The High Republic: A Test of Courage – A Disney Nerds Book Club Review
We’re back with this month’s Disney Nerds Book Club Review, and we are off on the next installment of The High Republic! We are talking about “The High Republic: A Test of Courage” by Justina Ireland. This book is a part of the series that was designed for middle school-aged kids, but I didn’t want to miss any stories from The High Republic, and neither should you.
Spoiler Alert
We meet up with Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh who is only fifteen! She is given her first assignment which is to protect Avon Starros, the daughter of Senator Ghirra Starros. But Vernestra has her hands full because Avon is not a typical twelve-year-old. She is a very talented inventor, and her rebellious nature has gotten her into trouble one too many times for her mother. The Senator is sending her to Port Heileap which she hopes will keep Avon from getting into more trouble.
For their trip to Port Heileap, they are invited on the ship, Steady Wing, by Jedi Master Douglas Sunvale. He hopes that Avon will befriend Honesty Weft who is the twelve-year-old son of the Dalnan ambassador. Honesty doesn’t want to be aboard the Steady Wing. He wishes he was back home where other Dalnans his age are taking part in their Metamorphosis Trials. The trials are a vocational training program that prepares young Dalnans for the harsh realities of life on Dalna.
Once the ship takes off, they are all at dinner (Vernestra, Avon, Master Douglas, Honesty Weft, and his father) and are joined by Master Douglas’ Padawan, Imri Cantaros. They are discussing many things including the ambassador’s concern about “The Great Disaster” which was the destruction of the Legacy Run that we read about in previous books in this series. Master Douglas tries to reassure the ambassador that everything is ok when the ship experiences a crash. Master Douglas asks Vernestra to lead an evacuation off the ship.
They soon discover the escape pods are missing. Master Douglas fears more explosions can cause the ship to break apart so he uses the Force to push Imri, Vernestra, Honesty, Avon, and J-6 (Avon’s droid) into a different compartment of the hallway before a bulkway closes. The bulkway closure separates the group of young people from the adults. Vernestra takes the lead of the young people and they end up in a hangar and discover a shuttle which they escape. Their escape was narrow because as the shuttle gets away, the Steady Wing explodes. The group finds what appears to be a moon called Wevo and they land there.
But are they safe? Are they able to find a way home? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
Even though this book is considered for middle school-aged kids, I liked it. It’s basically a side story to the main story of this series but it lets you get to know these characters better and they’ll probably show up in future books. I recommend it for any age, it’s a great book for younger readers that love Star Wars as well as adults! I personally can’t wait to see where these characters end up in the rest of the series.
