Book Review: The Crystal Crown

My recent Star Wars read was Tessa Gratton's The Crystal Crown. I really liked The Acolyte, and Jecki and Yord were my favorite characters from the series so I was so stoked for this book to come out- and it did not disappoint! If you wanted more of those two characters from the series, or if you just like fun Jedi adventures, then this book is very up your alley. It's a great character study for a pair we just did not get enough time with, filled with exploration of a whole new planet and its traditions, interesting new characters and twists and turns along the way.

Pick up your own copy of The Crystal Crown here!

Spoilers ahead for The Crystal Crown by Tessa Gratton!

I wanted to start off by commending the worldbuilding contained within this book. I love when Star Wars novels introduce a whole new planet, culture and people and then get to really dive deep into the geography, culture and way of life- its something I enjoyed in last year's Mace Windu novel, The Glass Abyss! The bulk of the book takes place on Siline, a crystaline planet where the people themselves have crystaline bones and horns. These people, the Silinese, have a culture with a lot of emphasis around honor and duels, in a way that sometimes reminded me somewhat of Mandalore.

The Republic and the Silinese are currently working out an agreement for Siline to join the Republic, and a previous Jedi ambassador had refused a duel with a Silinese official. The Jedi thought they were being polite, and were unaware that this was considered a great slight. That's where our main Jedi come in. With the Jedi, we get to learn all about the culture and traditions of Siline, including the Convocation, a series of competitions taken on by young people across the planet to prove themselves, which Jecki and Yord join as a show of the Jedi being interested in learning Silinese ways. We get to learn about the history of the Convocation as well- that it used to be bloody with fights to the death, though had been tamed down over the years.

It's always really fun to see the thought put into creating whole new worlds and cultures from the writers behind Star Wars, and I feel like the novels are always the perfect medium to allow them to get really in depth and even weird with it. Gratton does a phenomenal job at making everything we learn about Siline feel "real" and natural. We learn a lot about the planet and its people (mostly through Jecki and Yord either reading about it or something being explained to them) without it ever feeling like exposition is just being dumped on us.

We also get to spend a little bit of time with Master Sol from The Acolyte, and we meet Yord's master, Master Elishe. I know many turned on Sol by the end of the television series, but I still have a soft spot for him, and it really warmed me to see him in this book and learn more about his relationship with Jecki. While he isn't in the marjority of the book, whenever he is there has a warm, calming presence. It was interesting to see even a glimpse of him here- still grieving what has happened to Osha and dealing with it, but also in a (precarious, as we know from the show) state of balance.

His relationship with Jecki is really sweet, as he helps to ground her and make her feel safe and comforted. They have a deep understanding of each other, able to communicate wordlessly and anticipate what the other needs. Its a perfect Master-padawan connection, and I loved getting to see it here considering we didn't get terribly much time with it in the show. It was written really well and consistently, and I think that Gratton did a great job of giving us Sol from Jecki's perspective with just hidden whispers of acknowledgements of the darkness that we know is within from The Acolyte.

Yord, still a padawan, has a great relationship with his master as well- an almost opposite one. Where Jecki is fun-loving and a bit headstrong paired with a master that she describes as a boulder in a flowing stream, Yord is just as square and rigid as he is in the show, paired with a more carefree master. Similar to Jecki and Sol, there's a very clear care for each other and desire for Yord to make his master proud, but Yord has some extra frustration. He feels ready for his trials to become a Knight, yet his master hasn't brought it up that she thinks he's ready. It does create a bit of tension between them, added to by the fact that she likes to tease Yord and get him to loosen up a bit, something that's definitely not natural to him.

Jecki and Yord are seemingly so different as characters, as are Sol and Elishe, yet all of the relationships worked really well for me. The masters are kind to their padawans and a safe place for them to express their feelings, while also knowing how to prod and tease for their own amusement, and of course push the padawans to grow and improve, even it its out of their comfort zone- though they still check in and make sure they're alright. The way all of the interactions were written was really endearing, showing a level of comfortability and affection that's natural when people are so close, but also the natural friction that comes when people that are different from each other need to work together.

That does bring me to the relationship between Jecki & Yord themselves, the main focus of the novel. Jecki and Yord's fun, sibling-esque banter in The Acolyte was one of the highlights of the first set of episodes, so a whole book of it was just amazing for me. But beyond the funny push-and-pull of these characters that are so different from each other, there was a lot of heart that has since layered their interactions in the show even more for me.

One point of contention between the two is that they feel differently about where they are in their padawanship. While Yord is anxious about taking his Trials soon, worried about not being among the younger Jedi to take them, Jecki is much more relaxed. She's in no rush to become a Knight, enjoying her time as a padawan with Master Sol. To Yord, Jecki is stagnating and not truly trying to grow. To Jecki, Yord is too caught up in what other people think and rushing through his life. Throughout the book, they both grow to understand each others perspective without having to change their planned trajectory. Jecki still wants to remain a padawan, continue to push her skills and learn what she can from Master Sol, while Yord goes to take his trials with Master Elishe's approval.

Even outside of that rift, I loved the way that Jecki and Yord's relationship functioned throughout the book. When they step into the competition of the Convocation, they must work together- and that involves some teasing as well. There are many times where I laughed out loud at ways that they pushed each others buttons or were amused by each other (especially the times where Jecki would be amused by Yord's... well, Yord-ness). But there were also many times where I was touched by the clear care and connection between the two- like when they would check in on each other after something happened that didn't sit right with them or any distress when the other was hurt or in danger. I really, really loved the dynamic that they had- it not only fit perfectly with what we saw in The Acolyte, but grew naturally and affectionately throughout the book- and was just tons of fun to read.

If you've read The Crystal Crown, I'd love to know your thoughts too! And if you haven't, I'm still curious to know what your thoughts on Jecki and Yord from The Acolyte are, and if you're at all interested in more of their relationship!