Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back So You Want to Be a Jedi? Hardcover – September 22, 2015

This was a really unique twist on the whole re-telling concept, but it worked really well, and it was a lot of fun.This is obviously aimed at a YA audience, but if you are a fan of Star Wars, you are going to thoroughly enjoy it, and I can guarantee that there are going to be Star Wars fans across the planet standing on one leg, balancing a book on their heads, saying their address backwards, with someone lobbing rolled up socks at them – don’t worry my young Padawan, you will understand once you read it.Gidwitz had a lot of fun writing this, he took the film that is still seen as possibly the best film in the series (even now with the newbies), and re-told it with a real YA feel to it. For starters, there is none of that soppy, icky romance stuff in it, who needs that, like gross man. We can just skip over those parts, ewwww.Because, like, we want to focus on the cool bits dude, like, the lightsaber fights, and like, the fights with the snowspeeders, geez man, get with the story!Gidwitz, does it really well, staying incredibly true to the story, but telling it from a teenagers point of view, it is not only clever, creative and brilliant, but it is incredibly hilarious. He has, however, managed to keep the seriousness of some parts of it, like when Han gets frozen, Luke and Vader’s fight scene etc, all of these moments that are epic scenes and crucial to the story are done like you are looking through the eyes of a scared teenager, were fear is one of the main components to this conversation.The other really fascinating, and incredibly ingenious part of this story is the start of each chapter, in which he asks the reader to perform a small task as part of being a Jedi (I mean the book is called, ‘So you want to be a Jedi). And these aren’t things about doing things with the force, or anything silly, these are very sensible technics for learning balance, patience, control, learning to centre yourself, multitasking, learning to focus, learning to concentrate.It is pure genius. I would be fascinated to know if Gidwitz came up with this stuff on his own, created it using a combination of his own stuff and techniques found from something online, or whether this is something that was out there already. Regardless, these little extras at the start of each chapter add a real bonus quality to the book, not only adding to the fun of it (giving a lot of people something fun to try out, and at the end of the day, if you do follow the routines laid out, you will learn a lot about patience, focus, balancing and you will definitely learn about how to spell the important aspects of your life (name address etc). Whilst this might seem a bit silly to some, for others, this might be the start to a path of learning. It might be the path that gets them looking up other things such as meditation, Tai-Chi, whatever it is, it could be something that helps them in some form.Gidwitz makes the comment about what it is to be a Jedi, about how a lot of it is not about flashy lightsabers and force powers, and he is absolutely right. He goes on to say it is about how we treat others, not using the Dark Side in our interactions (he explains it better – you should really read the book), but he makes a valid point, and it isn't about labels, that we all have to run around saying that we are Jedi. It is about making sure that we treat each other right. Gidwitz has not only written a wonderful story, re-telling the best parts of possibly the best Star Wars film (I think so anyway, Empire has always been my favourite since I saw it as an 11yr old), he has given us a guide on how to be a Jedi, how to be a better person.This is a brilliant book, fantastic at every level, and a must read for anyone who has any interest in Star Wars, or likes the Jedi.

When my twelve-year-old son finished this book last night, he brought it with him into the living room and told me, "Dad, there are no words to describe how good this book was."My son started out as a very reluctant reader. It has only been in the last year where his reading habits have soared. However, he is very picky about what books he spends his time in. If he doesn't like something, he doesn't finish it, (except for assigned reading in school, of course) Well, he ate these pages up in a couple days. He loved it and was beyond fascinated by the whole concept of becoming a Jedi. He took the exercises the author gives for Jedi training, and practiced them with as much passion as he does when playing football and basketball. He is an intense kid, and he knows what he likes, and I must say, he adored this book.Infact, he adored it so much, that on the same night he finished it, his little sister just happened to be struggling with falling asleep by herself because of her fears, and he read her the chapter in the book where there is an exercise to help you face your fears. It was a joy to watch my son read to his little sister, trying to bring her comfort through her struggles.Buy this book for your kids. Buy this book for yourself! Buy every book in this awesome trilogy. This one is unique and powerful, written in the 2nd person, which isn't common but altogether just as powerful and twice as fun! And if you've read any of Adam Gidwitz's hilarious/creepy series, A Tale Dark and Grimm, you'll find that same charming voice here.Great book, and many thanks to the author and publisher for creating it.

Let me say at the beginning of this review that I have been an elementary educator for more than 20 years and I am an author as well. In my opinion the first book in this series is simply fantastic. Fleshing our Leia’s aspect of the story is absolute genius. This was lacking in the film. Her retelling reminds me of CS Lewis approach to writing to youth. He never over explains nor belittles his readers because they are young. The author of the first book follows his masterful storytelling style. Both adults and children can enjoy it. I wish she would have penned the retelling of ‘Empire’. It is the most complex and beloved film in the series. The idea of skipping over the love scenes and switching back and forth from second person to third person is clumsy at best. Bottomline: most kids will love this book; which is the ultimate goal. Unfortunately,most adults will not be able to appreciate this retelling because it obviously was not written for them at all. I was quite young when I went to see ‘Empire ‘ in the movies in the early 80s and the charming love scenes didn’t bother me one bit. The author of the first book did a wonderful job describing Luke’s innocent crush on Leia. Children need to see heroic characters have these emotions! What a missed opportunity in this second book. Looking back I think the author of the first book had a different vision for rewriting ‘A New Hope’. She rewrote the story from a perspective the next generation could relate to and appreciate. Girls in this generation expect to see female heroes actually doing something, not just waiting to be rescued as is clearly shown in the latest Star Wars films. In my opinion she made a great story better by giving a more balanced accounting of Luke, Leia, and Han’s experience. I realize this epic is about Luke Skywalker primarily, but the balance she gives only serves to make all the characters more endearing to everyone. There are key reasons why ‘Empire’ is so beloved by fans and critics alike, namely the rich subplots and ramped up conflicts for all three heroes. Instead of just describing these complexities in a manor young minds can relate to the author talks down to the young readers as if those adult issues are too much for their little minds to understand. I think that is balderdash! Give young people more credit than that. By taking the easy way out this author has made this adaptation the weakest of the three. That is the exact opposite of the films. I have constantly seen better reviews for ‘Empire’ than any of the other films. The first author placed the rewrite bar pretty high. It’s a shame this author didn’t choose to make his rewrite for all ages.

Received damaged, but was due to transit. Good book, not as good as the other, but will be fun to read to my nephew and my son when he is old enough. And the new cannon addons are pretty cool, but i feel this book is for much younger audiences then the retelling of new hope. Which struck me as this is a much darker story then a new hope. Regardless if you are a star wars fan and have a little one who can't get past the "age" of the original trilogy read this to them first.

Great book for a young reader. Tips after each segment that train kids how to calm and focus

My grandson loves Star Wars and so we began reading together this trilogy. Very enjoyable.

Perfecto para leer con niños