Last week the newest
Star Wars Young Adult novel,
Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
, was released. For many fans (myself included) this book was highly anticipated. When Ahsoka Tano debuted in the animated feature of
The Clone Wars back in the summer of 2008, most fans didn't take too kindly to the young Padawan. Many fans couldn't handle that Anakin Skywalker had a Jedi Padawan that had never been brought up in any of the films or expanded universe. Other fans found Ahsoka to be annoying. As fans watched Ahsoka grow up over the course of five seasons of the show
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she quickly became one of the most loved characters of the entire saga.
When the show was canceled at the end of season 5, fans were desperate to know the fate of Ahsoka. When Netflix picked up the show for one more season, we were hoping to get some answers as to what happened to Ahsoka at the end of the Clone War. If she lived, why was she no in
Revenge of the Sith? If she had died, how? But season 6 of
The Clone Wars only featured Ahsoka in a very dark Force-vision of Master Yoda as he was learning the deeper secrets of the Force. When Ahsoka made a surprise appearance (for some) at the end of the first season of
Star Wars Rebels as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum, the fandom was very ecstatic.
But what happened between her departure from the Jedi Order and her joining the Rebellion?
This YA novel by E.K. Johnston delves into a lot of that. But not all of it. It is widely known that Supervising Director of
The Clone Wars and
Rebels had planned the final story of
The Clone Wars to show an event known in the SW galaxy as The Siege of Mandalore. In this final story arc of the show, Ahsoka would have her final encounter with Obi-Wan and Anakin before the had to rush off to save the Chancellor at the beginning of
Episode III. Anakin would give half of the 501st to Ahsoka's command, along with Captain Rex, to fight the former Darth Maul (now just Maul) and his "Maul-dalorians", who have taken over Mandalore. Ahsoka and Maul would have a duel, in which Ahsoka would best Maul. Then Order 66 would be executed by the Clone Troopers, and all hell breaks loose. This series finale would have been amazing!!!
The book covers almost none of those events but picks up about a year after the events of Order 66. Ahsoka is in hiding, broken and alone. She is unsure of herself and her purpose in the galaxy. Her relationship with the Force is still tenuous after she walked away from the Jedi Order and the later events of Order 66 and the Siege of Mandalore. She has been more or less taken in by a large family on the planet Thabeska. It's another Empire Day celebration and the heavy presence of Imperial officials makes staying on the planet too dangerous.
What follows is a light, fun adventure in which Ahsoka begins to live in a farming community on the moon of Raada. When the Empire comes to take over the harvest, Ahsoka disastrously leads the locals in rebellion against the Empire's efforts to destroy their home. Ahsoka must come to terms with her new role in the galaxy and her new relationship with the Force. She learns that she doesn't have to be a Jedi to do what she used to do, save people.
The book has many great cameos from well-loved characters. Throughout the book are interludes, much like in the
Aftermath novels. These jump around the timeline a bit and are from many different character's perspectives. The book talks about another unused story that Filoni wanted to tell, although not in much detail, which is how Ahsoka was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon when she was just a few years old. The climax of the story has one of the most bad ass moments in which Ahsoka faces off against the Sixth Brother and gets her new lightsaber crystals. A must-not-miss moment to be sure.
I read the novel, then had to get the audiobook because it was read by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano herself. I have wanted more audiobooks like this, where the actors from the movies, games, and TV shows read the audiobooks that feature the characters they play. Doctor Who does this sometimes with their audio dramas and occasionally the audiobooks; I would love there to more of this in Star Wars. Ashley Eckstein adds an authenticity to the book as she brings fans into the thoughts and emotions of Ahsoka in a way we have never done for any other character in Star Wars. The emotions portrayed by Ashley Eckstein are Ahsoka's emotions, no one has a better authority on that than Ashley.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the main supporting character, Kaeden Larte. Kaeden is a girl about Ahsoka's age and she is a lesbian. She has a huge crush on Ahsoka. While I know that there is going to be a lot of fanfic written about these two, I have to say that I actually felt bad for this girl by the end of the book. Ahsoka seemed rather off-put by this girl's crush. The author went out of her way to make sure the reader knew that Ahsoka was uncomfortable with Kaeden's not-so-subtle feelings towards her. While I applaud the addition of another lesbian to the Star Wars universe, I thought that it was handled wrong. Ahsoka is fine with Kaeden in every scene where they just act as friends, but the moment Kaeden's feelings toward Ahsoka come up Ahsoka gets a little cold. (I will have to write about Star Wars and LGBTQ representation another day.)
Overall, I liked this story in both forms. I have minor quibbles with the writing, especially since this is a YA novel and we should not teach our youth bad writing habits. I think most people would miss any of my quibbles because you just simply get lost in the story. I think fans are going to eat this story up. We are ravenous for any Ahsoka material that we can get our hands on. While the book is fun to read, the audiobook might be the better way to go if you only have time to check out this story once. Go out there a check it out!
Remember:
All will be well
and
The Force will be with you... Always.
King Buck
