The first one is Star Wars: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy: An Original Retelling of Star Wars: a New Hope by Alexandra Bracken. I liked the narrative from the three different perspectives of the tale. The story is told first from Leah's perspective, then Hans, and then Luke. If I wasn't familiar with the movie I might have been a little confused by what actually happened because some events were explained later. For example, everything that happened on Tatooine with Luke and his aunt and uncle was not explained until after everyone was together at Mos Eisley, and some things were explained through dialogue. Personally, I think it would have worked better if the 3 characters stories were overlapping. However, it was still a very enjoyable read and I'm sure any middle grade Star Wars fan will enjoy it.
My favorite of the trilogy was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back So You Want to Be a Jedi? by Adam Gidwitz. I may be biased; I have enjoyed Adam Gidwitz's work ever since he came to my school a few years ago promoting his Tale Dark and Grimm series. He is an amazing storyteller and his voice really comes through in this work too! Interspersed through the story are exercises on how to become a Jedi, including lessons on meditation and self-control. This may be the only children's book I've ever read that uses a 2nd-person narrative - you, the reader, are Luke Skywalker - and in my opinion Gidwitz is able to make this work very successfully! It definitely is a different take on the story but I love the voice.
Finally, Tom Angleberger, of Origami Yoda fame, wrote Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Beware the Power of the Dark Side! The story is told sprinkled with author's asides to the reader, along with the occasional footnote (many of which are quite funny).
All of these books have been extremely popular in my library. I never see them and the hold list is growing!
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