A Test Of Courage Book Review [SPOILERS]

 

Up until now I had not read any ‘Young Reader’ (9-12 years old) Star Wars books, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into A Test of Courage, but I found I really enjoyed this, more than I expected. The premise of the Nihil sabotaging the luxury liner Steady Wing and the group having to survive on an alien planet, is much simpler than the other stories in the High Republic so far. But Justina Ireland really gets into the characters and doesn’t shy away from going dark, with so many people dying in the opening chapters of the book including two of our main characters parent figures.

I enjoyed all of our main characters, all of whom are young in order for the target audience of 9-12 year olds to see themselves in the story, although we’ve had animated shows where the main character is young (Ashoka in Clone Wars, Ezra in Rebels and Kaz in Resistance), I’d really like to see a mainly young teens cast in live action, judging by A Test of Courage I think it would be a lot of fun. For me the standout character was Vernestra Rwoh who is a newly knighted Jedi, at just 15 she is one of the youngest Jedi Knights in the order’s history, but at no point is she made out to be overpowered or perfect.

As I mentioned earlier Ireland is not afraid to get deep into morality and complex emotions, especially with Imri who has lost his teacher in Master Douglas and is struggling to make sense of his feelings;

“It wasn’t fair. The Force was supposed to create balance throughout the galaxy, but this? There was nothing fair and balanced about pirates killing a ship full of people and getting to live”

The book really talks to the young readers about how anger is normal;

“The Jedi weren’t immune to their feelings, no matter what some might think”

And once again delves into the nature of the light and dark sides of the force, saying that to feel anger is normal and does not mean you are bad or going to the dark side;

“Most Jedi have felt the temptation of the dark side. It is only natural. But we resist it. It is a deliberate path to the dark, not a series of bad days. Being a Jedi is about choosing the light over and over again” Sskeer talking to Vernestra.

Which echoes Qui-Gon Jinn’s speech in Master & Apprentice saying being a Jedi is choosing the light over and over again, and becoming a dark side user is a conscious decision like Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, not like Luke in The Last Jedi who feels fear but turns away, once again choosing the light.

I like that our band is found by Sskeer and Keeve Trennis, adding more connection to the other High Republic stories in a book that on the whole feels more separated in terms of events. As always the High Republic adds more interesting Jedi lore, for example we learn that a Jedi’s ceremonial outfit can denote rank and which temple they are from and we see Imri attempt, and later suceed at wayfinding. One thing I realized reading A Test of Courage is that J-6 is the first droid character that we’ve had in this era of Star Wars, which seems to suggest droids are rarer or more basic in this time period.

One last thing I really liked about this book were the three double page, full color illustrations we got, it really added life to the characters and is something I would like to see in more of in the High Republic books especially, and overall I really liked the design and layout and thought this was a beautifully put together book.

🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 / 5

Jonny O

March 2021 Star Wars News Roundup Into The Dark Book Review Light Of The Jedi Book Review