Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia GrayMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yeah, I think it's official - Claudia Gray writes the best Star Wars novels of them all. I loved her take on a pre-Force Awakens Leia in Bloodline, and now, her return to YA with a teenage Leia proves to be a wonderful, and very thought-provoking, prequel to A New Hope, while also featuring some clues about The Last Jedi - most prominently the world of Crait, which I'm pretty sure is the land of salt and red sand featured in at least one shot of the Last Jedi trailer.
As for Leia's life as a princess and diplomat, that's covered very well too. Not only does she make some really memorable friends - and even a first love in fellow Alderaanian Keir - but she also starts to discover her parents' involvement in the Rebellion, the extent of the Empire's tyranny and fearmongering, and (despite her being raised in a fairly egalitarian society on Alderaan) coming to terms with her royal privilege (particularly apparent in the scene where she conducts negotiations with representatives of an alien species that's distrustful of humans, calling them "dry ones," and has such a complex gender system that C-3PO advises her to use they/them pronouns because theirs don't really translate into Basic) and how her best intentions may still pave a road to hell for others as well as herself. Just like Bloodline, this latest work from Claudia Gray proves very significant in the current political climate, with the Empire being such champion peddlers of fake news and the Rebels still looking like terrorists, especially when Saw Gerrera is basically the Star Wars embodiment of a violent Antifa type. Of course, we know the situation gets a hell of a lot better eventually, but for now, what Leia has to deal with in life makes for some gripping reading. Gray really ratchets up the suspense to make you believe that maybe, just maybe, this story's resolution will somehow defy canon and be a lot more tragic than expected.
Seriously, give Gray all the Leia books. All of them for always and eternity.
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