It's Not Just for Adults
Review by Kristin Hamerski

The Young Jedi Knights series may not be a favorite of the adult audience, but it has its fans in the age group for which it was written. 12-year-old Kristin Hamerski reviews the first story arc in the series.

Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights

Heirs of the Force
Shadow Academy
The Lost Ones
Lightsabers
Darkest Knight
Jedi Under Siege

by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
published by Boulevard Books

The Star Wars Young Jedi Knights series is, I think, one of the best Star Wars series ever done. To quote one of the lead characters, Tenel Ka, "This is a fact!" It is especially for pre-teens and teens. Not only does it involve the key characters from the original movies, but adds new characters just as worthy as the others. Part of the reason I like this series, and Star Wars for that matter, is that there are so many different strong character personalities, unlike some of the other books that kids my age are reading. In my opinion, most other books written for teens don't have much substance, not to mention the rather stale personalities they portray. Star Wars in general has a much more intelligent story line and a universe like no other.

The main characters in the Young Jedi Knights series are Han and Leia's 14-year-old twin children, Jaina and Jacen, and their friends, Tenel Ka and Lowbacca. Jaina is very loyal to all of her friends and has her father’s love for any and all mechanical devices. Jacen has an endearing way of talking and interacting with animals, not to mention an eye-rolling sense of humor.

Jaina and Jacen and their friends are attending Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Academy. Tenel Ka is a strong warrior girl from the planet Dathomir, and loyal to the end. Lowbacca, or Lowie, as they usually refer to him in the book, is a wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk, who loves to tinker with machines and climb the enormous trees of Yavin 4's massive jungle. Lowie also has a translator droid named Em Teedee, who constantly annoys him and everyone else. Chewbacca is Lowie's uncle. In the first six books of this exciting saga the twins and their friends discover many strange and interesting things on the path toward becoming Jedi Knights.

In the first book, HEIRS OF THE FORCE the twins and their friends are just starting Jedi training at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy. After their lessons the twins and their friends go exploring in the wild Yavin jungle. While exploring they find the remains of a TIE fighter that had crashed many years ago, before the first Death Star was destroyed. Little did they know then that while they were trying to fix the TIE fighter an old, TIE fighter pilot named Qorl is waiting for the right time to steal it and return back to Imperial service. While he takes the twins captive and forces them to continue the repairs on the damaged TIE fighter, under his guard, the Empire is preparing an attack on the Jedi Academy. Luke Skywalker is not there to defend it.

As the saga continues in SHADOW ACADEMY the twins meet an old student that Master Skywalker expelled from the Jedi Academy long ago. This Dark Jedi Master established a new Academy for the training of Dark Jedi. Jaina, Jacen and Lowie are kidnapped and taken to this Dark Academy and experience temptation stronger than ever before. Will they turn to the Dark side or will they continue to follow the Light? Flying together, Luke and Tenel Ka form a deeper relationship as they search for the twins and the mysterious Shadow Academy. In this book Luke has a larger role than in any of the others.

Next in the series is THE LOST ONES. Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie go to Coruscant for a vacation to visit family and friends. After visiting with family Jaina, Jacen, Lowie, Tenel Ka, and the twins' old friend, Zekk, go exploring in the lower dangerous levels of Coruscant. After an embarrassing dinner Zekk returns to the lower levels to be taken to the Shadow Academy. This is when the twins realize the unbelievable-their friend could wind up being quite a formidable enemy and sadly is no longer their friend.

Then in LIGHTSABERS, (My personal favorite!!!) the four friends are learning to build their own lightsabers, but for one of them this next step to becoming a Jedi results in a terrible tragedy. Jaina, Jacen, and Lowie also learn that their friend Tenel Ka is the Princess of the Hapes cluster, and about her rather mixed heritage. Her mother is Teneniel Djo, a member of the Singing Mountain Clan of Dathomir, now the awaiting Matriarch of the Hapes Cluster. Her father is Prince Isolder of the Hapes Cluster. When Tenel Ka returns home to Hapes after her accident, her friends come to visit her together they unravel a plan to murder Tenel Ka and her grandmother the Matriarch Ta'a Chume, ruler of the Hapes Cluster.

As the series continues in DARKEST KNIGHT, the friends visit the home planet of another of their ban, visiting with Lowie’s family on Kashyyyk. While the twins are on Kashyyyk trying to help Lowie's sister, Sirra, undergo the rite of passage, Zekk is leading a raid on the great Wookiee Computer Center. The twins have to face the fact that their old friend, Zekk, is their new enemy.

Finally the conclusion to Darkest Knight, JEDI UNDER SIEGE, the final confrontation with the Shadow Academy could mean the fall of the New Republic and the rise of the Empire being lead by a new band of Dark Jedi. Jaina and Jacen have to finally confront their former friend, now leader of the Dark Jedi in a terrifying lightsaber duel, with a life changing ending!

One of the many things I liked about this book is that the authors wrote these books with such wonderful descriptions that it takes you to a whole new world. Also the books are all very easy to follow. In fact I read almost all of them in the wrong order but still really enjoyed them. I would still recommend reading them all in order, they are easier to follow that way.

The only thing I did not like about the books is that Tenel Ka lost her arm in the lightsaber duel and that Jaina wasn't more like her mom Leia (hairstyles etc.) I would definitely recommend this series to anyone, even adults, who enjoys exciting Star Wars adventures.

(Kristin Hamerski was converted to Star Wars fandom by the Special Editions. In the brief period of time since then she has read every book and accumulated a family room full of toys. Last summer she talked her father into building an Ewok village in the woods behind her house.)

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