Star Wars Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan by Jeffery Brown

Star Wars Jedi Academy: Return of the Padawan

By Jeffery Brown

Jeffery Brown has brought us another fun adventure with Roan in his second year at Jedi Academy.  This year he’s better prepared and excited to start flight training.  He knows it’s going to be a great year.  Until he realizes that things are really the way he expected to, and the new Holobook thing is really kind of weird too.  Roan makes some not so great decisions in his second year and has to figure out how to fix his mistakes before he ruins everything.

This is a cute and fun read for your more reluctant readers.  The combination of graphic novel, diary entries, and letters from teachers/friends/family make it a quick read and help to keep your kids interested in the story.  Brown does attempt to make a stab at addressing online bullying, but it’s not truly addressed and almost seems as if it was thrown in there to be more with the times.  I wasn’t a huge fan of this part because it could have been addressed better.  It seemed like it was just a second thought. 

Overall, it’s cute and funny and most kids will connect with Roan.  Kids who enjoy the Star Wars franchise will also like this book.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Did you enjoy the first book in The Lunar Chronicles?  Were you disappointed in the ending?  Don’t worry, in Scarlet, the second book of The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer twists in the story of Little Red Riding Hood with our previous tale of Cinderella.  With Scarlet’s grandmother missing, we meet Wolf, a stranger in a small town and more than somewhat suspicious.  Despite the warning signs and Scarlet’s feeling of distrust, she and Wolf set out together to find and rescue her grandmother.  Meanwhile Cinder has escaped from prison and is also on the search for Michelle Benoit, Scarlet’s grandmother, hoping to find out more about her past.  Unfortunately her escape has angered Queen Levana who will most definitely have her revenge. 

                At the end of Cinder I was upset, needing to know that there was at least hope that she would be okay.  In Scarlet, Cinder morphs into some kind of cyborg hero with her new arm and leg, shooting darts at enemies, opening hatches, and hot wiring space ships so she and her new companion can escape.  Like any hero, she has a sidekick: pilot and criminal, Thorne who reminds me of a little bit of Wash from the show Firefly (side note—Marissa Meyer is a huge Firefly fan, so this shouldn’t be surprising).  Now she has Iko, her android friend, and Thorne on her side, but it feels like Thorne is waiting to take on a little more shape.  As of right now, he is mostly just there for laughs.

                The Little Red Riding Hood character, Scarlet, is presented as a smart, hot headed, independent young woman, but in reality is an idiot.  She falls in love with Wolf and the relationship that ensues during their 24 hour or so trip to Paris is eye rolling (some of their dialogue was just painful to read). Despite all the warning signs and her misgivings, Scarlet throws herself into Wolf’s embrace and then is angry at herself (as she should be!) when the truth is revealed. 

You will be surprised by the truths that are revealed within Scarlet.  The twists and turns of this fairy tale are well done and although I thought I had figured out the ending, I was only half correct.  My biggest complaint is the flip flopping between so many characters’ points of view.  We not only have Scarlet’s and Cinder’s perspectives, but jump to Prince Kai, Thorne, Wolf, and Queen Levana.  It was somewhat jarring to be thrown into some of these points of view for just one or two chapters throughout the entire book and I question whether that was necessary.

Overall, book two in this series has made me want to immediately pick up the third book, Cress.  Meyer has created some moving characters whose lives you really care about and a plot that keeps going.  I am looking forward to when I get to read Cress.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

               If fairy tales are your forte, then Marrisa Meyer’s Cinder may be for you, but be aware, there is more to this fairy tale than you’ll expect.  The first in the Lunar Chronicles,   Cinder introduces us to a future Earth, 126 years after World War IV.  Despite the peace they have experienced since then, members of Earth are dealing with two major threats to their lives: the evil Queen Levana, ruler of a group who live on the moon, and a deadly plague that seems to leave no family untouched.  As a young cyborg in New Beijing, Cinder is considered a second class citizen under the care of her guardian, who is neglectful at best.  She has watched as her sisters are given everything while Cinder works as a mechanic to make the family money, the threat of being sold off always hanging over her head.  As she dreams of a day when she can buy her freedom, the prince of the Eastern Commonwealth visits her booth with an important request.  From there Cinder’s life becomes complicated as she tries to keep her true identity from the prince while only just discovering the truth herself.

              I was worried that this futuristic retelling would just be the same old story with nothing more than a few changes in setting and the necessary details to match, but am pleased to see that it is much more than that. 

While her step-mother feels like more of a nuisance than a true villain, the evil step sister is barely a name, only causing problems right before the ball.  These two characters seem inconsequential in relation to the major conflicts Cinder faces.  In contrast, Cinder’s character is full and interesting, with much more in her than even she realizes.  She is still evolving as the book comes to a close.  The prince however is annoying and naïve (a descriptor that is used a few times throughout the novel).  How does he not notice that she is a cyborg or question why she wears gloves all the time is beyond me.  I also question Cinder’s interest in the prince as she seems like a smart enough girl.

              There is much more going on here than just Cinder’s story, though. There are layers of conflict that build and twist around one another to further complicate Cinder’s life, but it isn't just her life that will change; it’s all of Earth’s life that is threatened.   The second book in this series is entitled Scarlet, bringing in another fairy tale character: Little Red Riding Hood.  I have not yet read this, but I am hoping that Cinder’s story is intertwined with Scarlet’s.  I want to find out more about Cinder because at the end, I am dissatisfied.  Although I understand the desire to keep readers wanting more so they will read the following book, I would like to feel some sense of closure at the end of the first book.  Meyers has left us hanging with Cinder right smack in the middle of a major threat, unsure of how she will make it out alive.

                Marissa Meyers has left me hanging at the end of Cinder so I will be reading Scarlet next. Look out for a review of the next novel in The Lunar Chronicles soon!