Star Wars: A New Hope by Alexandra Bracken

1/2/2018

SYNOPSIS

Although the Rebel Alliance has won a few battles against the Empire, hope is fading. The Empire is about to finish building the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever seen-the Death Star. The rebels' only chance to defeat it now lies in the unlikely hands of a princess, a scoundrel, and a farm boy...

Acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken delivers a captivating retelling of Star Wars: A New Hope like you've never experienced before. Since the premier of the original film, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker have become iconic, larger-than-life characters. The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy takes a deeper look at these three heroes as they join forces to defeat the evil that threatens their entire galaxy.

Synopsis from Chapters.Indigo.ca

PERSONAL REVIEW

I should start by saying that I'm not a fan of Star Wars; I didn't watch the movies growing up and I just didn't care about the series at all until I started dating my husband. I watched all the movies to make him happy, but had no connection to any of the characters. However, I'm a HUGE fan of Alexandra Bracken, and because she was the author of this book I decided to give it a try.

I'll also say that my husband was incredibly happy when he saw me reading this (I think he's hoping I'll become a fan because of it).

What I Thought:

Excellent Insight Into Beloved Characters: Bracken makes a point of writing in the intro that she did include her own imagination into this book, while also relying on the movie. And it's clear that her own opinions really came through in this book, especially when getting to read the different POVs in each section. I definitely felt that we were given more insight into these characters, especially Princess (ahem, Ambassador) Leia, which I absolutely loved. She's such a strong female character, and this book goes deeper into her thoughts to give us a better understanding of this girl who was raised as a princess, but has definitely been a rebel since birth. I tend to find that the women in the Star Wars franchise are simply more compelling then the men, and that might actually be because they are given less screen time in the original 6 films, so they need to make their mark faster.

* As a side note, I'm a huge fan of Rey in the new films and love that she's the main Jedi in this new trilogy*
Fun Retelling of a Classic Film: Even though I'm not a Star Wars-die hard, I can appreciate how difficult it would be to write a book that both stays true to the movie while also having some of the author's own thoughts and opinions on what is happening. And yet, Bracken does such a seamless job of it that it seems like it took no work at all! I'm clearly a huge fan of her writing, but that's honestly because she is such a skilled writer, even when writing a book that is based on someone else's story. I found myself enjoying the adventure that Leia, Han, and Luke go on, and loved how she decided to write the story from specific POVs instead of simply writing it from a third-person narrator.
Significantly Better Dialogue: I honestly don't care what anyone says, the dialogue in the first 6 films is often silly and juvenile and probably one of the things that turned me off the most about the franchise. Which is why I was really happy to read this book and find that the characters have a lot more going for them in writing then they did on screen. I felt like Bracken's take on a lot of these screens was much stronger then the original script lent itself too; conversations felt more real and dynamic and were simply more interesting. There, I said it. George Lucas was an incredibly creative man, but his dialogue left a lot to be desired...

While I'm definitely still not as big of a Star Wars fan as my husband, I was incredibly entertained while reading Bracken's interpretation of the movie, and really felt like I got to know the characters better. My husband's family always argue with me about this, but one of my biggest issues with the movies is that the dialogue is always so juvenile, so I loved how Bracken stepped up to fix things like that. The POV changes, the dialogue, and the way that we were immediately immersed in the action and characters thoughts definitely made me like A New Hope a lot more as a book then as a movie. (*don't yell at me!*)

FINAL RATING: 4/5