Max Nocerino 
“The Book Of Boba Fett Junior Novel adapts a TV show word for word for young readers to enjoy. Big deal. I wanted more,” says Max in his review
The Book of Boba Fett was a Disney+ exclusive Star Wars TV show that not many enjoyed. I enjoyed it, but many fans were left feeling unsatisfied. The show tied into the enormously popular The Mandalorian and was also written by Jon Favreau. So many fans assumed it would be a slam-dunk. However, Jon’s sophomore show was nowhere near as good as its predecessor. Ironically, some of the best parts of the limited series had nothing to do with Boba Fett at all and was basically a Mandalorian Season 2.5. At least for 2 episodes.
Many fans enjoyed seeing Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker interact, and the Child’s decision was very heartfelt and unexpected. There was also an awesome showdown in Mos Espa with two monstrosity droids from the almost bottomless lore of Star Wars. But now, a junior novelization has been released to complement the series. But can it hold a candle to Boba Fett’s live-action exploits?
JUNIOR NOVEL
I have NEVER read something as faithfully adaptable as this book. It basically was a word-for-word complete clone of its live-action adaptation. Joe Schrieber almost copied everything word for word in the book, and it almost begs the question. Did it offer anything new? Well… Not really. One of the most exciting things about novelizations of TV and movies is the chance to learn details that are only shown but not described in the show.
The novelization speaks from the point of view of the characters. And we usually get to hear their inner voices and perspectives. Unfortunately, this book really doesn’t do that and I basically re-watched the BOBF but just in my mind.
A LACK OF DEPTH
I was hoping we’d get a name for the horrifying monster that assaulted Boba and the Tusken child at the beginning of the series. I was also hoping to get a little more insight into Boba’s transformation from a cold-blooded killer into a “compassionate” crime boss. These wishes were not granted and I read the book feeling slightly cheated that I didn’t gain any new insights or got a behind-the-scenes experience. Very disappointing to say the least. This was a young reader, and although it didn’t enhance the show, it does provide a fast read that allows you to basically get the full story in roughly a few hours. (Depending on how fast a reader you are.)
VERDICT
As someone who is obsessed with the lore of Star Wars, I dug at any scraps they would give me. I walked away with the name of the cool scanner Mando uses on that ring station to find his kin. Big deal. I really wanted more. Yet, this book did what it set out to do. Adapt a TV-show word for word for young readers to enjoy. I’m not going to complain as I am hopeful for The Book of Boba Fett Season 2. You can certainly skip this book and look forward to the set-in-stone Mandalorian Season 3. Perhaps Boba will live on in that incarnation.
For its steadfast faithfulness to the series. 8 out of 10 Death Stars. As a read, 4.3 out of 10 Death Stars.
The Book of Boba Fett Junior Novel by Joe Schreiber is published by Disney Books and is available to order now.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
