Leia , Princess of Alderaan Leia , Princess of Alderaan is a young - adult novel written by Claudia Gray and published by Disney – Lucasfilm Press . It was released on September 1 , 2017 , as part of . Publisher ' s summary . " It is Leia Organa ' s sixteenth birthday and she participates in the traditional ceremony where she declares her intention to one day take the throne of Alderaan . But she ' s much more concerned about the way her parent s are acting lately : lots of meetings and late dinners and not talking to her as much as they used to . Eventually she discovers the reason for their secrecy : their involvement in the increasingly organized rebellion . When Leia decides to become involved herself in the fight against the Empire , whether her parents approve or not , she will have to prove to them that she is a valuable asset who must be allowed to take a stand , regardless of the risk to herself . Her stand will also put her at odds with a pacifist young Alderaanian man who gives Leia her first kiss … and her first real loss . " Plot summary . The Day of Demand . Prince ss Leia Organa is preparing for her Day of Demand , with the help of her attendant droid WA - 2V . She ' s nervous , and has to hurry to the throne room once she ' s finally ready . In the antechamber , she readies herself , and takes the Rhindon Sword down from the wall , surprised by its weight . The curtain is pulled back , and all two hundred guests turn to look at Leia , who marches forward , sword held high . She approaches the dais where her parents , Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail sit . As Leia reaches the dais , Breha calls out the opening line of the ceremony , and Leia announces herself , with the variant line for when the heir is adopted . The ceremony continues , with Leia naming the challenges of the body , mind and heart she will complete in order to prove herself worthy to inherit : climbing Appenza Peak , representing Alderaan in the Apprentice Legislature and undertaking charity missions to needy planet s . Breha asks the audience to bear witness , and the guests cheer . Leia is dejected when her parents turn away to greet guests instead of congratulating her , although Lord Mellowyn of Birren tells her she was " wonderful " . For the past six months , Leia ' s parents have been ebbing away , paying her far less attention than they used to : Bail is constantly busy with private meetings with senator s from faraway worlds , and Breha has suddenly turned into a society hostess , constantly throwing extravagant banquets that last nearly until dawn . That night , watching a storm from her bedroom window , Leia vows to do something too great for her parents to ignore . A mercy mission . The next day , Leia heads to the Aldera spaceport to set out on her first relief mission . 2V reminds the princess to show respect to the Imperial officials she deals with . Leia is privately thrilled that she can now request the use of the " Tantive IV " , and is met outside the ship by Captain Raymus Antilles . She thanks him for readying the ship so quickly , and after he tells her they can be underway within the hour , Leia is struck by the realization that he doesn ' t yet see her as a leader . The trip to Wobani is swift and uneventful , and Leia spends it checking the corvette ' s cargo . The planet ' s economy has completely collapsed as a result of the Commodities Enhancement Program , and Leia is angry that none of the senators , including her father , have spoken out about the suffering of its people . So she hasn ' t told her parents where she ' s going . When the " Tantive IV " lands , Leia is shocked when she sees the extent of what has happened to Wobani and its people . She is met by an Imperial officer who , once informed that Leia is ready to get started , calls off the stormtrooper s guarding the landing pad , and the starving residents of the camp flood towards the ship . Leia , enraged when she sees the officer smirking at the Alderaanians ' difficulties in setting up amid the crowd , grabs a loudhailer and yells for everyone to stop , giving orders so the distribution of aid can begin in an orderly fashion . Once the aid is being distributed , Antilles remarks that the deprivation of the Wobani reminds him of how fortunate they are on Alderaan . Leia , wondering how she is supposed to turn away , decides she ' s going to evacuate as many refugees from the planet as can fit on her ship . Captain Antilles is dubious about the idea , as Leia explains that she ' s going to talk to the official in charge , believing that he ' ll agree because she ' s helping to solve his problems . Antilles doubts it , as Imperial officers aren ' t known for flexibility , and orders Lieutenant Ress Batten to accompany Leia to the Imperial headquarters . On the way there , Batten notes the refugees ' lack of vehicles , speculating that they weren ' t allowed to bring them , and disapprovingly notes the Emperor ' s tendency to cause more suffering if a plan of his unintentionally creates suffering . The head Imperial , Major Tedam , refuses to budge at Leia ' s request , stating he lacks the authority to renegotiate the terms of their landing permit and that her ship can only depart with crew onboard . Upon returning to the " Tantive IV " , Leia , refusing to give up on her plan , is inspired by the sight of an old woman sewing to " hire " some refugees as crew for the ship in order to get people offworld . Since the corvette only has room for 100 more people , Leia goes looking for that number of the neediest refugees , including the old woman and her husband . After the " Tantive IV " departs , Tedam angrily attempts to call the Alderaanians out for violating the terms of their landing permit , and Leia calmly states that they have done no such thing . Antilles informs the princess that she will have to tell the queen about this . Due to Imperial travel restrictions , the " Tantive IV " must pass through Calderos Station , a deep - space waypoint , on its way back to Alderaan . Upon arriving , the crew is shocked to see that the station has been attacked . They are approached by a patrol of TIE fighters who demand they identify themselves , and once the corvette ' s identity is verified , they are ordered to leave immediately . Leia notes that the damage to the station makes it easier for people to travel through the region clandestinely , and realizes that people aren ' t just complaining about the Empire anymore – they ' re fighting back . Upon their return to Alderaan , Lieutenant Batten tells Leia that she informed Central they were coming , and Captain Antilles , seeming oddly distracted , says he should contact the viceroy . Leia wonders why , as the viceroy only handles off - planet affairs , the actual governing of the planet being done by the queen . Just then , a droid announces Queen Breha ' s arrival , as she enters with a large entourage . Breha addresses the refugees , welcoming them to Alderaan and promising them all a stipend so they can start their new lives . The refugees cheer , and Breha walks over to Leia and gives her a hug . Then , displeased , she orders Leia to the palace immediately . In the palace library , Breha scolds Leia for going on a mission to a planet in a dangerous situation without informing her parents , as they have important business . Leia angrily asks if the " important business " is planning another dinner party , and Breha raises her voice , a rare occurrence . Leia explains that she went to Wobani because there were people in need , and Breha says she knows how desperate they are , but that the planet is one of many loose threads that could become a fuse . Leia wonders what she means . Breha calls Leia out on her lie of omission about her mission , and after Leia nods , the queen explains that she ' s spent several hours dealing with angry Imperial officials who don ' t like the idea of being tricked by a young girl . She stresses that Alderaan cannot afford to be associated with any " dissident action " , and Leia asks if they shouldn ' t " want " to do something about the Empire , as she thought she would help someplace that really needed it . Breha tells Leia that her father and his allies in the Senate have been conducting secret negotiations for resettlement of the people of Wobani for months . Leia is horrified when Breha explains that her actions have destroyed all of Bail ' s hard work , stating that she ' s trusting her daughter with this because she ' s nearly an adult . Breha says that in a few months , Bail might be able to restart negotiations , and tells Leia to choose her missions more carefully from now on . Leia responds that she does have a reason why she didn ' t talk to her parents : because they didn ' t have time . Breha apologizes , and heads off to her books . Leia , walking through the palace , passes her father ' s office and sees him talking to Captain Antilles , and is hurt by the fact that the captain had a chance to report to Bail before she had a chance to talk to him . Pathfinding . The day after , Leia catches a ride on a suborbital jumper belonging to the Alderaanian royal guard to her first pathfinding class . Upon arriving at the chalet , she introduces herself to the students already there : Chassellon Stevis of Coruscant , Harp Allor of Chandrila , Sssamm Ashsssen of Fillithar , and an Ithorian . Leia is struck by the next person she meets , a tall girl with green hair in a garishly coloured jumpsuit who eventually introduces herself as Amilyn Holdo of Gatalenta , stating that she hopes the course is dangerous because she wants to get comfortable with the nearness and inevitability of death , which weirds Leia out . The course instructor arrives with the rest of the students , including Kier Domadi , the other Alderaanian Apprentice Legislator , and Leia introduces herself to him . The instructor introduces herself as Chief Pangie of the Chandrilan Pathfinding Corps , and explains that over the next several months the class will be going to many different worlds . Pangie demands that everyone show their field generator s , and once she ' s satisfied , the class sets off . Five hours later , Leia and most of the other students are exhausted as they trudge into a small clearing in the forest , where they find a hoversled . The Chief reveals that it ' s her hoversled , and before departing announces to the students that their next challenge is to find their way back to the chalet before nightfall , or they will get kicked out of the class , to the students ' shock . As the students slowly make their way back , they bicker over how fast everyone should be going , while Amilyn looks for snow owl s . At a lightning - killed tree , Leia and Kier remember that the group needs to turn west . Harp , rushing ahead , slips on ice and breaks her ankle . This prompts an argument , as Leia and Kier refuse to leave Harp in the woods , while Chassellon thinks that , as all of the students have trackers , they should leave Harp behind and hurry to reach the chalet before the sunset deadline . He insinuates that Leia has to stay behind with Harp to keep up appearances , which infuriates her . Chassellon persuades half the class to leave with him , with only the Ithorian even pausing to give an apologetic nod . Only Amilyn and Sssamm stay with Leia , Kier and Harp . Leia , left in charge , decides they will go west . Later , as Amilyn takes her turn dragging the makeshift travois Kier made to carry Harp , she points out a " bright side " to the situation : " Who would ' ve guessed we ' d encounter mortal peril so soon ? " Harp does not find this comforting , and tearfully apologizes for slowing them down . Kier reassures her that nobody learns anything new without failing the first few times , and tells Leia that he ' s noticed she holds herself to a higher standard , because she is royalty . Shortly , the group arrives at a wide , snowy slope , too steep to easily walk down . Sssamm , with his sharp Fillithar vision , spots Chassellon ' s group about two kilometers ahead . Amilyn mentions that she used to love tobogganing when she was a little girl . As Leia , Kier and Sssamm discuss how to carry Harp , Amilyn pulls an emergency tent out of her pack , revealing that they can flatten it out to create a makeshift toboggan . Kier points out it will be difficult to steer , and Sssamm slithers onto the tent , using his coils to hold out the edges and sticking his tail into an unfastened flap to create a sail . They set out down the slope . At sunset , Chassellon and his group , tired and miserable , arrive at the chalet , and are stunned to find Leia ' s group lounging at the hearth drinking mocoa . Chief Pangie scolds Chassellon for not showing compassion , and when he states he ' ll tell Queen Breha about what happened , Leia informs him that the exercise was actually her mother ' s idea , to the Coruscanti ' s shock . When Leia arrives home , cheerful , she asks a guard if she can see her parents , and is deflated when told that they ' re planning a banquet and gave instructions not to be disturbed . Reception . The first printing of the book contained the words " , " with Leia Organa atributing them to an Alderaanian philosopher . The words were also coincidentally used as a slogan by . This generated much controversy on platforms , such as , which led to a response by a Disney – Lucasfilm Press representative with a quote by the author of the novel , Claudia Gray , claiming she did not know the real - life history of the phrase when she wrote the book and apologised for its used in such context . The phrase was changed to " Joy drives out fear " in later editions of the novel . Legacy . On December 12 , 2017 , it was announced that LINE will be publishing a manga adaptation of the novel .