upon in many stories including this one, and there are perhaps hints here as to how his daughter will continue his legacy in the places he used to spend his time.
All in all, Claudia Gray is fast becoming one of my favorite Star Wars authors and I hope she will write many more. Leia, Princess of Alderaan is another important piece in the new canon, perfectly encapsulating the personality and spirit of one of the most beloved characters in geek fandom as she comes of age during a tumultuous time. If you love Star Wars and if you love Leia, you will need to read this book—period.
Audiobook Comments: Saskia Maarleveld may be a new narrator to me, but her credits include years of audiobook narrating and voice-over work, and this impressive amount of experience is apparent in her performance. She was a fine choice of reader for this audiobook, and I thought she did a fantastic job portraying young Leia.
May 29, 2018
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
4 Cookies
"My parents. My friends. My world. These are the things the Empire can never take away."
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I almost forgot to write a review on this one! I'm going to put some on the backstory as well so you don't go into the book totally blind. ;)
Extra info:
There are lots of characters that are actually in the newest Star Wars movie The Last Jedi. One of the things you will probably notice is the adopted parents of Leia. Yes. It lines up right with the movie. I was actually glad it pretty much was accurate to the actual movies which was really nice. Amilyn Holdo is actually in the Last Jedi and once I saw her name in the book I was really excited! There are a few other characters that I'm not going to go into to much detail about, but most of them are all in previous movies, and even make new appearances in the newest movie.
SPOILER SECTION HERE BEEE DOOO BEE DOOO MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU skip to the storyline for no spoilers :)
Characters:
Leia:
YESSSS!!! LEIA IS THE BOMB DOT COM! Her voice was done really well in this novel. I LOVED HER CHARACTER TO THE MOON AND BACK! Since Leia is my all time favorite Star Wars character I had really high standards for her. I think it was portrayed really well. Its amazing to see how much her character grows from here. (I think its time to binge all the movies now!) She was a super empowering character who was super independent and just amazing.
Keri:
Ok so I'm not really sure if I have any sympathy for Keir. When he kicked the bucket close to the end, he still planned on turning all the information he gathered over to the Empire. This information would have killed Leia's family, and possibly her. However, his character was shy and I didn't get to much of anything from him. He was super sweet and all but eh. Not my thing.
OK YOUR GOOD TO PROCEED
Storyline: The overall storyline was where I had most of my problems. There wasn't really much going on. Don't get me wrong I actually liked the book. HOWEVER... They mostly did series of test and things of that sort. It also involved Leia figuring out her parents and things like that. The end of the book is where you get most of the actual nail biting scenes.
Cons: (start with the bad...)
The only thing I disliked was some flaws in the storyline. If there was a little more adventure, and a little less snooping, I think it would have been 5/5 for me.
Pros:(end with the good stuff...)
Leia's character was what really pulled me in to this story. Even though we see her at such a young age, we also know how much she will grow. I also got backstories! This was such a pleasure for me to read because I got to see some of those amazing stories of smaller characters that I enjoyed watching.
4 Cookies
"My parents. My friends. My world. These are the things the Empire can never take away."
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I almost forgot to write a review on this one! I'm going to put some on the backstory as well so you don't go into the book totally blind. ;)
Extra info:
There are lots of characters that are actually in the newest Star Wars movie The Last Jedi. One of the things you will probably notice is the adopted parents of Leia. Yes. It lines up right with the movie. I was actually glad it pretty much was accurate to the actual movies which was really nice. Amilyn Holdo is actually in the Last Jedi and once I saw her name in the book I was really excited! There are a few other characters that I'm not going to go into to much detail about, but most of them are all in previous movies, and even make new appearances in the newest movie.
SPOILER SECTION HERE BEEE DOOO BEE DOOO MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU skip to the storyline for no spoilers :)
Characters:
Leia:
YESSSS!!! LEIA IS THE BOMB DOT COM! Her voice was done really well in this novel. I LOVED HER CHARACTER TO THE MOON AND BACK! Since Leia is my all time favorite Star Wars character I had really high standards for her. I think it was portrayed really well. Its amazing to see how much her character grows from here. (I think its time to binge all the movies now!) She was a super empowering character who was super independent and just amazing.
Keri:
Ok so I'm not really sure if I have any sympathy for Keir. When he kicked the bucket close to the end, he still planned on turning all the information he gathered over to the Empire. This information would have killed Leia's family, and possibly her. However, his character was shy and I didn't get to much of anything from him. He was super sweet and all but eh. Not my thing.
OK YOUR GOOD TO PROCEED
Storyline: The overall storyline was where I had most of my problems. There wasn't really much going on. Don't get me wrong I actually liked the book. HOWEVER... They mostly did series of test and things of that sort. It also involved Leia figuring out her parents and things like that. The end of the book is where you get most of the actual nail biting scenes.
Cons: (start with the bad...)
The only thing I disliked was some flaws in the storyline. If there was a little more adventure, and a little less snooping, I think it would have been 5/5 for me.
Pros:(end with the good stuff...)
Leia's character was what really pulled me in to this story. Even though we see her at such a young age, we also know how much she will grow. I also got backstories! This was such a pleasure for me to read because I got to see some of those amazing stories of smaller characters that I enjoyed watching.
September 12, 2020
For me; this was a decent introduction to Star Wars as a whole and the character of Leia. The story was very much aimed a teenage audience I feel. But it was enjoyable overall.
There was of course a romance but I enjoyed the twist and the innocence of it. I also loved how it made Leia think more about the situation regarding the empire and the future rebellion.
It introduces the history before the rebellion (in explaining this as someone who has never seen the movies but would love to when I physically have the time) and it explains a younger Leia at the start of the foundation of the rebellion - the beginning is always a good place to start.
There was of course a romance but I enjoyed the twist and the innocence of it. I also loved how it made Leia think more about the situation regarding the empire and the future rebellion.
It introduces the history before the rebellion (in explaining this as someone who has never seen the movies but would love to when I physically have the time) and it explains a younger Leia at the start of the foundation of the rebellion - the beginning is always a good place to start.
June 2, 2023
3-3.5 stars. Leia is one of my favourite characters from the original Star Wars movies. Though, as she's the only female character of any significance from the original movies does kind of limit my choices for favourite character....This is a story of Leia at sixteen years old, gradually going through a variety of trials in preparation for becoming officially recognized as the future ruler of Alderaan. Claudia Gray gives us a picture of the loving and solid family life that Leia grew up in, and it was lovely to see Leia's role model in her mother Breha. And to see more of Bail Organa wrestling with his role in a burgeoning Rebellion against Palpatine.
Leia is already a a pretty determined person, but this tale shows us how she gradually becomes the person we see leaving a message for Ben Kenobi in Artoo and shooting a stormtrooper in the face. At sixteen, she's a little headstrong, a little impatient, not always thinking through the implications of her actions. Leia gets a crash course in the impact on others of precipitate decisions. She also begins her long relationship with Mon Mothma (there's that woman again! She's proving to be enormously important both within the Rebellion and in the many years after.)
Leia also begins a relationship with a fellow Alderaanian (is that what you call them??) that's kind of sweet in a first love kind of way. Claudia Gray also shows how Leia learns to behave covertly, and builds relationships with others during her trials and in other situations, actions that have larger implications as we all know what she's going to be doing eventually.
I found it hard sometimes to believe Leia was ever a sixteen year old, just learning to be an adult, never mind having to do so within the highly charged political atmosphere that she did. Claudia Gray has created a plausible earlier life for the princess who took charge of her escape from her Death Star holding cell.
Leia is already a a pretty determined person, but this tale shows us how she gradually becomes the person we see leaving a message for Ben Kenobi in Artoo and shooting a stormtrooper in the face. At sixteen, she's a little headstrong, a little impatient, not always thinking through the implications of her actions. Leia gets a crash course in the impact on others of precipitate decisions. She also begins her long relationship with Mon Mothma (there's that woman again! She's proving to be enormously important both within the Rebellion and in the many years after.)
Leia also begins a relationship with a fellow Alderaanian (is that what you call them??) that's kind of sweet in a first love kind of way. Claudia Gray also shows how Leia learns to behave covertly, and builds relationships with others during her trials and in other situations, actions that have larger implications as we all know what she's going to be doing eventually.
I found it hard sometimes to believe Leia was ever a sixteen year old, just learning to be an adult, never mind having to do so within the highly charged political atmosphere that she did. Claudia Gray has created a plausible earlier life for the princess who took charge of her escape from her Death Star holding cell.
February 23, 2019
My princess, my general, my queen.
January 27, 2025
Aside from the High Republic series - THIS is my number one favorite Star Wars book I’ve read so far. Leia has always been a favorite of mine and she means a lot to me - so I knew this would be up my alley… but it blew me away. Learning about Leia and the way she grew up is something I’ve always wished for. Her relationship with her parents is a GIFT to explore - Bail and Breha were near-perfect parents to her and it was extremely heartwarming to hear about their love for their daughter. Leia’s resilience brought me to tears, while her sassiness made me laugh. Sooo many callbacks to the OG trilogy (my personal favorite) and other surprises - like Leia’s first love, Alderaan insight, and when Leia becomes friends with Holdo (who reminded me a lot of Luna Lovegood). I can already tell that this is one I will return to reread often. I just adore Claudia Gray.
One little note - I read the Padme Trilogy right before diving in to this one and I highly recommend that journey to anyone else! This one had a few callbacks to Naboo, Padme, and another big character from those stories && having read those first made it have a lot more impact.
One little note - I read the Padme Trilogy right before diving in to this one and I highly recommend that journey to anyone else! This one had a few callbacks to Naboo, Padme, and another big character from those stories && having read those first made it have a lot more impact.
December 6, 2017
"My parents, Leia thought. My friends, my world. These are the things The Empire can never take away"
I'll just be over here, crying over this book.
I'll just be over here, crying over this book.
January 14, 2018
Claudia Gray is three for three with Star Wars books. I've been reading Star Wars books for over half my life now (!) and she is probably the best, most consistent author of these books that I have any experience of, and I'm including Zahn in that, because for a while there the books he was producing felt sub-par. She just brings such a nice sense of nuance and character depth. And she really gets Leia, as she proved in her adult novel, Bloodline (which is probably my favorite Star Wars book), and as she proves again here in this young adult take on the character.
Leia, Princess of Alderaan, takes place three years before Episode IV, as Leia is turning sixteen and preparing to officially become the heir to the throne of Alderaan. It does read young adult, which is a bit distracting at first, but the story quickly takes over. Leia is of course not a normal teenager, and she comes into the story already poised and educated in statecraft, but she still has a lot of things to learn, and Gray builds an arc for her nicely that dovetails becoming an adult with her accepting the realities of living in a universe that will soon be at war.
For those who have seen The Last Jedi, we also get appearances by several people and places that appeared in that movie, but I'm glad I saw the movie first. One of those people is Amilyn Holdo, who grows up to be Admiral Holdo. It was nice seeing the blossoming of their lifelong friendship portrayed here, and I thought it was by far the strongest new character relationship present. Gray unfortunately also tries for a first romance for Leia that I didn't think worked very well, for a couple of reasons. One, obviously we all know that she's going to end up with Han Solo, so we're never really going to be super invested in the pairing, which means we're only interested in it as far as it means something to Leia. That's a disadvantage story-wise. And second, because I think the one spot this book doesn't succeed 100% at is in creating a believable relationship chemistry between the two of them. I never FELT their relationship. Her relationships with her parents, Holdo, and hell, even Mon Mothma, were 1000 times more compelling, though what she did with the boy in the end was intriguing in terms of plot. It didn't quite end the way I thought it would.
All in all, another success for Claudia Gray, and I will continue to read her Star Wars books as long as she continues writing them. I also really need to get on reading some of her non-Star Wars work to see what she can do with original characters and stories.
Leia, Princess of Alderaan, takes place three years before Episode IV, as Leia is turning sixteen and preparing to officially become the heir to the throne of Alderaan. It does read young adult, which is a bit distracting at first, but the story quickly takes over. Leia is of course not a normal teenager, and she comes into the story already poised and educated in statecraft, but she still has a lot of things to learn, and Gray builds an arc for her nicely that dovetails becoming an adult with her accepting the realities of living in a universe that will soon be at war.
For those who have seen The Last Jedi, we also get appearances by several people and places that appeared in that movie, but I'm glad I saw the movie first. One of those people is Amilyn Holdo, who grows up to be Admiral Holdo. It was nice seeing the blossoming of their lifelong friendship portrayed here, and I thought it was by far the strongest new character relationship present. Gray unfortunately also tries for a first romance for Leia that I didn't think worked very well, for a couple of reasons. One, obviously we all know that she's going to end up with Han Solo, so we're never really going to be super invested in the pairing, which means we're only interested in it as far as it means something to Leia. That's a disadvantage story-wise. And second, because I think the one spot this book doesn't succeed 100% at is in creating a believable relationship chemistry between the two of them. I never FELT their relationship. Her relationships with her parents, Holdo, and hell, even Mon Mothma, were 1000 times more compelling, though what she did with the boy in the end was intriguing in terms of plot. It didn't quite end the way I thought it would.
All in all, another success for Claudia Gray, and I will continue to read her Star Wars books as long as she continues writing them. I also really need to get on reading some of her non-Star Wars work to see what she can do with original characters and stories.
October 17, 2017
Confession: I'm not generally a fan of "filling in the cracks" of the Star Wars universe: with the whole galaxy to play with, I prefer to have original characters/stories/scenarios, rather than learning about an alien that had one scene in the Mos Eisley cantina.
That said, the name Claudia Gray has come to mean quality for me when it comes to the Star Wars universe, and so I'm more than happy to support her continued work!
POST-READ: Another win for Ms Gray, who continues her impeccable run of tales set in the SWU. A Light, frothy read about everyone's favorite Space Princess/ Diplomat, well worth the read.
That said, the name Claudia Gray has come to mean quality for me when it comes to the Star Wars universe, and so I'm more than happy to support her continued work!
POST-READ: Another win for Ms Gray, who continues her impeccable run of tales set in the SWU. A Light, frothy read about everyone's favorite Space Princess/ Diplomat, well worth the read.
September 6, 2017
Those who say this book is "essential reading" for Star Wars fans -- both old-school aficionados and those anxious for preparatory information for the next film -- are correct. I think at this point it's safe to propose that if Claudia Gray wrote it for Star Wars, you should read it.
Also, Breha Organa rocks.
Also, Breha Organa rocks.
September 11, 2017
I know Claudia Gray doesn't like to do research on Nazi propaganda (Leia repeats a Nazi motto. Nice, huh?), but I'd hoped she'd research Leia's storied, almost-half-century-old lore before producing this Young Adult teen romance novel. Once again, when it comes to Star Wars, Disney is not to be trusted.
The theme in this book will be very familiar because it's already been told in the Original Trilogy.
Hmm, let's see, Leia is a sixteen year old princess, bound by her duties, and never had any time for friends. She meets a boy and learns to balance public service with personal life. Sounds familiar, no? Now, where have I seen this before? Oh, right, that's Leia's whole story arc from the Original Trilogy, her whole MO. Nice job ripping that off, Claudia, nice job undermining that aspect of her 'real' (OT) story. Geez, the OT is set 3 years later, why should she learn the same lesson twice in a mere 3 years? She deserved a unique story line, rather than some lame teen romance to explain her.
If the author would have researched (it's not hard to find the OT books, particularly ROTJ or old interviews with both George Lucas and Carrie Fisher), she would have been well served. Carrie Fisher loved her princess, she would say that Leia was the Ice Princess who was so busy with her duties, she had never indulged in personal interests. Many times, she said that Han was her first boyfriend and that's how she played her. That's actually in ROTJ canon book, in some form. So that's how we know her. Claudia should have been more thoughtful and careful with a character she didn't even create and who doesn't belong to her (she belongs to the legion of fans), who has a decades-long lore.
Ms. Gray has reduced Leia to the formulaic victim of the (obviously) doomed teen romance. That's such a cheap and easy gimmick, so cliched. To imply something of her she has no right or reason to imply is unconscionable. I realize we can read into that ambiguous scene what we like - that's up to us to decide what happened. She may not share my vision of Leia, but then I don't share hers either, and what I'm talking about has no place in this book and was not Ms. Gray's to imply in any way.
I should have known better. Another reviewer remarked that she has learned to separate the George's Star Wars and Disney's Star Wars, because they are not the same thing. Boy, was she right.
Oh, and I object to the cover flap describing this boy as 'the man she loves.' They're 16 and this reads as any typical high school teen romance you would find on Disney television - it's a YA book - that's as deep as the emotional sentiment goes. smh
The theme in this book will be very familiar because it's already been told in the Original Trilogy.
Hmm, let's see, Leia is a sixteen year old princess, bound by her duties, and never had any time for friends. She meets a boy and learns to balance public service with personal life. Sounds familiar, no? Now, where have I seen this before? Oh, right, that's Leia's whole story arc from the Original Trilogy, her whole MO. Nice job ripping that off, Claudia, nice job undermining that aspect of her 'real' (OT) story. Geez, the OT is set 3 years later, why should she learn the same lesson twice in a mere 3 years? She deserved a unique story line, rather than some lame teen romance to explain her.
If the author would have researched (it's not hard to find the OT books, particularly ROTJ or old interviews with both George Lucas and Carrie Fisher), she would have been well served. Carrie Fisher loved her princess, she would say that Leia was the Ice Princess who was so busy with her duties, she had never indulged in personal interests. Many times, she said that Han was her first boyfriend and that's how she played her. That's actually in ROTJ canon book, in some form. So that's how we know her. Claudia should have been more thoughtful and careful with a character she didn't even create and who doesn't belong to her (she belongs to the legion of fans), who has a decades-long lore.
Ms. Gray has reduced Leia to the formulaic victim of the (obviously) doomed teen romance. That's such a cheap and easy gimmick, so cliched. To imply something of her she has no right or reason to imply is unconscionable. I realize we can read into that ambiguous scene what we like - that's up to us to decide what happened. She may not share my vision of Leia, but then I don't share hers either, and what I'm talking about has no place in this book and was not Ms. Gray's to imply in any way.
I should have known better. Another reviewer remarked that she has learned to separate the George's Star Wars and Disney's Star Wars, because they are not the same thing. Boy, was she right.
Oh, and I object to the cover flap describing this boy as 'the man she loves.' They're 16 and this reads as any typical high school teen romance you would find on Disney television - it's a YA book - that's as deep as the emotional sentiment goes. smh
January 29, 2018
Since I was little, princess Leia has always been one of my favorite characters. It was one of the first princesses that I saw that didn't need to be constantly saved, she could save herself.
I feel like Claudia Gray nailed Leia's character. This is the story about how Leia joined the rebellion. We get to see her thoughts about the Empire, we get to see how compassionate, determined and strong she is, even at the age of 16.
One of the aspects that I liked a lot is that we get to know more about Alderaan. We see a brief glance of it in Revenge of the Sith, and it gets mentioned and destroyed in A New Hope without us knowing anything about it. Here, we get to know more about how it's ruled. Plus, we get to know a bunch of other planets too.
Something else that I loved was knowing more about Leia's parents and how their relationship with their daughter was. We knew Bail from the prequels, but we can see how he was as a parent here. And we finally get to know Breha. I loved her, she was a great queen, and even a better mother. It makes me sad to think that they're gone because Alderaan gets destroyed :(
I think that they should have built more Holdo's and Leia's friendship instead of wasting time on Kier. We get to know her in her youth here, but I can't help but feel that there was something missing for people to really connect with Holdo, and admire or even understand what she did in TLJ and why she did it.
I would have rated this book higher... if it weren't for Kier. I don't know if it's because I'm a HanLeia shipper (even if we know how that turned out TnT), but I HATED Kier. He doesn't really do anything bad, but that's the point. HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING INTERESTING. He's a very bland character, I honestly don't know what Leia saw in him.
Overall, it was a great book, but it had some wasted potential.
I feel like Claudia Gray nailed Leia's character. This is the story about how Leia joined the rebellion. We get to see her thoughts about the Empire, we get to see how compassionate, determined and strong she is, even at the age of 16.
One of the aspects that I liked a lot is that we get to know more about Alderaan. We see a brief glance of it in Revenge of the Sith, and it gets mentioned and destroyed in A New Hope without us knowing anything about it. Here, we get to know more about how it's ruled. Plus, we get to know a bunch of other planets too.
Something else that I loved was knowing more about Leia's parents and how their relationship with their daughter was. We knew Bail from the prequels, but we can see how he was as a parent here. And we finally get to know Breha. I loved her, she was a great queen, and even a better mother. It makes me sad to think that they're gone because Alderaan gets destroyed :(
I think that they should have built more Holdo's and Leia's friendship instead of wasting time on Kier. We get to know her in her youth here, but I can't help but feel that there was something missing for people to really connect with Holdo, and admire or even understand what she did in TLJ and why she did it.
I would have rated this book higher... if it weren't for Kier. I don't know if it's because I'm a HanLeia shipper (even if we know how that turned out TnT), but I HATED Kier. He doesn't really do anything bad, but that's the point. HE DOESN'T DO ANYTHING INTERESTING. He's a very bland character, I honestly don't know what Leia saw in him.
Overall, it was a great book, but it had some wasted potential.
December 9, 2019
The title might say Leia, but the star of the show is named Amilyn.
I said what I said.
Jokes aside, this is yet another very solid Claudia Gray installment in the Canon novels series. She does a marvellous job increasing the tension in terms of the stakes while never letting the titular Princess's teenaged hijinks hiking up mountains and participating in her Galaxy's Model UN distract from the weight of What Is to Come.
I said what I said.
Jokes aside, this is yet another very solid Claudia Gray installment in the Canon novels series. She does a marvellous job increasing the tension in terms of the stakes while never letting the titular Princess's teenaged hijinks hiking up mountains and participating in her Galaxy's Model UN distract from the weight of What Is to Come.
did-not-finish
November 13, 2017A story about teenage, pre-New Hope Leia falling in love with a boy and learning to balance her social life and royal duties. Basically, a typical young adult book in the Star Wars setting. Not my thing at all. I was hoping this would somehow tie into the upcoming Episode VIII (for which I am super excited), but the book really doesn’t seem to have anything to do with it, despite saying “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on the cover.
December 29, 2017
Really enjoyed this one! Got to learn a lot of the rise of the rebellion, and Leia's part in it along with her gaining the title as heir to Alderaan. Yep, if you love Star Wars, I think you should read this.
January 8, 2022
3.5 Stars
An enjoyable Star Wars story that provides the coming of age story for Leia. I liked getting to see her adopted parents' involvement in the rebellion. While this is marketed as young adult, I thought it worked well for an adult audience with only a little obligatory YA romance.
An enjoyable Star Wars story that provides the coming of age story for Leia. I liked getting to see her adopted parents' involvement in the rebellion. While this is marketed as young adult, I thought it worked well for an adult audience with only a little obligatory YA romance.
November 23, 2018
Every now and then I get Star Wars cravings that I have no other choice but to act upon and when the zillionth rewatch of the films won't do, I'll know it's time for me to dive into another canon novel.
Leia: Princess of Alderaan is a prequel to Rogue One and A New Hope and therefore shows Princess Leia as a teenager, a young sixteen year old girl that is yet to become the fierce and devoted woman we know from the movies. We meet her at a time where has to prove that she is a worthy princess and where her strong morals are starting to develop and show.
Galactic politics play a big role in this one, as the Rebellion is fighting to save their people from Imperial control. It does a good job at showing how difficult diplomacy can be, how hard choosing between right and wrong sometimes is.
"There come a time when refusing to stop violence can no longer be called nonviolence. We cease to be objections and become bystanders. At some point, morality must be wedded to action, or else it's no more than mere... vanity."
But the main focus in this novel is on the characters. Gray does a wonderful job bringing Leia to life as she struggles with the lack of attention from her adopted parents, Breha and Bail, desperately trying to impress them and experiences something close to a first love in form of Keir, a boy from Alderaan. Characters we are already familiar with, like Amilyn Holdo and Mon Mothma, get fleshed out as well!
Despite all that, I doubt I would have enjoyed the novel if I didn't know the universe already. It feeds into my sentimental Star Wars feelings, but considering this is 400 pages long, there just wasn't quite enough to hold up on its one, which is a shame. The love story is generic, the plot forgettable, the outcome foreseeable. I would therefore recommend this for people who can't get enough of Leia, but not necessarily to people who are still waiting for that love to develop.
Leia: Princess of Alderaan is a prequel to Rogue One and A New Hope and therefore shows Princess Leia as a teenager, a young sixteen year old girl that is yet to become the fierce and devoted woman we know from the movies. We meet her at a time where has to prove that she is a worthy princess and where her strong morals are starting to develop and show.
Galactic politics play a big role in this one, as the Rebellion is fighting to save their people from Imperial control. It does a good job at showing how difficult diplomacy can be, how hard choosing between right and wrong sometimes is.
"There come a time when refusing to stop violence can no longer be called nonviolence. We cease to be objections and become bystanders. At some point, morality must be wedded to action, or else it's no more than mere... vanity."
But the main focus in this novel is on the characters. Gray does a wonderful job bringing Leia to life as she struggles with the lack of attention from her adopted parents, Breha and Bail, desperately trying to impress them and experiences something close to a first love in form of Keir, a boy from Alderaan. Characters we are already familiar with, like Amilyn Holdo and Mon Mothma, get fleshed out as well!
Despite all that, I doubt I would have enjoyed the novel if I didn't know the universe already. It feeds into my sentimental Star Wars feelings, but considering this is 400 pages long, there just wasn't quite enough to hold up on its one, which is a shame. The love story is generic, the plot forgettable, the outcome foreseeable. I would therefore recommend this for people who can't get enough of Leia, but not necessarily to people who are still waiting for that love to develop.
September 7, 2017
That was pretty much devastating. My heart!
In terms of style and sentence structure, it was remarkably accessible/simple in a way that a lot of YA isn't to struggling readers, but without feeling like it talked down at any point. Similarly, the ways that Leia is a teen character with necessarily-limited vision and a great deal of righteous passion is incredibly relatable and realistic. And the ways that she makes mistakes despite her intentions and intelligence and resources... ohhh... but then she keeps learning, and growing, and fighting, and her parents and the others around her struggling with changing as well. It's really beautifully done, thoughtful and nuanced and also very much aimed at young readers.
If you've got a t(w)een reader who's wrestling with questions of action, injustice, and revolution, and they've got enough of a handle on the Star Wars universe to read a tie-in novel, I highly recommend this one. Sometimes readers identify with a book for reasons other than gender/sexuality/race/culture/circumstances - sometimes it's identifying with the struggle. I think this has the potential to be a powerful book for a lot of teen/MG readers right now.
In terms of style and sentence structure, it was remarkably accessible/simple in a way that a lot of YA isn't to struggling readers, but without feeling like it talked down at any point. Similarly, the ways that Leia is a teen character with necessarily-limited vision and a great deal of righteous passion is incredibly relatable and realistic. And the ways that she makes mistakes despite her intentions and intelligence and resources... ohhh... but then she keeps learning, and growing, and fighting, and her parents and the others around her struggling with changing as well. It's really beautifully done, thoughtful and nuanced and also very much aimed at young readers.
If you've got a t(w)een reader who's wrestling with questions of action, injustice, and revolution, and they've got enough of a handle on the Star Wars universe to read a tie-in novel, I highly recommend this one. Sometimes readers identify with a book for reasons other than gender/sexuality/race/culture/circumstances - sometimes it's identifying with the struggle. I think this has the potential to be a powerful book for a lot of teen/MG readers right now.
January 2, 2018
I wanted to love this because I loved Lost Stars, but this was too boring for me. The writing itself was good, but it felt like nothing was happening. Ever. And the setting was all over the place, and I just didn’t care about any of it. 3/5 Stars.
September 4, 2017
I have a lot of feelings about this book. This is the young Leia book I've been begging for for years and years. And it delivers. Amazing use of Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and Breha Organa. Breha's exact role surprised me but it all works just so well and I love it. Plus I loved her actually getting any significant role in something and it being clear that she was every bit as much of an influence on Leia as Bail. The tie ins to Rogue One were also quite excellent. And I loved the new characters introduced as Leia's Apprentice Legislature colleagues. Even if I did tend to worry intensely about anyone Leia seemed to be getting close to. And of course so much is just heartbreaking because we know DAMN WELL what's going to happen in A New Hope and oh you sweet summer children you couldn't even imagine.
December 27, 2017
This book was purely AMAZING and one of my top reads from this year!
Honestly, I loved everything about it.
Claudia Gray just nails Leia every time. Her spirit was captured perfectly in this story.
I got to say, I expected this to be more of a love story than it was. Because essentially, it was a story about a teenage girl growing up and her struggles to connect with her family and find new friends who treat her without bias. I always loved Leia as a character in the rebellion but this much more personal side of her made her so relatable.
We got to meet old and new characters. Leia's parents were one of the highlights of the story, Bail and Breha were fantastic characters (okay but how can you not just simply love them?). The cameos in this were great, too! (now this is the point where I can't go into detail because spoilers, you know)
Regarding new characters, I need to point out Amilyn Holdo who was by far my favorite new personality! I loved her role in this. Kier was also a great character, challenging Leia to question her ideals and morals.
Gray's writing was fun and witty. Heartfelt moments and action sequences complemented each other perfectly, creating a nice pacing. Some scenes make you laugh out loud (there's one specific banquet scene) or sob your eyes out. Gray likes to make her characters suffer, so naturally, I suffered with them.
Since this book is part of the Journey To The Last Jedi, it obviously hinted towards it. Having seen the movie, I can say those references were subtle and thoughtfully placed. However, this story also referenced the prequel era which felt refreshing! Getting to know about how Leia was first involved in the Rebellion was interesting. But the setting of Alderaan was much more emotional, knowing what happens in ANH. The planet is just so beautiful.
As you can see, I LOVED this book. It was everything I hoped it to be. A rollercoaster ride of emotions. I recommend this to anyone who likes Star Wars or Carrie Fisher. She would have loved it. My only 'complaint' is that at some points it felt like Gray wanted to make the story extra sad by forcing in deep quotes and metaphors. I loved the passages but at some points it was slightly too much for my taste.
Would I reread? Hell yes. Just writing this review makes me want to read the book again.
"I'll prove myself. I'll do something too great for them to ignore."-Princess Leia of Alderaan
Honestly, I loved everything about it.
Claudia Gray just nails Leia every time. Her spirit was captured perfectly in this story.
I got to say, I expected this to be more of a love story than it was. Because essentially, it was a story about a teenage girl growing up and her struggles to connect with her family and find new friends who treat her without bias. I always loved Leia as a character in the rebellion but this much more personal side of her made her so relatable.
We got to meet old and new characters. Leia's parents were one of the highlights of the story, Bail and Breha were fantastic characters (okay but how can you not just simply love them?). The cameos in this were great, too! (now this is the point where I can't go into detail because spoilers, you know)
Regarding new characters, I need to point out Amilyn Holdo who was by far my favorite new personality! I loved her role in this. Kier was also a great character, challenging Leia to question her ideals and morals.
Gray's writing was fun and witty. Heartfelt moments and action sequences complemented each other perfectly, creating a nice pacing. Some scenes make you laugh out loud (there's one specific banquet scene) or sob your eyes out. Gray likes to make her characters suffer, so naturally, I suffered with them.
Since this book is part of the Journey To The Last Jedi, it obviously hinted towards it. Having seen the movie, I can say those references were subtle and thoughtfully placed. However, this story also referenced the prequel era which felt refreshing! Getting to know about how Leia was first involved in the Rebellion was interesting. But the setting of Alderaan was much more emotional, knowing what happens in ANH. The planet is just so beautiful.
As you can see, I LOVED this book. It was everything I hoped it to be. A rollercoaster ride of emotions. I recommend this to anyone who likes Star Wars or Carrie Fisher. She would have loved it. My only 'complaint' is that at some points it felt like Gray wanted to make the story extra sad by forcing in deep quotes and metaphors. I loved the passages but at some points it was slightly too much for my taste.
Would I reread? Hell yes. Just writing this review makes me want to read the book again.
"I'll prove myself. I'll do something too great for them to ignore."-Princess Leia of Alderaan
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