Oh, if only we all had a Master Yoda to guide us through our problems! Luckily, protagonist Roan has access to the Jedi Master’s wisdom, or perhaps he wouldn’t be able to navigate through a second year at the Jedi Academy as he struggles with friends, bullies, disappointments, and the temptation of The Dark Side.
Penned in the doodle-diary style popularized by The Wimpy Kid series, The Return of the Padawan is a mash-up of illustrations, diary entries, class schedules, social media interactions, and a heavy dose of comic strips. Combine this format with Star Wars and it will be absolutely irresistible to elementary-age students, particularly boys and reluctant readers. In contrast to some of the snarky tones of other doodle diaries, this book has a more positive voice, a protagonist with supportive family relationships, and a few poignant insights into social media bullying. (Yoda says, “Avoid reading Holobook comments, you should. Or consume your day it will. A Padawan uses Holonet for knowledge and research, never for attack.”)
Although the CBR age scale begins at 9+, this book is appropriate for even younger readers and is sure to be a hit. It is the second in a series, but it is not necessary to read the first book to enjoy or follow the storyline in Return of the Padawan.
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Scholastic
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Character elbows someone; verbal and social media bullying; characters hit by balls in class (accidentally and on-purpose) with minor injury; illustrated image showing The Force used to send icicles into a wampas’ backside; food fight; simulated flight training with asteroids, explosions, etc.
Sex/Nudity: Characters are seen holding hands; characters hug (platonic).
Mature Subject Matter:
Bullying, social media, cheating.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
