You know full well what I mean.

No, it’s canon. Disney bought Star Wars in 2012, so everything after that point is canon (with the exception of things like the Lego games and Visions)

Queen’s Shadow (2019) and Queen’s Hope (2022). It’s actually a trilogy of books. Queen’s Shadow, Queen’s Peril and Queen’s Hope.

Technically Padmé did try to free Shmi. She sent Sabé (played by Keira Knightley in the movie) to free as many slaves as she could find about four years after Episode 1, and Sabé did manage to free 25 other slaves, including Anakin’s childhood friends, but was unable to find Shmi since she had already been freed by that point and had left Mos Espa. The only sign Sabé could find was the symbol of the White Suns on the door, who were a slave liberation group (and of which Beru Lars was a member), and unfortunately they wouldn’t tell Sabé anything because they didn’t trust her, since she’d decided to try to get information out of local gangsters and criminals rather than going to the White Suns directly. Padmé wanted to send Sabé back to finish the mission, but by that point she was appointed senator and Sabé had other duties to protect her.