It also may pique reader's curiosity toward the late Queen of Alderaan-Leia's adopted mother, Breha.

This book gives acknowledgement to the repressed pain of her planet's destruction, weight to her personal stake and responsibilities, and even some plausibility to her biological mother's love story with Anikan that the movie didn't quite achieve. My kids (ages 6 and 8) read this with me in 2 sittings, and it generally held their attention and interest.Īs an adult fan who grew up with the original three movies as a staple, it was satisfying to see more emotion and humanity lent to the space princess who defied the spoiled, frilly princess stereotypes with a blaster-wielding vengeance. The black and white artwork is interspersed every other page, and does a lovely job of capturing both likeness and expressions where appropriate. But this archival droid won't stop following me around.'įor an early-reader chapter book, it has just the right mix of material they already know from the movies and extra motivating backstory that presents a bit of new and character-enriching information. 'To be honest, I think this whole biography thing is a bit silly. It then switches to a more distant 3rd-person perspective for the rest of the book. The first-person telling of the intro holds her voice authentically, with that edge of weariness fans would fully expect. The book opens with a hesitant and somewhat cantankerous General Leia giving a personal account of her past, in hopes of somehow inspiring others. But she would need all of those skills as the Alliance spy she eventually became. Ever out of place as a royal, Leia grew up preferring to spend her time learning strategy and self-defense rather than the delicacy of rhetoric and diplomacy. Before Leia was introduced as a feisty captured courier for Death Star schematics, she was a well-loved adopted princess of Alderaan-a beautiful, arts-centric planet caught in the middle of a steadily corrupting galactic Empire.

Princess Leia by Calliope Glass