Star Wars YA Canon Books Ranked!

[@jasonfrazier83]

I go through the books via the time line. I have trouble keeping track of what happens in what books. They all seem to run together. You do a great job breaking down each book

[@jonathankoan]

Thank you! Love talking about Star Wars Books.

[@prestonhawley3340]

I love this channel!! It’s great for people getting into canon books

[@unlikelyally5325]

Great video! Thanks for helping me decide which of these I may check out. I also really liked hearing tidbits about how like a book was #1 on NYT Bestseller one week and then dropped off dramatically.

[@aamj0050]

Great video. I hope you do this for middle grade books as well not just adult novels. Lost Stars would definitely be my number 1.

[@davidharperjr.7063]

I just finished Padawan and it immediately became my new favorite of the YA that I’ve read.

[@Revan-sk4qx]

I’ve only read four of these but I’m interested in many of them. Either Into the Dark or Lost Stars is probably my favorite so far. I picked up Princess of Alderaan recently so I look forward to reading that soon

[@hugosalcedo691]

I’ve read legends on and off again through the years; but I blame Ahsoka for been driving force that made me dive back in at full force on Star Wars books! My Star Wars book collection tripled after reading Ahsoka! Excellent review; specially for 3 books that weren’t even on my radar (Force Collector, Most Wanted and Crash of Fate) and just got ordered!!!

[@JoshEssex]

I haven't read any of your top 4 so I guess I need to get on that! We completely disagree on Queen's Peril though. I loved that book from beginning to end and it's one of my favorite pieces of Phantom Menace tie-ins now (along with Master & Apprentice)

[@justheathers]

This was amazing too! Loved this ranking. It's hard to find some of the YA Canon Books now, but I'll keep an eye out for more of the higher ranked books you shared in this video.

[@wisdomtoast6751]

Can't wait for the next vid

[@n3rd887]

I'd love to see your ranking of the middlegrade books

[@jonathankoan]

I’ve only read around 6 Middle Grade books in the canon, and there are quite a lot that I haven’t read, so I probably won’t do that until I catch up, which unfortunately won’t be soon because I have a lot of other books on my TBR.

[@parkerwilson123]

6:30 savage

[@palpatinesboi9549]

The only one that I would move drastically is Midnight Horizon. Other than that, of the ones I've read, I would say I generally agree with this list!

[@CranesComics]

I look forward to your adult books

[@SteveHolm89]

While I did enjoy Into the Dark, the 2 other HR YA books was not enjoyable at all. I really hope they improve the YA books of Phase 2. Padawan, initially had high hopes for this, but since it turned out "just ok", it's not high on my TBR list. Lost Star is great, one of the better SW books, not just YA. A sequel would be cool indeed. Both Leia and Ahsoka are of my fav SW books overall. Just amazing books. I don't see myself reading alot of the other YA books, except for the High Republic ones coming out. Hopefully they are somewhat connected to the overall story of Phase 2.

[@curtislovell8220]

Bro... Midnight Horizon is so good. Fun characters and some great action.

[@RyderWestwood]

Can we get an adult book list?

[@jonathankoan]

Yes, it is coming next week.

[@jasonfrazier83]

I don't care how you rank the books. It's the conversation I like.

[@MarceloGonzalez-on9jw]

You had me at "This book actually had 'some plot'... which is unique a for an E.K. Johnston book." I have been railing (largely on Reddit) against her being a Star Wars writer since "Ahsoka" came out and every novel she puts out is worse than the last one because no matter how much she writes, she doesn't learn, and she doesn't have a grasp of even the most basic tenets of writing a story. And then I kept expecting "Ahsoka" to come up and everything went by and before I knew it, what was basically a failed Clone Wars plot written by a bad writer was number one. As always, your list is bananas and entertaining if nothing else.

[@jonathankoan]

EK is quickly falling to be my least favorite current Star Wars author. The nostalgia of Ahsoka is really what holds it up for me, but I’m not sure if I on reflection it’ll stay my number one.

[@MarceloGonzalez-on9jw]

@@jonathankoan if not E.K., who would it be? Freed?

[@jonathankoan]

@@MarceloGonzalez-on9jw Of the current crop of writers (those who have written in the canon), it would have to be either Freed, Johnston, Sarah Kuhn, or Daniel Jose Older. They're all in my "I'll read it because it's star wars but I'm not excited about it" category. If we expand beyond the canon, but keep recent authors I really didn't like Ronin, so Emma Mieko Canon would have to go on the list).

[@chandlermenard9169]

I agree that Ahsoka is a pretty meh book, but Queen’s Peril is one of my favorite canon books that I’ve read. I know the plot is all over the place, but for some reason, I enjoyed and connected with the characters just so much. One of the most fun reads for me so far. But I’m also nowhere near as much of an avid book reader as most of the people in these comments.

[@_Asvaria]

I didn’t liked Leia but not because of a plot, Polish translation of name „Alderaan” and a lot of other original names/words hurt so bad I couldn’t survive even half of it 🙈

[@ghazan34567]

Which translations were the worst?

[@notobi-wan8344]

Very rarely these new canon books get transleted to finnish so i have to read them in English. And im actually happy for that. I recently re-read Force Unleashed comic book what was transleted to finnish and my god i cringed so hard with some translations.

[@holmesgirl3673]

I would never throw anything at you for "Lost Stars". My hate for that book knows no bounds

[@maclaine1138]

Hi! Sorry about the off-topic question: do you intend to read/review Star Wars Ronin?

[@jonathankoan]

I read it a while ago and really did not like it. I try to limit my 1 star reviews if possible, but that's why I haven't reviewed it.

[@masone1327]

I’m wondering what ya Star Wars book I should read next I haven’t read much Star Wars just Ashoka and the novelization of solo loved them both and currently reading into the dark liking it as well. What Star Wars ya should I read when done with into the dark

[@jonathankoan]

I would suggest Lost Staars, Rebel Rising, or Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Those are the best and most accessible YA Star Wars novels. But if you have time for the adult novels, I always recommend them first because I think that as a whole they are much better.

[@masone1327]

Which adult nobles would u recommend for someone who hasn’t read much Star Wars 200-400 pg

[@masone1327]

Novels

[@jonathankoan]

@@masone1327 I would suggest picking a novel that ties into your favorite movie. If you liked rogue one, read catalyst. If you like the prequel‘s, read Master and Apprentice, Brotherhood, or Kenobi. If you liked Clone Wars, Read Dark Disciple. I would follow that measure. In the canon, most novels are very accessible, so it’s not hard to jump into them. If you want to get into legends, it’s a more complicated answer.

[@RyderWestwood]

@@jonathankoan But Kenobi isn't canon. You mean Padawan?

[@bullrun2772]

I have differences of opinions with lost stars romance and feel like people already would know what the romance us like in lost stars I feel you didn’t buts that’s just me love lost stars I think I said that in twitter spaces

[@chloooooeeee24]

Padmé is one of my favorite characters and I was so disappointed how 100 pages were basically dedicated to her wedding in the third book of her trilogy. It felt like a simplification of her character and recused her to Anakins wife which I hated. I liked all the books because of Sabé and Padmés relationship but there was definitely a lot of flaws and the 2nd and 3rd books weren’t necessary

[@chloooooeeee24]

Reduced*

[@sunshinexsage8169]

I’m sick!

[@victorwright1967]

Can you expand on limiting your audience?

[@jonathankoan]

When most authors are writing a book, they try to be “4 quadrant authors” where you try to get a full fanbase. With Star Wars, the fanbase is already there, so your goal is to retain current readers while also trying to bring in new readers. Some authors recently have made decisions, inside and outside their story, that severely turn off a lot of people and aren’t necessarily guaranteed to bring in readers. This oftentimes is because of overt political messaging, but also comes from styles. A lot of the YA authors have tried to exclusively write for teenage girls, and have largely excluded the other portions of the fanbase. Obviously, we want to bring in readers of all types, including teenage girls, but it shouldn’t be a story to absolutely tick off other demographics. It hasn’t hurt the overall brand yet, but there has been a stigma recently around YA books (I admit I am apprehensive about reading any YA SW book now, because it’s happened so many times recently).