Star Wars: Jedi Academy

I love, love, LOVE this book. A middle-grade graphic novel with personality, a unique idea, wit, intelligence, and great Star Wars humour. I have minimal knowledge of Star Wars, but that didn't make the book any less enjoyable. The characters--human, alien, and droid--are recognizable, from ewoks to wookies to Darth Maul faces. If nothing else, they can learn a great deal from this book and be more eager to watch the films.

The humour of this book was a huge factor of my enjoyment. Brown makes many jokes about Yoda's age, his H.P.Ms (hmms per minute) and his aloofness. He jokes about how anyone could understand a wookie, about the Force, and many other parts of Star Wars culture. The book had me grinning like a fool through most of it, show more and chuckling quietly during my morning commute.

Roan's experience at Jedi Academy is so incredibly relatable to kids everywhere. It covers a multitude of social issues and childhood experiences that EVERYONE goes through. Roan's perseverance and courage and attitude are admirable.

Roan transfers to Jedi Academy, starting late into a new school. He's thrown into the deep end and feels very insecure and out of place. He is unsure of who his friends are and how to make friends. He worries about making bad impressions, of failing, and of disappointing others. He also develops feelings for a girl, makes enemies, and finds ways to get involved and be happy at school. The book teaches kids important life lessons like how to deal with bullies and how to deal with the ups and downs of being the new kid and of not fitting in. It teaches you that even when life throws you a curveball, things will work out. I am impressed by the gentle life lessons that are woven into every page.

Not only is Jedi Academy funny and relatable, but you can share with the next generation the wonderful franchise that is Star Wars. The book IS middle grade, but I enjoyed it as an adult. It speaks to both boys and girls, although I feel Star Wars will weigh better with middle grade boys.

I read this book in one sitting. It's written in journal and regular graphic novel format, and the book has a tiny section at the end that encourages kids to start journalling on their own--a very healthy exercise! The drawings and hand-written journal entries are endearing and better the reading experience and makes it easier to relate to Roan as someone just like them.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I think it's the best title that Scholastic has published this year!

I'm putting this book up in my ranks alongside JK Rowling and Rick Riordan! show less

The main character of this Jeffrey Brown drawn and written masterpiece is Roan. He’s a young kid from Tattooine who’s going into Middle School. He wants to be a pilot just like his father and big brother more than anything, but, instead he gets into the Jedi Academy Middle School. The book chronicles his first year at the Jedi Academy through his journal entries and drawings, his comics for the school paper and in other cool text and picture ways.

It had the usual (this is his third Star Wars book) Jeffrey Brown hilarious double meaning jokes, like how going to plant school would mean that sweat would get on Roan’s comic books during lunch break. He also was spot on with the sound of and problems of middle schoolers.

The Yoda stuff show more was also very funny. And I was even impressed that Roan really had an internal journey during the book. He grew as a person.

I loved the book, and I do hope that we the readers maybe get to see Roan’s second year in middle school too.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Scholastic hoping that I would review it. (Yeah, duh! Course I would...) show less

Absolutely adorable! Jeffrey Brown continues to impress me. His illustrations have a charming simplicity that I can't help but admire, but it's his writing that - once again - really shines for me. He has a knack of getting to the heart of a complex matter in a few panels, or a page without any panels but with few words, that is humorous, compassionate, and again just completely... charming.

And yes, some of it is funny because it's set in the Star Wars world, but a lot of this would be just as funny in an original context. Brown understands human nature, and can poke fun at it without coming across as mean. Instead, he presents things as are, and tries to make the best of the situations.

I should note that at 160 pages, this isn't show more very wordy. It's a quick, light read, but I needed a break from Harry Potter as the size of the Goblet of Fire was about to make me cry. This was exactly what I was looking for right now, too.

If there's a sequel, I'll definitely pick it up! show less

Roan Novachez wants nothing more than to get into Pilot Academy Middle School so that he can follow in his father's and older brother's footsteps. His friends get their letters of acceptance...and Roan's still waiting. His letter, when it finally comes, tells him that his application has been denied. "Although nearly all of the applicants are accepted to the Academy," it says, "a small number of students are rejected for various reasons." Psych!

Roan is devastated, particularly since this means instead of the Pilot Academy offworld he'll have to stay on Tatooine...and go to the Tatooine Agriculture Academy. Yuck! It's hot, dirty, and Roan's terrible at making things grow--not to mention he'll get sand in his underwear all the time.

And show more then he gets a really weird letter, from a place he's never heard of, the Coruscant Campus of the Jedi Academy. The what? No matter--it will take Roan offworld and he won't have to kneel in the dirt under the suns of Tatooine all day long. He's in!

When he gets to middle school he meets new kids; some will be friends, a couple are bullies, and there are even some girls. He meets teachers, most of whom are pretty weird (what middle school teacher isn't at least a little weird, hm?). There's Mr. Garfield, who teaches Light Sabers and Home Economics and who's always saying things like, "A Jedi needs to be serious. Seriously. You do." And Kitmum, the Phys Ed teacher, who's a Wookie and says things like, "Raowrr!" and "Rawr." And of course, Master Yoda, who teaches Using the Force. "Young like you , I once was," and "Late for class, a Jedi is not, hmmm?" are some memorable Yoda bon mots from Roan's first week of school.

He's so not sure how this is going to turn out.

But as the school year progresses Roan gets involved with the school newspaper, helps plan the school dance, and qualifies for the Lightsaber Fencing Tournament. He gets better in most of his classes, and even learns how to use the Force a little. And when he has the opportunity to reapply for the Pilot Academy Middle School at the end of the year, he thinks he'd rather stick it out at the Jedi Academy.

Jeffrey Brown is a cartoonist (Darth Vader and Son, Vader's Little Princess), graphic novelist, and memoirist. His first first venture into middle grade fiction is a winner. Jedi Academy falls nicely into the genre of diary fiction popularized by Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series, alternating first person journal entries, letters from home, third person cartoon panels in graphic novel format, lists, and Roan's own cartoons for the school newspaper (The Padawan Observer). A perfect read for the eight- to ten-year-old set, who will find it hilarious, and who will learn--without even realizing they're learning--methods for coping with tough classes, bullies, and new situations in general. Brown even ends the book with some great tips for keeping a journal--write at least ten words a day, include drawings, clippings, photos...and don't hesitate to record the embarrassing stuff, because it'll seem way less embarrassing and maybe even funnier that way. Advice to live by! show less

Aloud with W at his request, after he'd finished reading it alone.

Brown's pastiche an amusing mix of recognisable "away camp" and "new school" anxieties within the Star Wars universe. The story here leans on regular jokes and gags, but the overall impression is dramatic rather than comic. AA batteries in the lightsaber hilt, an aside regarding "Senator Blagotine" (Brown lives in Chicago), all while we learn about the anxieties and pressures put upon Roan as he negotiates his first extended time away from family and must rely upon himself, develop self-trust. Overall, it works.

Jedi Academy is a story set in the Star Wars universe about 200 years before the movies, and features Roan Novachez, a farmboy from Tatooine selected to attend the Jedi Academy on Coruscant. Drawing on elements of Hogwarts and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this richly-illustrated early reader book follows Roan through his misadventures and struggles to fit in with more advanced users of the Force. I think I was a kid I would've been annoyed by the many references to schools in our universe, but as an adult I'm less attached to pure canon to let that interfere with my enjoyment of some silly gags. This is a good book, and the start of a series, for the young Star Wars fan in your life.

While I didn't find Brown's long-form comics as hilarious as his one-shots, this book was still a pleasant read. It is sure to appeal to a younger audience than the Luke & Leia Vader books, as it falls squarely in the diary format and has a young protagonist who is easily relateable to.