Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein

     Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein is a Star Wars: The Last Jedi junior reader. It basically sets us up for the beginning of The Last Jedi when the Resistance is evacuating D'Qar. Certainly an interesting book, we get to dig a lot deeper into the relationship between Paige and Rose. We also get to see the Cobalt and Crimson Starfortress bomber squadrons in action helping the planet of Atterra Bravo. And get to know more about what goes on inside the bombers themselves--crew positions, layout, etc. We even get confirmation of The Last Jedi timeline--yes, that movie does take place the day after (if not just later the same day) Starkiller Base is destroyed, thus the movie itself takes place over just one day which carries over from Force Awakens.
     Synopsis: Resistance bombers are roped into helping out the planet Atterra Bravo, which is under blockade by the First Order, with supplying water, food, munitions, and other goods.
     Major spoilers for the rest of this review just FYI.
     My biggest qualm with this novel was its lack of tension and lack of much of a story. It felt like a short story just extended and not like a novel at all. I expected someone to be captured by the First Order or the mission to go south. Although, yes, a lot of people did die from a TIE fighter attack, it was only one incident that didn't really add to the drama of the story. And all four planned drops were made successfully. Yes, the deaths were devastating and the torn feelings of the survivors came across very clearly, but I still feel like it just wasn't enough. Depth was missing from this novel. They could have done so much more with it plot-wise!
     So Rose and Paige are super tight as sisters. Rose is the younger and has never gone flying without her older sister Paige. They always spend the time flying through hyper space together as a family. At the end of the novel, Vice-Admiral Holdo asks Rose to act as technician aboard her ship, the cruiser Ninka. Rose is reticent but remembers the bravery of the Atterran Bravo native Reeve and so decides to take the position. The book ends as Paige and Rose are parting ways saying they will see each other again after the evacuation. So sad!! Because as we all know, Paige dies in the evacuation and Rose never sees her again. No wonder the poor thing is a mess when Finn finds her. I'm surprised she's able to be as strong as she is for the rest of the movie. It really puts a whole new spin on how brave and together Rose is being throughout. I'm aware that many people weren't fans of her character, but this book absolutely gives her more depth. Although I do wonder why someone who appears to be in their early 20s is so dang dependent on their big sister. That's a little odd to me. It rings true for a junior reader audience but not for the age that Rose actually is.
     Another qualm I had was with the counts of how many Starfortresses there were. We've got 5 dozen on one page that have flown to Refnu, then 6 of those fly to Atterra Bravo, 3 of which get destroyed, and then suddenly there's only 8 left total. Whoever was fact checking the counts of these bombers was way off--editing totally dropped the ball on this point.
     Two new species and five new planets are introduced:
- Martigrades: "eerily slug-like, silver-skinned biped," head as big as a human torso, huge black plate-like eyes. The commander of all the bomber crews is of this species. Her name is Fossil.
- Nefrian: native to Refnu, very large and tall, humanoid, extra skin layer, big bones
- Atterra Bravo: acidic seas, only source of drinkable water is from Atterra Alpha
- Atterra Alpha: turned into a prison during the Empire's reign
- Atterra System: both Alpha and Bravo have the same orbit around their sun, functioning as twin planets. Their orbital speeds are such that they stay safe distances from each other.
- Hays Minor: where Rose and Paige are from, cold and dark, on the edge of the habitable zone, taken over and made inhospitable by the First Order, no native intelligent life
- Hays Major: Hays Minor's sister planet
- Otomok System: also a system of twin planets (Hays Minor and Major) on the same orbital pathway around the sun
- Refnu: similar in conditions to Hays minor, perpetually cold, inhabitants live in windowless buildings
     My favorite line was Rose's description of TIE fighters showing up on her nav computer: "searing handfuls of glitter."
     And lastly, my absolute favorite part of this book, the bomber squadrons witness the destruction of Hosnian Prime! To them it looks like a supernova many light years away and they don't know what has happened until Vice-Admiral Holdo comes to Refnu to tell them that the weapon, Starkiller Base, has already been destroyed and D'Qar is in the process of evacuating. This puts The Last Jedi at either the day after or the same day as the end of Force Awakens. The disturbance from the destruction even affected the bomber squadrons in hyperspace! It was funny reading about everyone disagreeing on what had happened while I knew full well what had occurred. This was a wonderful tie-in and dispelled any confusion over the Last Jedi's timeline. For that I am thankful. My brother and I have been going back and forth over just that issue and now we know. I am a little confused though as to why on Takodana the attack on Hosnian Prime was obviously an attack per Force Awakens. Maybe Takodana is just that much closer to Hosnian Prime's system?
     So, all in all, a good book, but more of a short story type scenario than a novel. Just not enough tension and twists to keep the plot interesting. Sad really because there were some absolute bright spots in this book that had me enthralled. The last 26 pages are definitely worth the read for the connections they have to Force Awakens.