Review - A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken

Have you ever wondered just exactly what went down in Leia's cell with that interrogation droid on board the Death Star? Did Obi-Wan really not remember R2-D2 when he encountered the little droid on Tatooine? Ever wonder what the inside of a Stormtrooper helmet smells like?

Discover these answers and more in A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by acclaimed New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken.

A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy is the first in the highly anticipated trilogy of junior novels which include The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi? by Adam Gidwitz and Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side! by Tom Angleberger.





The novel also includes illustrations by celebrated concept artists Iain McCaig and Ralph McQuarrie, and is basically a retelling of the original film crafted specifically to introduce new young readers to the classic trilogy while enhancing the experience for core fans of the saga.

Bracken combines the classic story with a unique perspective and narrative style that delivers the captivating tale of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope like you’ve never experienced before.

Bracken says that she drew inspiration for the novel from three sources: her imagination, George Lucas’ original film script, and the 1981 radio drama script by Brian Daley. The result for me was a highly enjoyable experience that gave me a different perspective on key moments from the original film and introduced me to new moments and surprises that I hadn’t experienced before.

The book is written in a narrative style and is divided into three parts. The first part of the book is told from Leia’s perspective, the second from Han’s, and the third from Luke’s, allowing us to really get into the characters’ heads to discover more about their feelings, their motives, their deepest fears, and their highest hopes.



Author Alexandra Bracken

I really enjoyed this book personally and would highly recommend it to any Star Wars fan. Although it is geared towards young readers, it is very smartly done and is so well-written that fans young and old alike will find it an enjoyable and easy read. I am currently reading this book to my six-year-old and he is enjoying it as well and can’t wait to read the next chapter every night before bed.

The only people that I can see having issue with this one are the purists or those that know every line of this movie from start to finish. I can practically quote the entire film myself, and I admit that although the adaptation of the dialogue was very close and 100% verbatim most of the time, there were times when I found some of the subtle alterations to the dialogue a little distracting.

I realize that this can be chalked up to differences between the finished film, the original script, and the radio drama – as well as the fact that it seems to have been re-worded at times to allow for more explanation about what was taking place in the greater story.





That being said, there are some differences in this book and the film especially in the dialogue, but they really don't affect the overall story, and readers new to the Star Wars universe may find the more explanatory dialogue helpful to get a better picture of what is portrayed in the film Bracken is adapting.

To my knowledge, even though much of the book is the author's interpretation and vision, this book is considered by Lucasfilm as part of the new canon, so the additional scenes and moments found within this book can be taken to have actually happened in Star Wars, whereas the dialogue is of course superseded by the film when slight differences are presented.

I haven't been able to verify this, but it was stated previously that all new material going forward would be canon. Also, it can be noted that Leland Chee (LFL Story Group) has promoted this book by sharing Bracken's tweet with the audio book sample on his own twitter account.



Fans can rest assured that even though there were slight variations from the film in dialogue at times, and some elements of the story were not included while others were added - this story is Star Wars through and through.

When I finished the book, I felt like I had a deeper understanding of these characters, even more so than I did after reading the recent Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens books about the big three.

Whether you are a hardcore fan or someone that is brand new to the saga, pick up this book. You’ll be glad you did.




Read on for more spoilerific details found in the book...




What I found fascinating about this book was how the different perspectives gave us additional content and off-screen moments that we don’t get from the film itself. Whereas the film switches back and forth between scenes and characters throughout the film, the narrative in this novel stays with each character throughout their section of the book, giving us the story as seen through their eyes.






The book begins with Princess Leia as her ship, the Tantive IV is being boarded by Darth Vader and his stormtroopers. We follow her story as she places the plans for the Death Star in Artoo along with the message for General Kenobi and as she attempts to draw the attention of the stormtroopers, allowing the droids to escape to Tatooine where she was headed to pick up Kenobi before her ship was intercepted.





The novel presents her as an ambitious young woman, the youngest senator ever elected to the Imperial Senate, who struggles to show the galaxy that she’s more than just a pretty face. Instead of following the droids to the planet’s surface where they eventually encounter Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, we stay with Leia aboard Vader’s flag ship, the Devastator.




One of those off-screen moments finds Leia in a last-ditch-effort escape attempt as she runs toward an Imperial shuttle parked in a hanger, only to find Vader waiting for her. We stay with Leia as she is transported to her cell on the Death Star, and the scene where she is drugged in an attempt to force her to share the location of the rebel base unfolds in detail as we read about her internal struggle to withhold the crucial information. Part one comes to an end with the destruction of Alderaan.







The second part of the book begins with Han Solo sitting in a cantina on Mos Eisley trying to lean around the human girl in his lap to see what all the commotion is about. He sees the patron with the severed arm and then the old man that cut it off hauling a dazed kid up off the floor.

Han cements his status as a scoundrel when he forgets the girl’s name on his lap, cycling through the long list of names of girls he has entertained all over the galaxy to no avail – all the while being distracted by the fact that his Wookiee parter is talking to the old man and the boy in a dark corner of the cantina. The girl picks up on Han’s disinterest, and when she realizes he doesn’t really remember her, abruptly makes her exit after splashing her drink in his face.



When Chewie comes over to him laughing at his predicament, Han responds with:

“Hey, you’re the married one. Find me a human girl with Malla’s brains and silky hair and maybe I’ll consider it.”

I thought this was cool as this is the first mention of Malla, Chewie’s wife, in the new canon.

I also enjoyed getting into Han’s head as he talked with Obi-Wan and Luke, where it is revealed that he was actually lying about the Falcon making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs – the point being that the ship was fast enough for the old man and that’s all that mattered.

I loved the Greedo scene as well. The way this part was written, it seemed that Han was the only one who fired a shot, a wise decision by the author in my opinion. It is still open to interpretation as Greedo still could have fired one off, but his shot is never explicitly mentioned. The way the scene is written, Han comes across as a true cowboy and scoundrel, which I found immensely entertaining.



Han’s introduction was my favorite in the novel, and his section of the book was full of interesting little off-screen moments – one of my favorites being when Obi-Wan placed his hand on R2’s dome and told the little astromech that it was good to fly with him again, revealing to the reader that he did remember the little droid after all.

Han’s cynicism about the Force and his own self doubts are brought to light in great detail in this section. Han reveals his inner struggle to avoid getting caught up in some kind of revolution all while realizing that he does in fact care about these people, even if he won’t admit it. This part concludes with the Death Star escape.







Luke’s story picks up as he sits aboard the Falcon following the escape from the Death Star. We get a deeper look at his desire to be so much more than a farm boy from Tatooine and his constant effort to prove that very thing. His insecurities are brought to light as he tells Leia about his past and as he wonders what Kenobi’s untimely death might mean for his own future.



Most of this section is basically what you see on screen in the film, aside from an extended look at the Rebel base on Yavin 4. Being in Luke’s head as they approached the jungle moon really brings out the fact that he is a small pond fish that has been suddenly released into a great big sea.

There is a moment on the approach to the Rebel base where Luke realizes he has never even seen trees in person before – which made the moment a breathtaking experience for the young would-be Jedi. It’s as if every step is a whole new step for him into a much larger world that he may or may not be ready to embrace.

One of my favorite parts about this third act was the introduction of Wedge as he instructs Luke on the ins and outs of piloting an X-Wing and puts him through a simulation test to determine if he qualifies to fly for the Alliance. Surprisingly (to the other pilots), the rookie farm boy ends up beating Wedge’s top score in the simulation and is quickly suited up with his own flight suit and helmet.



This section continues with Luke’s reunion with Biggs, the assault on the Death Star, and the one-in-a-million shot that saves the day followed by an epilogue with our heroes in the medal ceremony. There are so many fantastic things in this book that are just begging to be experienced by fans old and new. Do yourself a favor and check this one out.


Click here for an interesting article about author Alexandra Bracken on the official Star Wars website.