Review: Escape From Valo Is a Middle-Grade Masterpiece
A spoiler-free Escape From Valo review.
There aren’t supposed to be any young Jedi left on Valo. Which is a problem, considering the group of young Jedi trapped on Valo.
Ever since the attack on the Republic Fair, the Nihil have maintained an unsettling presence on the planet. It turns out a group of Force-users and an aspiring pirate might be all it will take to bring the Nihil on Valo down.
Set a year after the fall of Starlight Beacon, Escape From Valo by Alyssa Wong and Daniel José Older is the latest book in The High Republic series and the middle-grade book that’s part of the first wave of Phase III.
The Nihil have established the Stormwall, claiming their territory by force and preventing anyone outside of it from getting in. Getting communications out beyond the Wall is next to impossible.
Getting off Valo won’t be easy. But many things are possible for Jedi in training.
This book is the longest middle-grade installment of the series so far, and it’s mostly because even 369 pages isn’t enough time to spend with these characters. Zyle is the latest chaos demon to join the fray, uniting with familiar Jedi Ram Jomaram and his newfound adopted children (sort of) in an attempt to get free of the planet … and maybe hit the Nihil where it hurts on the way out.
This book is the perfect example of why books classified as middle-grade — especially in The High Republic — matter. Characters like Gavi are going through the exact same hardships, have seen the exact same horrors as characters from The Rising Storm or The Fallen Star. Their grief is simply shown from a different perspective — in this case, from the perspective of someone younger, more innocent, and equally traumatized.
But this book isn’t all doom and gloom.
I laughed. I cried. I begged for more but loved what we got. As someone who somewhat struggled to really vibe with The High Republic in its early days, I’m so happy that I’ve grown to love it. While the middle-grade books have always been great, Escape From Valo feels special. It perfectly blends together themes of love, friendship, bravery, and self-discovery. It is as emotionally profound and stylistically elegant as every other book in the series, and I sincerely hope everyone takes the time to read it.
Escape From Valo asks the same questions other books surrounding it in the same series present: What sacrifices must be made in order to survive? In a galaxy at war, how does one define their purpose? And in an effort to escape the terrors of past, present, and future, what must we give up in order to fly—and what do we gain when we dare to take the risk?
Star Wars The High Republic: Escape From Valo by Alyssa Wong and Daniel José Older is available now wherever you get your Star Wars books.
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