Cannonball Read 11

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • FAQ
    • #CannonBookClub
    • Fan Mail
    • AlabamaPink
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
  • Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Genres
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us

A surprisingly great entry into the new Star Wars canon. Would rec for even non-Star Wars fans if you like YA/sci-fi/romance.

Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

December 14, 2015 by narfna Leave a Comment

lost starsSo, this book basically came out of nowhere, right?

I only heard about it a couple of months ago thanks to some Goodreads friends, all of whom were also completely surprised by how good this book was. (Granted, I think a lot of them don’t regularly read YA and might be unaware of some of the wonderful authors currently working in the genre.) But still. Even with all of those reviews, the book still managed to surprise me. Because what’s so surprising about it isn’t that it’s good, but HOW it’s good.

The basic plot of this book is that it follows two young citizens of the Empire from the age of eight living on an Outer Rim planet, through their time at the Imperial Academy, and their eventual deployment and involvement with the Empire during its stable years, and as the fight with the Rebellion begins. The major events of all three original films are seen from the other side, and when I heard this I was worried it would seem gimmicky, but it doesn’t play out that way. The characters of Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell are always front and center. The story is always about them, and nothing seemed stretched to include them. In fact, quite the opposite. This book fleshed out the world of Star Wars in a way that no other expanded universe novel has for me quite yet. Those have always focused on the Rebellion and our main heroes, and tended to view them in a more heroic light. This book, with so many of its (very human) characters on the side of the Empire (at least, most of them, for most of the time) had the opposite effect. It complicates the world of Star Wars away from black and white. It humanizes the citizens of the Empire, from the most ardent Imperialist, all the way down to the citizens of backwater, exploited planets.

This isn’t to say the book takes the position that the Empire is good. It doesn’t. At several different points, several different characters state that the Empire is evil. But what it does complicate are the people who make up the Empire. How they could ever support it, how the degrading political and economic situation in the galaxy affects those opinions. And how someone who is supposedly a good person could still live with themselves after seeing the atrocities committed in the Empire’s name. In a lot of ways, this novel is really a psychological character study; it isn’t afraid to delve deep into its characters’ motivations and have them make complicated decisions.

It’s also a love story. The blurb advertises it as Star Wars doing Romeo and Juliet, but that’s not very accurate, excepting the fact that Ciena and Thane are quite literally star-crossed. But the love story is never simple or predictable, and because of their at times very conflicting beliefs and political leanings, it’s never simple, either. The writing is at times a little unfulfilling, but the story and the characters and the structure of the thing more than make up for it. The hints for what’s to come in the new movies were also tantalizing. If this book is anything to go by, the galaxy our heroes and villains will be living in for the next while will be an interesting one.

Definitely recommend this for Star Wars fans, and would also recommend if you’ve never read a Star Wars book in your life. Some knowledge of the movies would be helpful, but you don’t need to be hardcore to enjoy this story. Young adult fans, romance fans, sci-fi fans, any of y’all might enjoy this.

Filed Under: Romance, Science Fiction Tagged With: claudia gray, journey to the force awakens, lost stars, narfna, sci-fi, space opera, star wars, Young Adult

Share the post "A surprisingly great entry into the new Star Wars canon. Would rec for even non-Star Wars fans if you like YA/sci-fi/romance."

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • E-mail
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
12/14/2015 | Post by narfna
Rating:
| Tags: claudia gray, journey to the force awakens, lost stars, narfna, sci-fi, space opera, star wars, Young Adult | Category: Romance, Science Fiction | 0 Comments

narfna

Good evening, everyone. I'm Leslie Monster, and this is Nightline.

CBR11 participantCBR11 CommentsCBR11 LevelsCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6CBR 5CBR 4

Recent Reviews:

  • Thanks, teresaelectro!
  • Short stories in comic form.
  • Cute little novella, really liked this one.
  • View all reviews by narfna»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Cannonball Read is an annual, memorial book challenge to read and review 52 books in a year. Or 26. Or 13. Choose your level and read to meet your goal all while fundraising for the American Cancer Society in the memory of AlabamaPink. Registration Now Open!

Recent Comments

  • faintingviolet on poetry that hurts to healI read it and I loved it. Review to follow!
  • emmalita on Soul Food, Murder, and an Author Mystery UnraveledIt seems pretty sketchy though and I join you in side eyeing the author.
  • teresaelectro on Thank You, LouBear!Ohhhh I am lusting after that Gods of Jade and Shadow copy!
  • The Chancellor on What Pre-Columbian Food Looks LikeI haven't heard of that one but I'm putting it on my list. Sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.
  • KimMiE" on Fake News-1890’s EditionI'm so happy to see others reading this play! I read this in high school and loved it and then re-read it in 2017 for...
See More Recent Comments »

Follow Us

CBR Facebook Page. Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Instagram. CBR on Goodreads CBR on Pinterest.

Support CBR

Give Today. Cannonball Read donates all profits from the site to the American Cancer Society. Help us fight cancer!
Donate Today »

Review Genres

  • Biography/Memoir
  • Book Club
  • Children's
  • Comedy/Humor
  • Cooking/Food
  • Fantasy
  • Fiction
  • Graphic Novel/Comic
  • Health
  • History
  • Horror
  • Mystery
  • News from MsWas
  • Non-Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Religion
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Short Stories
  • Speculative Fiction
  • Sports
  • Suspense
  • Uncategorized
  • Western
  • Young Adult
  • Z-ADMIN-ONLY-FAQ-BASICS
  • Z-ADMIN-ONLY-FAQ-BOOKS

Book Ratings


a favorite


a great book


a good book


an ok book


a book
you didn't like

Need Help?

Visit our FAQs to find out how to add stars, select genres, and more. Drop us a line if you can't find your answer.

Shop on Amazon and Support CBR

One of CBR11's #CannonBookClubs will be about Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett to coincide with the BBC Miniseries.
Buy it on Amazon today, get a head start, and help us stick it to cancer, one book at a time!

Shop on Amazon and Support CBR

Buy Original Cannonballer Prisco's book and help CBR!

Ad Partner

© 2019 Cannonball Read | Log in