Member Reviews
As a Star Wars lover it would be amazing for me not to have liked this title. I was not disappointed. I have moved to a different level of students since requesting this book - but it still recommended it for my reluctant readers. It is a winner!
Published by Scholastic in August of 2013.
If you have read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the James Patterson Middle School series you get how this book is designed. The twist is that Roan Novachez is a middle school student from Tatooine who really wants to get into Pilot Academy Middle School (much like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV). If you were trying to place this book in the timeline of the Star Wars movies it would be about 200 years before the events of Return of the Jedi based on Yoda's stated age.
Anyway, Roan does not get into the Pilot Academy but Yoda extends a special invitation for him to come to the Coruscant Jedi Academy. He is the newest student and has the traditional new student problems at a middle school (finding friends, figuring out your teachers, finding your classrooms and so on) plus he has additional problems such as trying to understand what his Wookie gym teacher is saying and figure out how to actually move things using the Force.
My kids (ages 8 and 13) loved this book (my 8 year old just took it from me and started reading it for the second time), I liked it quite a bit but did not love it. It has some funny bits and is a quick, light read. Of course, things work out well for Roan but it's fun to read how he does it.
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.