Rey's Story is a new junior novelization written by Elizabeth Schaefer. I was first interested in reading it when Jason Ward of MakingStarWars.net posted an interesting snippet from the book where Rey sees two familiar figures during the "vision scene" on Takodana. It took me by surprise and considering that it was canon, I needed to know more! So, I stopped what I was doing and immediately went to the Barnes and Noble website to reserve my copy online and picked it up the next day. I read it in one sitting in about an hour. It's geared towards kids ages six to eight years old so it's a super easy read but it caught my attention so hard that I literally could not put it down!
It's very much The Force Awakens story but obviously more focused on Rey and her perspective on the experiences through the new adventure she's embarked on. If you've been around here a while you know I'm a Dark Side girl, but I'm not opposed to the characters who bring hope to the galaxy. Rey is actually on my list of favorite Star Wars characters and so to experience the story again with even more emphasis on her character was really wonderful. I think all fans who were, in some way, impacted impacted by Rey will truly enjoy this book.
I don't consider myself a regular reader but one of my favorite aspects about Star Wars books are the extended scenes. Why? Because it often times gives us new insights to various situations and a deeper understanding of a character's emotional and physical state. We are given the opportunity to dig deeper and really comprehend the development of each character, which I absolutely love. I found myself very interested in most of the extended scenes in this book. One scene in particular caught me off guard and left me saying "I knew it!" out loud. It definitely affected me emotionally and my mind wandered over the possibilities of what it truly meant. If you don't want to be spoiled, I would highly suggest skipping over this part as I'll be sharing a pivotal scene from the book.
"Kylo stared at the lightsaber in Rey's hand. "It is you," he breathed.
Rey didn't know what his words meant, but she was too furious to do anything but attack. She charged at Kylo and ignited the weapon. Instantly, the hum of the blade resonated within her. The lightsaber was unlike anything Rey held in her life. She didn't understand it, but she inherently knew it was the most important weapon in the entire galaxy. As she swept the blue beam down toward Kylo, it move as though it were an extension of her arm.
Instinctively, Kylo raised his lightsaber to block her. Their blades crackled as they connected. Rey took advantage of Kylo's surprise and put him on the defensive.
Suddenly, the ground began shaking beneath them. Rey realized that the destruction of the Starkiller weapon must have started tearing the planet apart. A piece of the forest broke away from them and disappeared into a newly formed gulf.
"I don't want to kill you," Kylo said as their weapons sparked.
Rey laughed. "Don't you?"
"You need a teacher," Kylo explained. "I can show you the ways of the Force."
Rey wasn't buying a word of it. "You're a monster."
I've wondered a while ago if Kylo Ren and Rey had both trained with Luke at the new temple, and that somehow Rey's memory of that time in her life was erased. Now that we know for sure that he does know who she is, I think this scenario is quite probable. What is your theory?
After I finished the book I dove back into The Force Awakens novel (I had previously barely started it) and recognized some of the same extended scenes in Rey's Story which led me to believe that we will see a few of them in the deleted scenes on Blu-Ray once it hits stores in April. I'm crossing my fingers!
Besides being an exciting read, Rey's Story also includes gorgeous artwork by Brian Rood at the beginning of each chapter featuring still shots from some of our favorite scenes in the film. It is astounding at how well he captures the likeness of each character on paper. It made going through the story all the more pleasant.
Have you read Rey's Story yet? What did you think?
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