The Rise of Skywalker (Studio Fun International) by Ella Patrick

The Rise of Skywalker (Studio Fun International) written by Ella Patrick, illustrated by Brian Rood

If the review below sparks your interest, then click on the link above to purchase your own copy! This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This one did such an incredibly good job of including pretty much everything from the movie. It wasn't until close to the end that a few iffy bits came up. It did truncate the story a good bit though by describing some scenes in just one sentence and didn't include much dialogue at all. It definitely felt different from the other two in this series because as I found out after I read it, it was "written by Ella Patrick" NOT "adapted by Elizabeth Schaefer." Strange that it said "written" instead of "adapted" and strange that they chose a completely different author to do the writing. The illustrator remained the same though. The bright red cover sported silvery metallic renditions of Kylo, Rey, Poe, D-O, and BB-8, a more vivid cover than TLJ's but still not as stunning as the TFA's. 

The three parts that were wholly skipped that really stood out to me were 1) memory-Han showing up to his son on Kef Bir, 2) Rey proclaiming herself Rey Skywalker as she overcomes her blood lineage and takes her life into her own hands, and 3) the original plan to knock out the Navigation Tower down below the Sith fleet (the story went straight to landing on the Steadfast). The third omission isn't a big deal, but leaving out the conversation with Han is heartbreaking. That is such a powerful scene and leads to the now-Ben Solo throwing away his dark side lightsaber, something that holds so much symbolism. *sigh* And leaving out Rey Skywalker is...well...honestly? Infuriating. It feels like pandering to angry/disappointed fans and that truly upsets me. The narrative says, "It did not matter where she came from. Rey understood that what was important was who she had become, who had helped her along the way, and who she would choose to be as she continued on her journey, wherever it may lead." A great description of why she chooses the last name of Skywalker, but the narrative doesn't go the distance to proclaim it outright. Ugh.

As for what was iffy, it wasn't much quantity-wise, but quality-wise it raises some questions. According to this book, Palpatine knew Rey and Kylo were a dyad and his plan all along was to get them together in front of him on Exegol so "the power of two would restore the one true Emperor." In opposition to this is the movie itself in which Palpatine has a super surprised look on his face right after the first jolt of life force from Rey and Ben, as if he realizes in that moment that they are a dyad and that he doesn't need Rey to take on his spirit after all. I'm going with the movie on this one. 

One last thing, interestingly enough, this book lays out most of what was said as Rey called out to the Jedi to be with her on Exegol which sounds awesome, but it's not in dialogue, it's in in prose. Dialogue with who said what would have been exceptional, but no. We get, "Jedi from every age called out Rey's name and reminded her she was not alone. The Force surrounded her, and it would guide her. They urged her to bring balance to the Force. They told her that the strength of the Jedi was in her heart. They said they were behind her, and they called on her to rise and take her final steps. So she did." There also wasn't an illustration of this particular moment in the movie so that was a huge bummer. 

Over all, this was a solid book. The story was kept almost completely intact although abbreviated and only really the one thing was changed. The TFA book contained a lot more dialogue which I always enjoy and this book felt more like a summary than an adaptation. Take that how you will. As for the set as a whole, I definitely recommend it to have a fairly thorough quick retelling of the sequel movies in your toolbox. And as a bedtime story, it would be a great two-night adventurous time. If this review intrigues you, check out my reviews of the TFA edition and the TLJ edition in this series! And click on the links at the top of the pages if you'd like to buy a copy for yourself!