Review of ‘Rey’s Survival Guide’

 

Review of ‘Rey’s Survival Guide’

This book is what would be considered an ‘in universe‘ book because it is written and illustrated as if it was created by one of The Force Awakens main characters, Rey. However, it is not really written or illustrated by Rey herself. It is the job of writer Jason Fry, Illustrator Andrew Barthelmes and the other collaborators, to give the reader the impression that all of the contents were created by this new character, Rey.

This book is organized by topic — just like in a real survival guide you would find at a local book store or any place here, on Earth. Some very interesting facts about many of the creatures, characters, and locations, from the film that may or may not, have been shown on screen, are revealed within this book. This book may be written for younglings ages 6 to 9, but as with other Star Wars young reader books, can be enjoyed by anyone over the age of 6 — just based on the amount of content that is presented within the book.

The way it is written, as ‘in universe,’ gives additional perspectives of this new character, we would not have otherwise. Some of the questions coming out of the film including: how Rey learned to understand the Wookiee language, how she knows so much about the specs of ships, other military equipment and of course, what her life is like living on Jakku, are answered by reading this book. However, if you were hoping for more about Rey’s origins or other spoiler heavy details, then this will disappoint you.

Because of the books perspective, there are many assumptions and limits, to how much can be revealed within the context of this book. Events shown on screen or mentioned in this book, not witnesssed by Rey herself, are handled like rumors or stories. Therefore, many items in this book may seem like Star Wars canon, but should not be, because they are prefaced as rumors or theories. Maybe I, like many Star Wars fans need rumors and theories like these in order to have something to discuss and debate about. Only time will tell if some of these details mentioned within this context will become part of canon.

What set this book apart from the other tie-in books, is not only by the way it is told, but with all the detailed illustrations. The illustrations of the crashed X-Wings, Star Destroyers, other ships, and military equipment is amazing! I am still finding items I missed in the details. Below are just a few of the examples of these awesome illustrations:

However, because of the detail within the illustrations and how this is treated as if this is written by Rey herself, then like me, you may be expecting that Episodes VIII and IX would have to show off these newly revealed skills of hers, along with all the other skills we have already seen on screen.

I like how the book is illustrated and written, but the print and the layout do not feel too neat and tight, to be really written by the character ‘in universe.’ They did attempt to compensate for this by placing some of the text at a slant, as shown below, but even this, is not done often.

Overall, this “in universe” book is an interesting tie-in to The Force Awakens and despite a few items mentioned above, it does not detract from my overall enjoyment of this book. If you are curious to know more about Rey and her life on Jakku, before she is thrust into the events of the film, then this book is a good starting point.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Rey’s Survival Guide
(Part of Replica Journal)
Written By Jason Fry
Illustrated by: Andrew Barthelmes
For Ages: 6 – 9
– See more at Simon & Schuster Books

Hardcover available at , B&N, Books A Million