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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: PADAWAN (Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Todd the Jedi , Sep 14, 2022.

  1. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Join young Obi-Wan an adventure full of wacky shenanigans. Here's the review thread for Padawan by Kiersten White. Go ahead and give it a score on the 1-10 scale, as long as you have read or listened to the entire book. Reviews are not necessary but are encouraged, since a thread full of nothing but X/10s is a dull read. :p
     
  2. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    Listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend since Gary Furlong does an impeccable rendering of Obi-Wan's voice, which complements how the story itself does a great job capturing Obi-Wan's sarcastic tone and attitude toward things.

    Obi-Wan's internal musings and conflicts are compelling and fit with the YA quest for identity and self-definition. The world where Obi-Wan ends up traveling is also quite interesting.

    The Easter eggs and connections to the High Republic era are quite cool for a fan of that time period like me, and I was happy that Siri Tachi exists in the New Canon and not just Legends as a friend to Obi-Wan:DThe New Canon is starting to feel very interconnected and fleshed out.

    I gave this a solid four out of 5 on Goodreads, so to translate that into an out of 10 scale, I would say 8 out of 10.
     
  3. StarWarsFan1997

    StarWarsFan1997 Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2005
    I'm late to the party on this one, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The last SW book I read before this was The Princess and the Scoundrel, which I found to be very lacking in interest once the characters left Endor. Padawan, on the other hand, had a neat premise, though it did remind me a lot of Avatar (the James Cameron movie) with the idea of all of the life of the planet being interconnected. The twist was fairly easy to see coming, but I enjoyed seeing Obi-wan have to work at developing a better connection and understanding of the Force through have to explain things to people outside the Temple, where he appears to have spent his entire life up to this point. I'll also give it a 8 out of 10, with some points taken off not developing the villain beyond "UNLIMITED POWER!". His desire to get back to Lenahra reminded me of Malcom Mcdowell's character from Star Trek: Generations and the Nexus, and not in the best way.
     
    devilinthedetails likes this.
  4. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Every legend gets their start somewhere- no one is born ready to own life, and even when they get to that point they’ll still have fears and doubts. Obi-Wan Kenobi grew up to be a great Jedi, but even he was an uncertain padawan at one point, and that’s where we find him in the aptly named Padawan. Freshly promoted from initiate to padawan, Obi-Wan finds himself under the tutelage of Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi who couldn’t be any more different from Obi-Wan if he tried. And so, yearning for purpose and a sense of belonging, Obi-Wan heads out on a mission of his own to prove his worth to the Jedi Order and to prove he’s deserving of a more outgoing and ambitious master.

    Being a coming-of-age story this book throws Obi-Wan onto a planet inhabited by children and fellow teenagers, where naturally Obi-Wan learns a lot about what it really means to serve a higher purpose. On Lenahra these kids have learned to fend for themselves at whatever cost, and their carefree attitude puts Obi-Wan’s experiences into perspective for him, helping to quell his doubts about fitting in among the Jedi. Sometimes it takes an extreme experience to help us grow, and Obi-Wan realizes the Jedi way is indeed right for him after spending some time with a bunch of kids barely scraping by to survive on a deadly world. I thought it was refreshing actually that Obi-Wan had the option to leave at any time and wasn’t just stranded there, but his drive to make a difference and help people kept him on the planet and with these youths. White infuses a lot of doubt and anguish into Obi-Wan, which is typical for any normal teenager, but even more so for a young Jedi who’s beginning to leave the safe confines of the Jedi Temple and get his feet wet in a chaotic galaxy. As such Lenahra is the perfect place to test Obi-Wan, with much of its wildlife and terrain seemingly hellbent on killing him and all of the stranded kids.

    I like that the conflict isn’t immediately clear cut. Obi-Wan can dream all he wants of being the savior of the galaxy, but it’s a lot different once he’s actually out there and finds people who don’t want to be saved. These kids have found what happiness they can in the only home they have ever known, and even Obi-Wan’s promises of better worlds isn’t enough to sway them to head off world with him. Fortunately the intervention of some of the kids’ uncle helps reveal the truth about the nature of their world and it’s mysterious Power, which culminates in confrontation and Obi-Wan finally gets to save the day. But he helps in a way that meshes with the Jedi way of doing things and not the way Obi-Wan initially believed he should act.

    It’s definitely a unique book, with a lot of its bulk devoted to Obi-Wan just getting to know the kids and their way of life. There is action but it’s either brief interactions with hostile wildlife or the final showdown with the nasty uncle. We don’t see a lot of Qui-Gon, but he acts fittingly enigmatic when he does appear, as well as a bit playful when he meets back up with Obi-Wan at the end. Lenahra is a cool new world with its own unique Force-like energy- there’s definitely an environmentalism message with how the kids and the uncle take its Power for their own gain to the detriment of both the planet and their own safety. The bits early on at the Jedi Temple were cool as well, giving us a glimpse at Obi-Wan’s generation of Jedi as youngsters, including his Legends flame Siri Tachi.

    I give this a 9.25 out of 10 for a great look at an early time in Obi-Wan’s life and a fun little adventure with plenty of memorable characters and locales.
     
    devilinthedetails likes this.
  5. Jedi Knight Fett

    Jedi Knight Fett Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2014
    Out of all the young adult books I have read recently this has been the one to young adult the most. I think an 8/10 for me and that’s mainly because I love Dex so much