Star Wars book review: Leia, Princess of Alderaan, Claudia Gray

As long as Claudia Gray wants to keep writing books about Leia, it is a good idea to let her, because Leia, Princess of Alderaan is magnificent.

About a year and a half ago, yours truly read Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline, then promptly put it on her list of Star Wars books that you should read. I say all this because Gray had done an impressive job of capturing an older Leia that we’d only just met a few months ago in The Force Awakens at the time of the book’s release. So, to head back to a Leia fans had not really seen before — a pre-Rebel teenager? That’s a risk. But Leia, Princess of Alderaan should cast away all doubts.

Don’t shy away from the young adult labeling, either. This book is, in a word, thoughtful, and I mean that both in how it treats this 16-year-old version of Leia and in how it relates to the larger universe of Star Wars.

Earlier this week, a Lucasfilm editor tweeted the following, which is a fairly minor spoiler, at least in my book:

In terms of the “true [The Last Jedi] connections” tweeted about, I consider listing them off an even bigger spoiler, but this tweet did color my perceptions of the book, and so I’m including it and commenting on it.

More importantly, though, in relation to the tweet, family is a major part of this book. We get to see a lot of Breha and Bail Organa both, and the relationship grows and evolves as Leia does, but it doesn’t feel contrived. But it’s clear that Gray had some deeper connections in mind. For the sake of not spoiling the book completely, there are little parallels between her, both her biological parents, and even her twin brother, stuck on Tatooine at this point in the timeline.

But since the book is about Leia, it’s probably important that we talk about how the book treats her. As I’ve already said, this is not a Leia we’ve really seen before in the new universe, and for the first few chapters, it might feel as if you’re reading about someone that only seems familiar, but isn’t exactly someone we know. However, it’s easy to see how this Leia becomes the princess and then general that fans across the globe have come to love and see as an inspiration. That in and of itself is a feat.

Other movie characters get the same treatment, where they either feel true to themselves or revealed in unexpected ways. Again, there’s no way you’re going to find out from me who’s in the book other than Leia’s parents, but just trust me when I say that the surprise is very much worth preserving.

Next: Force Friday II: A purse roundup

With the news that Carrie Fisher’s final on-screen appearance in The Last Jedi will probably mark the last time we see Leia in the main line films, I can think of no better way to keep the character alive than to leave her in Claudia Gray’s very capable writing hands for as long as Gray is willing to hold onto her. Leia, Princess of Alderaan is more than worthy of being one of the two major Force Friday II book releases and a fantastic new entry into the Star Wars books that are completely compliant with the universe.