Star Wars: The High Republic: Escape from Valo

"Star Wars: The High Republic: Escape From Valo" is the first middle-grade book in the third phase of the High Republic publishing initiative. It was published in January 2024 and written by Alyssa Wong and Daniel José Older. The story is set one year after the events of Phase One and the fall of the Starlight Beacon, and takes place on the planet Valo, which is hosting the Republic Fair, as seen in the second adult novel of Phase One, "The Rising Storm" (Cavan Scott) and "Race to Crashpoint Tower" (Daniel José Older), and is now occupied by the Nihil. Ram Jomaram, in the persona of "Scarlet Skull" from "Midnight Horizon" (Daniel José Older), attempts to sabotage these invaders. He meets a group of Younglings left on the planet, as well as a young pirate, and has to learn what it means to take responsibility for younger beings. Together, the group tries to stop the Nihil from their mission on Valo and get them to leave the planet. The two authors have created an action-packed and exciting story. The focus is clearly on the characters and they are all well developed. As you would expect from the two authors, Escape from Valo is full of queer representation, but friendship, responsibility and trust are also big parts of this story and provide good values and lessons for the target audience (young readers). I think many queer people at this age would have needed and loved a book like this. SPOILER<spoiler>The Writing:Even though this is a book for a younger audience, it has very engaging writing that feels more like a young adult book than Middle Grade. This is something refreshing for the Middle Grade books in the High Republic, we had some of this in Phase One, but in Phase Two the Middle Grade books had a too simple writing style for me personally, this is completely different in "Escape from Valo" and I love it very much. The Characters:As I said, the characters are the main focus of the book. Even though we have quite a lot of characters, they all get enough personality and development. Some more than others, but no one feels left out and they are all so lovable!Ram Jomaram is as adorable as ever. Still a child himself, he has to act as an adult and take care of his little family. Even though he has to deal with the loss of his friends who presumably died on Starlight, he still has a big heart and tries to stay positive. Of the group of Younglings, Gavi is definitely the main protagonist. We have a lot of PoV chapters from his perspective and he makes most of the story relevant decisions. Like Ram, he takes responsibility for his friends Tep Tep and Kildo, with whom he is secretly in love, but does not know if he should tell him because it is against the Jedi dogma of no attachments. Unlike Ram, he is not really ready for this huge task. He is overwhelmed and haunted by trauma. He has experienced the Nameless first hand and feels guilty for leaving his best friend Driggit behind without saying goodbye. So he tries to escape from Valo without telling his friends. But Zyle Keem, the third protagonist of this book, convinces him to stay and help his friends. As you can see, he is like an anchor point for all the main characters and is developed the most. Zyle Keem, grandchild of Saya Keem from the High Republic Adventures comic of Phase 2, is also a highlight of this book, they are another brilliant representation of non-binary people in Star Wars. They are also full of energy and try to seek emancipation from their mother, even though she only wants the best for them. They are really smart and behind their tough persona they are very observant and help Gavi to overcome his fears. I want to see more of them! I mentioned before that some characters do not get as much focus as others. Unfortunately, Kildo gets the least attention. He has the same feelings for Gavi as Gavi has for him. This is adorable and I love this character very much. But he doesn't get much to set him apart from the other protagonists. Tep Tep, on the other hand, is given a lot of personality. She is confirmed Transgender HUGE W. Her connection to animals is her most prominent character trait and is relevant to the plot in many ways. She is adorable, but where is the Nexu plush from the cover? Have I missed something?But every story needs antagonists. Driggit Parse, Gavi's best friend, has joined the Nihil. Her reasons may seem noble - she wants the best for her homeworld - but the Nihil slowly corrupts her. She helps the Jedi, but in the end she tragically joins them for good and betrays her friends. I look forward to seeing more of her in future stories. Other important characters are the overconfident Niv Drendow and his little Nameless Pup, as well as Jedi Master Kunpar, who had a small role in Crashpoint Tower, but is more important here. Both are fine and cool, but this is not really their Story. They are Important figures for the main Characters tho and so deserve a mention. The Plot:The plot itself has a rather simple structure. This is perfectly fine for the Gnere this book is written in and I have no problem with it at all. I love that older stories are incorporated into this story, these connections and references strengthen the continuity and is my favourite thing about Star Wars novels in general. Most importantly, of course, is the plot of Rising Storm, which takes place on Valo and introduces the Innovater, whose wreckage is important for Escape from Valo. The bacta shortage caused by the occupation of Hetzal is brilliant, and it is interesting that bacta is already so important, even though it is a fairly new thing to the galaxy. It reminded me a lot of the "X-Wing" novels by Michael Stackpole or "The Stark Hyperspace War" from the Republic comics. Sure, you can say that it is very convenient that the Innovator has a huge stock of Bacta on board and that it is still intact, but that is fine for me. And yes, it is odd that the Nihil need special equipment to dive down there, even though they have a Mon Calamari with them on Valo. But these are nitpicks, and in an adult novel I would be far more critical, but for a middle-grade book with the characters in focus, this is perfectly fine. And yes, the book has a lot of fanservice, especially to the Phase 2 adventures. But I am the fan being served here, so I am biased. The fanservice was not a problem for me and worked well.Conclusion & Thoughts:To sum up, I can only say that I am thrilled. I had a lot of fun with this book and wasn't bored for a second. Yes, of course some of the characters were not developed en as much as others, of course the plot is very simple, but I can overlook that because I had so much fun. The artwork inside is also beautiful again, and gives a visual for the characters. It's a big win for queer representation in Star Wars and I want more of these characters. Also, not only is there a Muun in this book, but Muunilinst is mentioned. How could I not love that book?Another interesting thing: The Sith are suspiciously mentioned a lot. What does that mean? Am I just delusional? I don't know.</spoiler>All in all just a super entertaining book. Thanks Alyssa and Daniel! I highly recommend it! Especially for fans of the High Republic adventure comics and Midnight Horizon.4.5/5