Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi
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- Create Date：2021-12-15 09:51:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：F.C. Yee
- ISBN：1419740954
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Summary
From the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender comes the instant USA Today and New York Times bestselling novel starring Avatar Kyoshi--now in paperback
After years of searching for the next Avatar， the four nations have found peace with Avatar Yun--until Kyoshi， Yun's friend and servant， demonstrates remarkable bending abilities herself。 With the identity of the true Avatar After nine years of desperate searching for the next Avatar， the discovery of young， charming Avatar Yun has brought stability to the four nations--that is， until Earth Kingdom-born Kyoshi， Yun's unassuming friend and servant， demonstrates remarkable bending during a mission to the South Pole。 With the identity of the true Avatar at stake and the growing unrest among her allies turning into violence， Kyoshi is forced to flee the Avatar mansion with her fiery friend Rangi， taking little more than the metal war fans and headdress her parents left behind。
It isn't easy finding Avatar training on the run， but Kyoshi and Rangi find unlikely supporters in the daofei: ragtag criminals and outlaws living in the shadows of the Earth Kingdom。 Torn between following the traditional path of an Avatar and seeking vengeance for those she has lost， Kyoshi struggles to accept her newfound power as she trains in secret。 But while Kyoshi， Rangi， and her daofei friends face off against brutal underworld rivals， those who seek to control the Avatar draw ever closer to her， leaving trails of the dead in their wake。
The story behind the longest-living Avatar in the history of this beloved world， The Rise of Kyoshi maps Kyoshi's journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice still feared and admired centuries after becoming the Avatar。
After years of searching for the next Avatar， the four nations have found peace with Avatar Yun--until Kyoshi， Yun's friend and servant， demonstrates remarkable bending abilities herself。 With the identity of the true Avatar After nine years of desperate searching for the next Avatar， the discovery of young， charming Avatar Yun has brought stability to the four nations--that is， until Earth Kingdom-born Kyoshi， Yun's unassuming friend and servant， demonstrates remarkable bending during a mission to the South Pole。 With the identity of the true Avatar at stake and the growing unrest among her allies turning into violence， Kyoshi is forced to flee the Avatar mansion with her fiery friend Rangi， taking little more than the metal war fans and headdress her parents left behind。
It isn't easy finding Avatar training on the run， but Kyoshi and Rangi find unlikely supporters in the daofei: ragtag criminals and outlaws living in the shadows of the Earth Kingdom。 Torn between following the traditional path of an Avatar and seeking vengeance for those she has lost， Kyoshi struggles to accept her newfound power as she trains in secret。 But while Kyoshi， Rangi， and her daofei friends face off against brutal underworld rivals， those who seek to control the Avatar draw ever closer to her， leaving trails of the dead in their wake。
The story behind the longest-living Avatar in the history of this beloved world， The Rise of Kyoshi maps Kyoshi's journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice still feared and admired centuries after becoming the Avatar。
Reviews
Erynn
，
Parts of this book were a little slow， but it was only one or two。 Otherwise， this book was amazing！ I love anything having to do with the world of Avatar。 I loved seeing Kyoshi and the version of the world that she lived in。
Lance Shadow
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After taking a long hiatus on in depth reviews， I'm back looking at more tie-in fiction， which is my primary motivation for reading novels: to experience more of the wider worlds and universes of my favorite fictional media franchises。 Avatar: The Last Airbender （ATLA） is my favorite TV series of all time， even if Star Wars is my favorite franchise overall。 I've been making my way through Avatar content over the years with The Legend of Korra （or LOK， which unfortunately I did not like very much After taking a long hiatus on in depth reviews， I'm back looking at more tie-in fiction， which is my primary motivation for reading novels: to experience more of the wider worlds and universes of my favorite fictional media franchises。 Avatar: The Last Airbender （ATLA） is my favorite TV series of all time， even if Star Wars is my favorite franchise overall。 I've been making my way through Avatar content over the years with The Legend of Korra （or LOK， which unfortunately I did not like very much）， and the graphic novels focusing on Aang and his friends after the ending of ATLA's third season。 The most recent foray into this universe for me is the Kyoshi Novels。 And at least for the first in the Kyoshi duology， "The Rise of Kyoshi"， I have read this one twice now。 I plan on reviewing The Shadow of Kyoshi after I read that one a second time。 But for now， lets look at the origins of Avatar Kyoshi- the one who came just before Avatars Roku， Aang， and Korra。 THE AUDIO: while I usually talk about this later in my reviews if I listen to the audiobook， I think its more important to bring it up early- because that had a big influence on my shifting opinions with both this book and what I hope will be the case with The Shadow of Kyoshi。 When I first read this duology it was through the audiobooks- and to be frank， they left something to be desired， utterly failing to do these books justice。 I'm sure Nancy Wu is a wonderful person， and I will still give her credit in that the voices she did for the characters were actually quite good。 But her narration。。。 I feel bad for being so harsh， because YIKES。 Wu's narration for both of these novels was so bland and monotonous that she made these books look/sound so much worse than they actually are。 It was only after I read this book in print alongside my fiance that I found more to appreciate here。THE STORY: When we first were introduced to Avatar Kyoshi in ATLA， it was only in legend and heresay。 With this novel and its sequel， we finally get a glimpse at who she was。 The Kyoshi novels are an origin story for the one who would go on to separate Kyoshi Island from the mainland Earth Kingdom continent， as well as create the infamous Dai Li agents。 Our story begins 400 years before the events of ATLA。 After the death of Kyoshi's predecessor， the water bender Kuruk， his companions- earth bender Jianzhu， fire bender Hei-Ran， and air bender Kelsang， rush to find the next avatar and avoid repeating what they saw as Kuruk's mistakes。 They scour the Earth Kingdom for 7 years and find a boy named Yun， who they misidentify as the next Earth Avatar。 But when the truth eventually reveals itself， Jianzhu directs his efforts toward Kyoshi and she is forced to flee。 Yun's former bodyguard， Hei-Ran's fire-bending daughter Rangi， accompanies Kyoshi on her quest for revenge against Jianzhu， even as he continues hunting her。 They come across a group of bandits and thieves （whom along with pirates are referred to as "Dao-Fei" in these books） called the Flying Opera Company on their ensuing adventures- consisting of water bender Kirima and earthbenders Wong， Lek， and Lao Ge。 They agree to train Kyoshi to prepare her for her reunion with Jianzhu in return for helping them on their various missions and heists。 THE BAD: While the audiobook version of "The Rise of Kyoshi" does this book absolutely no favors and sucks out almost everything that made this an enjoyable read in print， there's still some significant problems that not even another narrator such as January LaVoy， music from either ATLA or LOK， and/or bending sound effects could have smoothed over。 The problems I'm going to bring up here are specifically from the text itself。My biggest problem is the plot， specifically in the second half。 Conceptually， everything about this story should work- and it actually does for a large part of the novel （more on that later）。 But once Kyoshi and Rangi meet the rest of what FC Yee refers to as Kyoshi's "Team Avatar" in the forward， the novel's pacing is thrown out of balance （see what I did there？）。 I will elaborate on why I absolutely LOVED the first half later， but once the plot reaches a certain beat （view spoiler）[ when Kyoshi and Rangi join the flying opera company （hide spoiler）]， the second half grinds to a screeching halt and suddenly starts meandering and dragging its feet。 For much of the first roughly 200-250 pages， especially the first 3rd， I was hooked by all of the twists and turns this novel took。 But then the story slows down and becomes more generic and predictable until close to the end。 The weakness of the plot in the second half could have been more forgivable if all of the characters were interesting enough to carry the story- after all， even almost all of the "lesser" episodes of ATLA still ranged from good-to-great because of how invested we were in the brilliant characters。 But here， much of Kyoshi's Team Avatar didn't really land for me the way FC Yee was probably hoping。 We learn a bit about Lek and his relationship with the past leaders of the group， but Yee doesn't explore it enough for his backstory to rise above "Mommy and Daddy Issues"。 Kirima and Wong get it even worse- by the end of the book I didn't know ANYTHING about them。 Kirima was just "water bender" and Wong was "the muscle [，who also know how to earth bend]"。THE GOOD: Especially after reading this book a second time， I found far more to appreciate。 The first half of the novel was honestly masterful。 FC Yee does an amazing job setting the story up- even with the false avatar plotline。 Despite knowing that the lie will eventually reveal itself （because the book isn't "The Rise of Yun"） I was surprisingly very invested in the plot leading up to this reveal， and the payoff was really well done。 The only twist that I could see coming was the false Avatar reveal， and that one was telegraphed from the second chapter。 Yee does a great job introducing the pieces and putting it all together， but he also ensures that the momentum keeps going afterwards。 Most importantly （and why this did NOT turn out to be a disaster like Rebel Rising， another YA novel that had a far better first half than second）， the finale sticks the landing in a very satisfying way。 It does a great job wrapping up Kyoshi's character arc so far， and throws in a twist that genuinely shocked me the first time （the surprise in my fiance's voice was PRICELESS） and sets up the second book quite nicely。 While not every character works， I really liked most of them。 Starting with Kyoshi herself， FC Yee ensures that her story can't be missed- there's far more to explore with this Avatar than the mere glimpses we see in ATLA。 Her origins are interesting， she has an interesting personality， and her motivations are compelling throughout the novel。 You also get to see origins/explanations for pretty much every piece of her character design in ATLA， but none of it feels overly forced。 In particular， I really liked how FC Yee elaborated on why Kyoshi uses her fans， and it contributes nicely to both the overall story and Kyoshi's character。 （view spoiler）[ Additionally， I LOVED the romance between Kyoshi and Rangi。 Honestly， to me the Kyoshi+Rangi romance is everything that the Korra+Asami romance was going for but SO MUCH BETTER。 Feel free to take my opinion on whether this is LGBTQ+ representation done right or not with a grain of salt because I'm a cis-het white man， but I view this as representation done right。 It feels like there was a natural and compelling buildup， and the first kiss scene is precious as hell。 I had no problem believing that these two were in love。 （hide spoiler）]Next there's Rangi， who is a great companion and foil to Kyoshi。 She has a sense of honor akin to the fire nation， but is also adaptable when the situation calls for it。 She's got a strong-willed personality and is a capable fighter but isn't edgy just because firebender， and she also gets her chances to show vulnerability as well。 Jianzhu makes for a fairly solid villain。 He poses a credible threat to Kyoshi and her companions， and whenever he shows up on the page he never fails to be intimidating。 He also has compelling motivations and enough personality so even though he is a despicable person， Yee does a good job helping the audience understand why he is the way he is。 As for the other notable characters who get less page time， they work well for what they need to do。 For anyone who is familiar with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords， you'll probably find many parallels between Kreia and the character of Lao Ge。 While the similarities are close enough that I swear FC Yee played KOTOR 2 and was so drawn to Kreia that he wanted to add an equivalent to the Avatarverse， that isn't a bad thing。 The two characters have enough differences for Lao Ge to stand on his own， and his gray morals and philosophy still add an interesting element to Kyoshi's story。 I also enjoyed Kelsang and his relationship to Kyoshi， as well as Hei-Ran。 If there is one aspect that was night and day improved for me when I read the book in print instead of listened to the audiobook， it's the bending sequences。 This is the part that suffered the most from the audiobook。 Yee's bending sequences are awesome。 They are filled with tension and he does a great job describing the sequences as they play out。 In addition， there's a perfect balance with the amount of bending that occurs in the book- the book isn't light on bending， but here isn't so much that the book uses it as a crutch。 Most importantly， there's a surprising amount of variety to the bending sequences， so whenever an action scene occurs， most of them stand out and are impactful enough to remember。THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3。5 stars。 I would have rounded down if all I had was the audiobook， but I'm rounding up because I got to read the print version with my fiance。 While "The Rise of Kyoshi" is flawed， I still enjoyed it and found it to be a worthy addition to the Avatar universe。 I already enjoyed The Shadow of Kyoshi more than "The Rise of Kyoshi" when I listened to the audiobooks， so I'm really excited to revisit it in print。 If you're a fan of the Avatar franchise I highly recommend this novel。 While it isn't the same level as Avatar: The Last Airbender， I still enjoyed "The Rise of Kyoshi" quite a bit。 。。。more
Heather
，
Non-fans of the AtLA series might not enjoy this tale as much but as a fan from the very beginning I am thoroughly pleased！Things went in a darker direction than I expected。 Honestly， in hindsight， that's totally on par with the associated series。 It didn't bother me all that much。 In fact， some of it left me wanting more。I look forward to reading the next book in the story！ Non-fans of the AtLA series might not enjoy this tale as much but as a fan from the very beginning I am thoroughly pleased！Things went in a darker direction than I expected。 Honestly， in hindsight， that's totally on par with the associated series。 It didn't bother me all that much。 In fact， some of it left me wanting more。I look forward to reading the next book in the story！ 。。。more
luna
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it was hard to get into at the beginning but it ended up being sooo goood！！！！！ gay and action book！！ what！！！
maya
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I audibly gasped at the deaths
Baylee
，
10/10 recommend！ This book was absolutely fantastic！
Cassandra
，
Love this！！！
Sabrina Clarke
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Even if you don't like ATLA you would enjoy this。 One of the best books Ive read this year！ Even if you don't like ATLA you would enjoy this。 One of the best books Ive read this year！ 。。。more
Tamara
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I enjoyed delving back into the world of the Four Nations and learning more about the mysterious Kyoshi。 Her start was really intriguing and completely different from Aang or even Korra--which I can see some people trying to make comparisons because they're both strong women with attitudes。 I enjoyed delving back into the world of the Four Nations and learning more about the mysterious Kyoshi。 Her start was really intriguing and completely different from Aang or even Korra--which I can see some people trying to make comparisons because they're both strong women with attitudes。 。。。more
Kennedy
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Rangshi Supremacy ！！！
Shamieka Mills
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I am biased because I love everything Avatar but， I really enjoyed this book。 This follows Avatar Kyoshi and gives us so much more background into the avatar world。 I love it！ I would say this has some pretty dark scenes so be prepared for that。
Mai
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（listened to the audiobook）it's a good and interesting book about Avatar Kyoshi's origins。 I already knew most stuff because I spoiled myself through a YT video about her life but the book itself was still enjoyable。 （listened to the audiobook）it's a good and interesting book about Avatar Kyoshi's origins。 I already knew most stuff because I spoiled myself through a YT video about her life but the book itself was still enjoyable。 。。。more
Kristen （belles_bookshelves）
，
RTC
Sai
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 5/5 I'm so glad I loved it。 It definitely lived up to my expectation。I think Avatar the last Airbender is one of the best shows ever and I loved legend of Korra too， so when I found out there are Kyoshi novels， i was so thrilled to see more of this world that so dear to me。 I love kyoshi so much。The author is an expert at making you fell connected to the characters。 I haven't been so stressed reading a fantasy book in a while because i didn't want anyone to die。 I was so invested。 the writing st 5/5 I'm so glad I loved it。 It definitely lived up to my expectation。I think Avatar the last Airbender is one of the best shows ever and I loved legend of Korra too， so when I found out there are Kyoshi novels， i was so thrilled to see more of this world that so dear to me。 I love kyoshi so much。The author is an expert at making you fell connected to the characters。 I haven't been so stressed reading a fantasy book in a while because i didn't want anyone to die。 I was so invested。 the writing style was outstanding。 I listend to the audiobook and the narrator was so good ，I absolutely recommend it。I need to see this animated， hopefully we'll get a kyoshi series。Major spoiler warnings for this part of the review ！！！！That scene with that spirit with one big eye scared me so much。 Then Kelsang and Yun just died。 I was like no way they can die ，they are main characters ，plot armor will probably protect them but then they really died。 I was so mad at kyoshi for not going after Yun to save him but she didn't have any bending training。 She literally couldn't do anything :（。 Then he came back from the dead and he’s evil now ？ bruh i'm starting the sequel right this second。 。。。more
readwithbri
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Kyoshi is that girl and that’s all there is to it。
ashwini
，
this took the best parts of atla and added such a unique spin to it with kyoshi and her journey。 I need to read the sequel asap
Alexis
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3。5
Janina Clark
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The ending took me by such a surprise！ Love this book so much。 Such a great exploration of a character。 The anti-hero avatar。 Can’t wait to read the 2nd one。
May
，
💮
Juliana Körner
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Ok， acabei de ler a primeira novel q conta a história da Avatar Kyoshi e。。。 é simplesmente maravilhosa。 Sou suspeita p/ falar pq além de ter um carinho tão especial pelo universo de Avatar， a Kyoshi era uma personagem q sempre tive uma curiosidade， então， meio difícil não gostar。Mas acima disso o livro traz uma perspectiva bem diferente de como a gente foi apresentado a personagem， de toda aquele meme dela ser uma pessoa de quem prefere acabar com o inimigo a poupa-lo e dela ser durona com um ex Ok， acabei de ler a primeira novel q conta a história da Avatar Kyoshi e。。。 é simplesmente maravilhosa。 Sou suspeita p/ falar pq além de ter um carinho tão especial pelo universo de Avatar， a Kyoshi era uma personagem q sempre tive uma curiosidade， então， meio difícil não gostar。Mas acima disso o livro traz uma perspectiva bem diferente de como a gente foi apresentado a personagem， de toda aquele meme dela ser uma pessoa de quem prefere acabar com o inimigo a poupa-lo e dela ser durona com um extremo poder físico。Não é que ela não seja essa pessoa， mas ela não é tão preto no branco como pareceu nos poucos momentos dela em a Lenda de Aang。 Inclusive a gente vê um lado bem doce da personagem e o peso que é para ela tomar as decisões。Sendo uma história que espante bem o mundo do avatar que conhecemos， com uma trama surpreendente e um conflito político bem diferente do que já foi apresentado。 Sem contar o romance dela com Rangi， que é coisa mais fofa do mundo。 。。。more
Gabby Negron
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If you loved ATLA you’ll probably love this as well。 Very well written and I pictured it in my mind as if I was watching the show。 Ugh need more Avatar canon。 Loved loved loved。
Finn
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If you love the Avatar universe， you will love this book just like I did。 Read it。 Don’t even read this review and let it put a damper on your excitement or expectations。I have no idea what to rate this book objectively; to be honest I don’t know that I can with how head over heels in love I am with this universe。For the Avatar fan （which I imagine is 99。9% of all people who are going to read this book） this book is gripping and fascinating。 All of the world details and elaborations make every i If you love the Avatar universe， you will love this book just like I did。 Read it。 Don’t even read this review and let it put a damper on your excitement or expectations。I have no idea what to rate this book objectively; to be honest I don’t know that I can with how head over heels in love I am with this universe。For the Avatar fan （which I imagine is 99。9% of all people who are going to read this book） this book is gripping and fascinating。 All of the world details and elaborations make every interaction and setting in the story so much fun to imagine。 Seeing the world more than 400 years before The Last Airbender takes place is an amazing new angle to view this world from， and the bending， politics， and world building， that all of the subsequent stories have are not in short supply。 The problem comes with the execution and F。C。 Yee’s writing; it’s not very good， folks。 There’s a reason this book is found in the Teen Fiction sections of most book stores。 The pacing is all over the place， story elements and plot points seem to jump out of nowhere without any build up， and the general dialogue and exposition is for the most part uninteresting and bland。 All of this culminates in a reading experience that feels disjointed。 Most of this book’s emotional moments didn’t hit for me， and the ending was disappointingly the worst offender in this regard。 F。C。 Yee leaves no time in his work for the characters to take a breather and play off of each other in any meaningful way， which left me feeling like I didn’t know any of them very well， save for maybe Kyoshi。All that being said， paradoxically， I loved it。 There were so many moments that excited me。 I loved seeing a world where airbenders exist in full force。 I loved seeing how shops and businesses work in this world in a more intimate way than we ever have before。 There were many things I loved。 Some of the references to names and locales from earlier works were tiresome， but it’s almost expected at this point from the universe。If you love Avatar， read it， you’ll love this book too。 But if you’re wondering how good this novel stands up to objective scrutiny and criticism？ It falls flat on its face。 （But I’m willing to guess that almost no one will care） 。。。more
Leia
，
Kinda just DNF’d on page 352。 Kinda skimmed the rest。 I was really expecting to love this book so much because ATLA and LOK are a couple of my favorite shows ever， but this book was just missing something。 Kyoshi as a character isn’t what I really expected or wanted。 She barely used her bending。 The romance felt really weird and kinda like it came out of nowhere。 They were barely believable as friends before they became lovers。 I already have the second book and I can’t decide if I want to read Kinda just DNF’d on page 352。 Kinda skimmed the rest。 I was really expecting to love this book so much because ATLA and LOK are a couple of my favorite shows ever， but this book was just missing something。 Kyoshi as a character isn’t what I really expected or wanted。 She barely used her bending。 The romance felt really weird and kinda like it came out of nowhere。 They were barely believable as friends before they became lovers。 I already have the second book and I can’t decide if I want to read it or not。 But maybe the badass Kyoshi I want will be in that one。 Maybe I had had too many expectations going in， but I was bummed。 /: 。。。more
Fabian Kobald
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3 1/2 - not the best storytelling， but still a nice story…and perhaps the best avatar
Kiwi
，
Be gay， do crime
maganda moonthem
，
AHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHGGHGGGGGGG
Sam
，
It was a very interesting read。 They brought a lot of the details mentioned in the show into here。 It could definitely drag a bit and had dry spells， but overall was a good book。
Kim
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I think that if Yun want to kill people， especially his former masters， then he should be allowed to。 Poor Yun。。。 he wasn't even remembered or mentioned most of the times in the book。。。 He deserved better。Also Jianzhu got killed way too easily。 It's a bit anticlimatic。 I wished that either he got killed by Kyoshi in a bending duel or Yun buried him alive。 But other than that， this book is really good。 I love Kyoshi and F。C。 Yee writing is greatNot to mention， Nancy Wu （the narrator） is the best I think that if Yun want to kill people， especially his former masters， then he should be allowed to。 Poor Yun。。。 he wasn't even remembered or mentioned most of the times in the book。。。 He deserved better。Also Jianzhu got killed way too easily。 It's a bit anticlimatic。 I wished that either he got killed by Kyoshi in a bending duel or Yun buried him alive。 But other than that， this book is really good。 I love Kyoshi and F。C。 Yee writing is greatNot to mention， Nancy Wu （the narrator） is the best part of this experiences。 。。。more
J
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For those who want more Avatar content， The Rise of Kyoshi will scratch that itch。 With tight writing， rich details， and wonderful worldbuilding that still adheres to the existing rules and structures in ATLA， Yee does an incredible job narrating the origin story of Avatar Kyoshi。 He does an incredible job with Kyoshi’s character development; you really get a sense of her growth throughout the book as well as her ideologies。 I was also impressed by how well he handled action scenes， too， especia For those who want more Avatar content， The Rise of Kyoshi will scratch that itch。 With tight writing， rich details， and wonderful worldbuilding that still adheres to the existing rules and structures in ATLA， Yee does an incredible job narrating the origin story of Avatar Kyoshi。 He does an incredible job with Kyoshi’s character development; you really get a sense of her growth throughout the book as well as her ideologies。 I was also impressed by how well he handled action scenes， too， especially given the fantastical aspects of bending that might be hard to capture in text。I think a particularly pleasant surprise was the depth of Yee’s exploration of ethics and politics throughout this book， mostly focusing on the Earth Kingdom （but you get hints of what’s happening in the other nations as well）。 Furthermore， it was interesting。 It’s hard to capture that well， but I thought he did a fantastic job diving deep into what easily could have bored the reader。 And， frankly， I think it was what really brought the story together and made the writing as tight as it was。All-in-all， this is such a phenomenal contribution to the Avatar universe。 It will undoubtedly make you want more Kyoshi content， and I’m truly looking forward to reading the sequel。 。。。more
lei
，