So You Want to be a Jedi?
This book is a retelling of The Empire Strikes Back and a guide to becoming a Jedi. It is told through Luke Skywalker's point of view, and follows the original book's story line very closely. In between chapters Gidwitz talks directly to the reader giving lessons on meditation and self-control. Gidwitz tells the reader that he (or she) is Luke, so when he tells some parts of the story he says, "but you know this because you are Luke" (or something like that).
If you read my other review of A Tale Dark and Grimm by Gidwitz, then you might remember he was scheduled to visit our school on September 12th. Well, Irma had other plans for that week. I'm not sure when or if his visit will be rescheduled. But, I really hope it works out; it would be fun to meet him.
Our librarian has been reading the meditation lessons to the students. It is interesting to see how the different children respond. The first lesson involves closing your eyes and counting to 10, while trying to keep your mind blank. It is funny how many students either miss the instructions or can't sit still long enough to even count. And then there are the students who take it so seriously - very cute.
The librarian is not a fan of Star Wars, but she enjoyed the book anyway. (I am a huge fan.) When she tells the students that this book is about the most famous jedi, they almost always guess Yoda, and some of them say they would rather be a sith lord.
I loved the book. I remember reading The Empire Strikes Back (many years ago), and reading this version brought back so many memories. There are three books in this series. I am going to go back and read the first book (A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farmboy) and then the third (Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side) which are both written by different authors.
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