By far the best part of this book was all the easter eggs of the prequel trilogy. This book was written in 2003, so Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were already out and the author got to use Anakin’s history in it. Leia got a fresh look at who her father was before he became Darth Vader by meeting Anakin’s childhood friends and being gifted a journal written by Shmi Skywalker. It was a great bridge to connect the original trilogy with the prequel trilogy and a reminder for Leia that Vader wasn’t always a monster, but a human who loved and lost just like she had.