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I feel like I get so focused on the adult & YA Star Wars novels (along with the comics), that I have a tendency to ignore some of the great middle grade books out there. I’ve read all of The High Republic middle grade books, but there’s definitely a bunch of other Star Wars MG on my shelf that I need to get to!

STORIES OF JEDI AND SITH features ten stories, six of which are by new-to-me authors (it’s entirely possible some of these authors have Star Wars short stories elsewhere, like the FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW collections), and four are by authors who have written at least one Star Wars novel (Alex Segura, Delilah S. Dawson, Sam Maggs, and Tessa Gratton).

Like all short story collections, this one had some stories that spoke to me more than others, and I just want to highlight the four in this collection that I really loved!

It was Sarwat Chadda’s “The Eye of the Beholder” that got me really engaged with this collection. This one takes place at the height of The Clone Wars, and we get to see Anakin & Obi-Wan through the eyes of two young kids going through hell. Chadda perfectly captures the voices of Anakin & Obi-Wan, and this story shows them at their absolute best & most heroic. The kind of story that gives you goosebumps & makes you want to stand up and cheer. Loved this one so much!

With the exception of BLACK SPIRE, Delilah S. Dawson seems to specialize (and revel) in writing amazing stories about villainous women in the galaxy far, far away. And while I’m extremely tempted to refer to Asajj Ventress as morally gray, in Dawson’s story, “Worthless,” we’re seeing a Clone Wars-era Ventress and she’s out for blood. She has to forge an extremely unlikely alliance with a clone in this story, which had so much banter, a great sense of adventure, and a lot of Force lore too! This was probably my favorite from the collection (with “The Eye of the Beholder” a very close second).

Having read Sam Maggs’s JEDI: BATTLE SCARS, I knew to expect something a bit quirky from her “Luke on the Bright Side.” This takes place in the early days of building up Echo Base on Hoth, and Luke finds himself in the midst of of an icy cave-in, and relying on the help of a rebel named Reyé. Luke is at his most hilariously awkward here, and almost desperate to impress Reyé. Luke is convinced that Reyé can’t stand him, but we get this story from both POVs, and it’s definitely written in such a way that it seems like each of these guys is crushing on the other. It’s really cute. This story was, all too predictably, met with hostility by the most garbage elements of this fandom. At any rate, here’s an article from The Mary Sue that explores queerness & the character of Luke Skywalker.

The last story in this collection to leave a huge impression on me was Tessa Gratton’s “Masters.” I feel like I went through such a wide range of emotions reading this…the story begins with things from Emperor Palpatine’s perspective, and sort of recaps in great detail his duel with Yoda in Revenge of the Sith. And it was interesting, but not super compelling. But as the story progresses, we get deep inside Yoda’s head during his final moments on Dagobah and this story began to feel just…transcendent. The whole of the story started taking shape & making more sense to me. You realize that the relationship between Palpatine & Yoda has massive repercussions across all of Star Wars, and this twenty-six page story gets right to the heart of that relationship.

This was a fantastic collection & a great reminder for me to not sleep on the Star Wars middle grade books. I’ve got some on the shelf I’m hoping to get to really soon!

May the Force be with you!!