We enjoyed Poe Dameron's character in the Star Wars movies, so I really enjoyed reading about how he got started, and it was not at all what I thought it was going to be.
Poe goes from being a whiny, irresponsible teen (really, he puts Luke to shame!) to a somewhat responsible budding-young-adult by the end.
Poe wants to fly, so much so he climbs in his mother's old Rebellion A-wing and crashes it when he's forced to land by his planet's Civilian Defense Force. He can't stand that his father wants to keep him grounded, literally, on a farm, working with dirt and animals, afraid to lose his only son after his wife was killed.
Poe doesn't care if he hurts his father's feelings, but now he also has no wings. He goes to a local bar, where he catches a glimpse of Zori Wynn, an attractive human Spice runner his age (it's the meet-cute) whose captain is in "need" of -- aka just killed -- a pilot. And Poe manages to get invited to be the crew's next pilot.
And off he goes, tricking the planet's Defense Force into thinking he's being held captive by the Spice Runners so they let the Spice Runners bound away from the planet. Really, he's quite the irresponsible brat, not thinking of his father or what his disappearance and supposed "abduction" will do to his Dad. Or what lengths his father will go to track him down, later.
There's also a New Republic Security Officer tracking Poe and the Spice Runners, and she's got her own agenda -- and doesn't care who she takes down in the process.
Enjoy it! It's a great, fast-paced read, with a smudge of hinted-at romance that never quite materializes and ties in nicely to one of the Star Wars movies (you'll recognize it as the origin story of a particular woman bounty hunter, hint, hint!). A lot of fun.
