I checked this out from the library partly because the red, white, and black illustrations caught my attention and I liked them so much, and not just because Poe is looking all kinds of fine in his flight suit on that cover. I also was intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about Rey, Finn, and Poe's origins. I got what I wanted, to varying degrees. The book consists of three short stories, each focusing on one character and exploring what they were doing before The Force Awakens.

Finn's story happens right before The Force Awakens, and I felt it was the weakest of the three. You get to see more of Finn's moral dilemma as he struggles to fulfill his duties as a stormtrooper, but it just didn't feel as exciting as it could have been.

Rey's story has a stronger plot and introduces more Jakku characters, so it expanded the world introduced in the movie and was more satisfying than Finn's story. I struggled with Rey's actions and at first felt that they contradicted her character, but by the end I realized that they really contradicted what I wanted her to do, not what she would have wanted to do. Besides, what I wanted her to do would have prevented The Force Awakens from happening, so I guess I shouldn't have been distracted by that, anyway.

I enjoyed Poe's story the most by far. Typically action-packed sequences and battles in books bore me, but the maneuvers Rucka describes are genuinely exciting. Combined with a more complex story than the other two in the book and legitimate backstory (including information about his parents and how he became involved in the Resistance), this makes for enjoyable reading and ends the book on a strong note.

And what about the fact that this is middle grade fiction? Well, it was noticeable, primarily in the lack of ambiguity. Characters' thoughts, emotions, and motivations are made more explicit and less open to interpretation than if this were adult fiction. And there's a certain safe quality to the writing; despite a couple of examples, it's clear that nothing truly irreparable is going to happen. And I mean, of course it's not, and of course there aren't going to be huge revelations, because it would make no sense for events to contradict The Force Awakens, and they're not going to waste huge plot points and twists on a chapter book. However, Rucka writes with respect for his readers, and he doesn't dumb down the vocabulary just because he's writing for a younger audience.

So, while I was slightly self-conscious about reading a kids' book, it didn't prevent me from enjoying it. And it didn't prevent me from checking out other new Star Wars chapter books despite being a grown-ass lady. #noshame