Rebel Rising by Beth Revis

Wow! This book really packed a punch. If you left Rogue One still feeling disconnected from Jyn as a character despite her untimely demise (as I've heard many complain) then you should absolutely check this book out to get a deeper and more whole perspective of her.

We get to see her time with Saw and some of the truly horrific things she witnessed. We get much more detail on the time when Saw left her for good. And we are taken on the journey with her beyond Saw to see what all she experienced out on her own without a parental figure from her younger years. I know now why she was so disillusioned with the Rebellion and why she said, "It's not a problem if you don't look up" in response to the Empire's reign. I know more about her prison stay on Wobani and how she lost all hope. And in the last few pages of the book, her motivations for working with the Rebellion are also revealed.

Rebel Rising is technically a novel for young adults but is written so well and is so engaging that it easily feels like a book for adults as well.

Two new planets were introduced:
1. Wrea is a mostly watery world dotted with islands. It is found in the Outer Rim and is surrounded by the Smuggler's Run asteroid belt which makes getting to the planet extremely difficult. Saw makes this his home for many years. Here he trains Jyn to fight against strung up old droids and clone armor with both a blaster and hand-to-hand weapons. It seems they are the only two people on the planet except for the hoards of fighters constantly filtering in and out of Saw's headquarters. There is a sentient water-dwelling species that lives here called Wreans but they are never seen. Apparently this planet also appears in Part II of the comic adaptation of Rogue One in flashbacks.

2. Skuhl is an Outer Rim planet covered in seas of blue-green grass that seems far enough outside of the Empire to always be out of its grasp. But can that last forever? Some really interesting fauna appears I'd love to see images of in the future - ex. a rodent symbiotic with a plant called a Bulba. Here Jyn makes a home with two people who grow to truly care for her and who she grows to truly care for in return. Turns out she's had three families in her short life.

We were also introduced to the Five Points System, a contingent of five habitable planets orbiting the same sun. Five Points Station lies in the middle of the system as a waypoint to all five planets. The descriptions of the station were intriguing, giving us a glimpse into a type of environment we don't see all too often in Star Wars. Living quarters were described as living cubes stacked high, one upon another. And there was even a park with fake rocks and fake plants. The station was filled with lowlifes and mostly run by gambling lords.

Additionally, there are several new species we are only treated to glimpses of but that add further depth to the universe.

This is certainly a must read for anybody wanting to get a better understanding of the main character of Rogue One. I for one cannot wait to watch Rogue One again with this new perspective...of course I always want to watch Rogue One anyway but now I'm extra excited to. I 100% recommend this book.