A review by justthatstarwarsbookgirl
Star Wars: Rescue From Jabba's Palace: Star Wars Young Readers by Michael Siglain

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I thought this book was a good summary of the opening events of Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi, especially for kids as the intended audience, the author watered down some of the more intense elements while adding a lot more feelings of excitement and intensity that weren’t felt in the movie, but still kept the entire portrayal of the scenes highly accurate in their elements and appropriately descriptive for children. I didn’t however like the depictions of alien species like the Gamorrean Guards and Jabba the Hutt himself. I also didn’t like the portrayal of Chewbacca the Wookiee, but that doesn't make much sense because I don’t mind his depiction in other Star Wars World of Reading books illustrated by the same Studio. However I do love Leia and Han Solo’s depictions in their different outfits, Leia in her Bespin and Boushh outfits, as well as her hair, and Han in his Episode 4 Smuggler’s outfit. I like that flashback of artwork shown from Episode 4 of Han talking to Jabba. I also like the scene of Slave 1 (Boba Fett’s starship) on the landing platform in Cloud City with the sunset. I do like Jabba the Hutt’s colors in the artwork though. I love the depictions of Luke in his black Jedi Knight robes. I thought the portrayal of the Rancor was really scary, scarier than it is shown in the movie, and it was super cool but I’d worry about it actually frightening the children reading the book. I like the way Jabba’s sail barge looked sailing across the sands of Tatooine. I like the small smile on Lando (disguised as a guard) when Luke springs into action off the plank. My favorite part was the emphasis put on the fact that his new lightsaber was green!! A whole page was dedicated to expressing this fact. I always thought it should’ve gotten more attention and explanation in the movie. I also like how it’s explained in detail what happened to Boba Fett, and how they spent more than a few pages describing what occurred. It was a very short scene in the movie that I personally thought should’ve gotten more time. I love the full page artwork of Boba in the Sarlacc’s tentacles. The colors are really bright and vibrant on that page in particular. It is worth noting however that instead of stating how Leia choked Jabba to death with her slave chain, it is stated only that she “used a big chain to defeat him” to make the story child-appropriate. I thought it was silly to have Leia in her slave outfit at the end scene, but I suppose that would be accurate for the scene in the timeline however as portrayed. Overall I thought this book was very enjoyable and well written and I believe that anybody should read it whether kid or even an adult who is a loving fan of the movie or novelization of Episode 6 or wishing for an introduction into it’s chapter of time in the Star Wars universe as a whole.