A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland is a Star Wars Novel taking place in the High Republic which is 200 years before A New Hope. A Test of Courage is the first middle grade novel released in the High Republic time setting. This book was great in it character study and does follow some adult themes as death a grief. Thee was a great moment where one character’s grief gets the best of him and starts gong towards the dark side of the force. I enjoyed this story and the 4 kids it follows who are all different and have some depth to their characters. The pacing made this a fast read for all 173 pages. I was happy to admit I didn’t always know where the story was going, which was a lot of fun. The characters are really compelling and the book ends in an exciting finish, that was a little shocking. The action scenes are fun and well described. This is the second book I’ve read by Justina Ireland and liked this a lot better than the second young adult novel in the High Republic Out of the Shadows. My biggest call out was pacing and this book might have the best pacing out of any High Republic book I have read so far. So i don’t know what happened with Out of the Shadows.

The Plot Summary: After the horrible events of the Legacy Run getting destroyed in space (Light of the Jedi) it have caused ships to not go through hyperspace lanes, the starlight beacon is still on and the Nihil who are responsible are trying to make the starlight beacon not happen so they will control the outer rim without any Jedi. The Nihil attack a transport with the order to not allow survivors. Bombs blow holes in the ship with a lot of the escape transport already gone a Jedi sacrifices himself to get the children on the ship away. Vernestra a 16 full Jedi prodigy, Avon 12, a senator’s child that is spoiled but brilliant inventor, Imri 14, a Padawan to the Jedi that sacrificed himself, Honesty 12, a diplomat’s son that Jedi are uniting with and a big part of the starlight beacon and J-6 Avon’s nanny droid that she reprogramed to give sass. These teens must survive in the open space and get rescued with out the Nihil finding out their are survivors still alive.

What I Liked: This is a middle grade novel that does not placate down to children. It takes these teenagers and gives them real emotions and feelings. I was shocked at how this novel looks at death and sacrifice. The Jedi starting to turn to the dark side of the force made since and was pretty awesome how far it went. The pacing was so good, really fun and not predictable. I loved the character developments. I liked 3 out of the 4 of the main characters. I loved J-6 and her sass. I liked the Padawan Jedi dynamic at the end. I liked Sskeer the character that has been mostly in the comics making an appearance and having an impact.

What I Disliked: Honesty the character was the only one I did not feel connected to at all. This is a stand on story and doesn’t add anything to the lore of the High Republic.

Recommendation: I really enjoyed this story and recommend it not just for the middle grade audience I think there is a lot too love in the story. I would recommend reading this story before Out of the Shadows that features Vernestra and Imri, it adds to Imri and his Jedi power to control and feed off emotions, I did not like this novel but might have liked it a bit more if I knew more about these characters. I rated A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland 5 out of 5 stars. This story is my second favorite since the 1st volume of The High Republic graphic novel.