The Tiny Book of Legendary Women

The Tiny Book of Legendary Women, compiled by Grace Orriss and Harrison Tunggal, design by Lola Villanueva

Here we have another one of the insanely tiny little books with a bunch of quotes and before-seen images that come complete with a little box and a bookmark ribbon. I was expecting to be disappointed. BUT...this one was wonderful! It showcased SO many different female characters in Star Wars. The range of media was massive and included adult and young adult novels, middle grade readers, both all-ages and regular comics, video games, every TV show, and all 3 movie eras + the standalones. The breadth was met by a depth of really good quotes for the most part!! Some quotes felt random and a bit of a strange choice, but the vast majority were deep, meaningful, and connected well with the character who said them. Most characters received an image and, again, they were generally well chosen with some pretty epic poses (see Ahsoka below), although some were just simply not that interesting. Overall, this book was a huge win for me!!

As for the layout, there was no rhyme or reason to the order of the characters, not by timeline order, not separated by light vs dark, not by media source. While I could complain about this, I actually enjoyed the surprise of "Which character is next?!? The layout aspect I do have an issue with is that Ahsoka, Leia, and Rey had multiple, multiple pages. I feel like they could have kept up with the plumbing-the-depths MO and included even more obscure awesome women. Other characters with more than one two-page spread included: Fennec Shand, Hera (but only 1 quote), Padme, and Sabine (but only 1 quote). There were some women I came across that I would've loved to hear more from that weren't in this list. And the good number of quotes used for Leia, Rey, and Ahsoka could definitely have been pared down to make room for just a second quote from someone else.

[Ha!! I'm just about to add the photos and post this review and I finally realized what order the book is in...it's freaking alphabetical. That is a really strange choice. This is not at all the kind of book that benefits from being alphabetical...]

The only character I didn't know was Terisa Kerrill from the "Squadrons" video game which I own...but still have not played. I promise to eventually!!

Below I've included some quotes that I especially appreciated--whether because they fit the character well, reminded me of a favorite situation, or were just deep and meaningful.

"Hatred gave me access to abilities the Jedi think are too unnatural. But the Sith know that hatred is the path to ultimate power." - Asajj Ventress, I loved the connection to Palpatine's, "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."

"I'm going to say what I want, when I want, as loud as I want, and no First Order is going to tell me otherwise." - Aunt Z, This was totally a nostalgic, oh I love Aunt Z, kind of quote. I miss her!!

"Trust is overrated. The only thing the Jedi Council believes in is violence." - Barriss Offee, I feel her confusion and frustration over going from peacekeepers to warriors...but bombing anything is never the answer!

"You believe you know how to defeat me...the Jedi you face now is one you've never encountered before." - Depa Billaba, Dang I love this attitude!! Talk about self-confidence...give me some of that!

"I guess maybe that's the true measure of a life, isn't it? It's not how folks judge you... It's whether or not you can live with yourself. When you're all alone." - Doctor Chelli Aphra (see below), Nostalgia again. The scene this is from takes place toward the end of the original "Doctor Aphra" comic run and boy was I in tears when I first read it. This is Aphra's heart laying out there for ALL to see and I adore it. Check out this video on Aphra's Artifacts for more details on this spectacularly heartbreaking/warming scene.

"We fight so that others can live. And if we die, it better be for the same reason." - Iden Versio, I still really need to watch all the Battlefront II cut scenes! This is another game I own but haven't played. One day, I promise! I did love her in the adult novel Inferno Squad.

"The sun is setting on the New Republic. It's time for the Resistance to rise." - Leia, Oooh this quote gives me chills! It's one I'd forgotten from the adult novel Bloodline.

"I like you. You don't fit in around here either." - Omega (see below), Goodness I love this character so much!! And I feel her on this quote for real in regards to back when I was her age. 

"I've fought evil and it was easy. I shot it. It's apathy I can't stand." - Padme, This is SUCH a great Padme quote. She's a revolutionary at her core and I love it!

"Next time you'll think twice about breaking someone's heart." - Sy Snootles, The fact that Sy Snootles and a Hutt dated at all is in itself a fabulously weird plot point, haha.

I am most pleased with this book, and the fact that it's so tiny it barely takes up any space is a huge plus. I highly recommend this novelty item as the content is worthy enough for a full-sized book! I will leave you with two more epic poses, both from strong High Republic Jedi females: