Star Wars: Queen’s Peril

Queen Amidala is more then she seems. In fact, she’s not just one person. When fourteen-year-old Padme Naberrie wins the election for the queen, she leaves her family and safety to live in the palace and serve her people. Five girls are picked for their skills to be her handmaidens, assistants, confidants, defenders, and decoys. It won’t be easy; tensions arise and it’s up to Padme to pull them together, but can she do it before they face a challenge bigger than any of them are prepared for?

Padme’s story begins before The Phantom Menace then skims over the events at the end, telling the story of what was going on behind the scenes. The perspective bounces around some to other characters we know from the movies, making it confusing at times. All the handmaidens, including Padme, are different from each other yet similar enough that it’s realistic that they all are friends. As much as I loved this book I had a hard time remembering what name goes to which character, especially the handmaidens, as they all have similar names.