Before the Awakening

Before the Awakening is an anthology book by Greg Rucka focusing on the lives of Finn, Rey, and Poe Dameron prior to the events of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. It was published by Disney–Lucasfilm Press on December 18, 2015. Intended for children ages eight to twelve, the book consists of 240 pages.

Official description
A companion piece to the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens character novels, Star Wars: Before the Awakening is an anthology book that focuses on the lives of Rey, Finn, and Poe before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Finn
The novel begins with a stormtrooper simulation training. Finn, Nines, Zeroes, and Slip are assaulting a Republic-held base. Finn is still known as FN-2187, not having a nickname that the other stormtrooper trainees use. Slip has been pinned down in cover and appears to be trapped. Zeroes and Nines urge Finn to complete their objective, leaving Slip behind. Finn orders the two others to split up, making them draw enemy fire and allowing Finn to save Slip, as well as giving him an opening to make it all the way to the Republic base and finish off the last Republic soldiers with a grenade.

Captain Phasma congratulates the squad on a job well done, before mentioning to Finn that he shouldn't help weaker cadets as it will only hurt the group. Finn stars having doubts and begins to feel separate from the group.

Later on, the trainees fight with weapons like vibro-axes and other melee weapons, some of which can even combat lightsabers. Slip is injured in the fighting, and when he goes up against Finn he defeats him easily, but doesn't hurt him, in an attempt to stop Slip from being hurt by someone else. Phasma again questions Finn's actions and orders him to stop.

Zeroes, Nines, and Slip are excited to learn that they will soon be deployed, and they were right, to a mining colony located in an asteroid field known as Pressy's Tumble. The troopers are ordered to kill what Phasma said were Republic agents causing dissent and chaos in the mining operation. Finn didn't pull the trigger while his fellow stormtroopers killed them. After returning to their ship, Finn participated in extra training simulations instead of celebrating with the others, and began to feel even more distant.

Captain Phasma, readying to welcome Kylo Ren onboard, decided to give Finn one last chance to prove himself on Jakku, giving him one last chance to become a real stormtrooper.