I really enjoyed this book. It took me a long time to pick up and actually read, but once I got past legitimately the first page I was hooked, and sped through the book at a super-fast pace. The book was highly intriguing, very interesting and extremely well-put together/well-done as a written Middle-Grade Chapter Book Series Beginning/First Book. I loved how the book was sorted into Zare’s semesters at AppSci (his school) with the Prologue being the end of Summer, the Epilogue being the next summer, and the Fall, Spring and Winter being chapters in between as he attended school. I also love, contrary to other reviews I’ve read, the telling of the story not only through Zare’s school year but mainly through the playing of his favorite Sport, Grav-Ball. I found it interesting about Zare’s parents careers as well as why they were so intent on sending their daughter into Imperial service, plus the fact that the family (including Zare) usually lived on Space Stations was very intriguing, I thought it was super interesting how he’d rarely ever seen the clear sky or the changing seasons of a planet. That makes it all the more interesting how the book was told through the changing of the seasons, and it’s also interesting to see the different seasons on Lothal and their occurrences. Jason Fry, in my opinion, introduces many lovable characters in this book, as well as some that are just as easily and perhaps even more strongly hated. One of the first characters you meet is Merei, the conflicted/could&would be love-interest of Zare. She is rather agitating at first to a character like Zare, which reminds me of a stereotype I often see in writing where an author introduces the female lead as irritating/agitating to the male lead or love interest, but the male love interest grows to care for the female lead deeply over time. I grew to absolutely LOVE Merei after their first interaction. Her character is beautifully painted and well-informed, I love how interesting her characteristics and personality are as well as her hobbies, background (such as her parent’s jobs). It’s the little details that matter to me, such as how Zare describes how she uses her datapad, her quick number-crunching abilities and skills, and her hacking and slicing computer abilities. I also didn’t so much mind (as I read in other reviews) that Grav-Ball was a lot like American Football. To me that made the game and the book a lot easier to understand and read as it progressed with the game. I also really enjoyed what little we got to see of Dhara’s character, her responsibility, her love of her family and especially her younger brother, her understanding of him and his fears, flaws and issues while at school and while she’s away, and her organizational skills as well as her pride. It makes complete sense that Dhara is Force-Sensitive and was alluded to very early on in the book after introducing her character, but it took me through reading halfway through the book to finally grasp that was what those hints were alluding to (such as that she always knew where to find Zare in a crowd of people (because of their strong connection through the Force, she could sense him) and how she always knew when something was the matter with him or bothering him so that she could talk privately with him). I also believe the reason the Academy was so eager to accept Zare’s application is that they are hoping that, as Dhara’s blood sibling, he is also Force-Sensitive and they can take him away eventually as well. I enjoyed the other, more minor characters of the book as well, but none of them were super memorable to me despite their well-rounded out personalities and traits. I don’t really enjoy the character of Zare’s father and secondly, especially I’m sure most other readers will hate the Athletic Director Fhurek for his prejudices and nastiness, as well as lust for revenge, just as much as I do. For me, although I’d heard of Alien Species being discriminated against and treated as as lesser beings by Humans in the Core Worlds (especially by Palpatine/The Emperor in particular and the Empire itself), but this was the first time I’d read it in a Star Wars book really, and a Middle Grade Star Wars Kid’s Chapter Book at that. I found the inclusion of that theme very interesting and feel it would be intriguing to explore further in any type of Star Wars Book. Another thing I found interesting was that this book, although a Kid’s Chapter Book, included very imaginable allusions to the murder of a crowd of innocents. Besides alien discrimination and the murder of innocents, the book also included a number of themes such as a lying government, issues with people in positions of power who shouldn’t be and them using that power incorrectly, betting monetarily, kidnapping children/teenagers to use for your own means, teenage schooling, sports, anger, worry, fear and frustration and dealing with those feelings, unfairness in situations in life, moving to a new home and school as well as losing the home and land your family has lived in for generations, including watching that land as well as your childhood memories be demolished and utterly destroyed, among many other themes. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Auntie Nags the Caretaker/Nanny Droid who has raised Dhara, Zare and Zare’s Father, Grandfather and previous relatives as far back as they can remember. I simultaneously enjoyed the detail of her eyes turning to red, yellow and green as she was unhappy or happy depending on her mood at the same time it annoyed me. I felt her caring nature as a Droid was beautiful, and I do hope nothing happens to her in the Series. I also enjoyed the character of Tepha, Zare’s mother. I appreciate how she believes immediately that the Empire was lying about Dhara but didn’t want to say it aloud because of feeling like a traitor, and although she doesn’t want to accept Zare’s plan to enter the Academy at first to find Dhara, but accepts it in the end with resolve and knows they cannot tell his Father. I thought it was cheesy to name Zare’s father “Leo” although his last name is Leonis. I also found it super interesting if anybody caught it how in the end the stormtrooper escorting Beck to Imperial Prison is named “DX-578” which is Dhara and Zare’s family’s friend Ames (who Zare talked to in the Summer Prologue on the Rooftop of his Family’s Apartment) previously who entered Stormtrooper Training the same year Dhara entered Imperial Officer Training at the Imperial Academy. I found that little detail so perfect yet just so plain sad overall. The entire book, in an overall summary, was a great and fantastic series of events, especially the ones involving the Alien Discrimination and Grav-Ball, not so much the ones involving the Orchards and Mining to me, but that’s my personal preference. I thought this was a great way to start out the Series, and I definitely didn’t need (and probably didn’t want) to wait so long to pick it up!! Beautiful cover art as well on the novel. Easy to read, I loved the feel of the page’s material. I feel so great about the fact that Zare was good from the beginning all along as he entered the Academy and when he met Ezra Bridger in Star Wars: Rebels; and that he was searching for Dhara the entire time, not just when he found out from Ezra about the Rebellion. It felt great to know as a character he was a good person all along instead of an Imperial who was brainwashed until Ezra came along, and was actually just waiting for somebody who was a Rebel from an organized Rebellion to infiltrate the Imperial Academy and set off a chain of events with him to help find Dhara. I really hope the ending of these books is happy, although it was left out of the Star Wars: Rebels show as far as I remember, with the Leonis family finding Dhara. But especially for some reason I hope nothing happens to the Droid Character of Auntie Nags. Also, I cannot even begin to imagine losing a sibling, and having to watch the emptiness of their room every time you pass it, missing them greatly, not knowing where they are, what has happened to them or if they’re alive, much less that feeling for a parent, especially a mother. As an older sibling myself I relate greatly to Dhara, although I have a younger sister rather than brother, and that’s completely different in many ways. I relate to the extremely tender and caring feeling of Dhara for her younger brother. I wonder if this Series will be as good, slightly worse or better than the Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Secret Missions Series by Ryder Windham. I have previously enjoyed Ryder Windham’s variety of Star Wars books he has written more than Jason Fry’s. I kind of find that Series as an opposite series, that one a spin-off for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chapter Book Series, this one a spin-off for the Star Wars: Rebels Chapter Book Series. Overall what a great book!! Highly recommended to all Star Wars Fans, Star Wars: Rebels Fans, and those more interested after watching Zare Leonis’s Academy Star Wars: Rebels Episodes in learning more about the aftermath and events prior to those Episodes of Star Wars: Rebels. Especially Middle-Aged Kid’s that are Star Wars Fans would enjoy this book in my opinion!! But as a 19-Year-Old I really highly enjoyed this book myself!!