This review is featured on my blog!

As someone who grows up watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! Kyoshi has always been my favorite Avatar, so it’s exciting to read about her younger years as the Avatar. I put a high expectation before reading this book, and was satisfied with how it turned out. The Rise of Kyoshi is a brilliant depiction of the origins of Kyoshi and the world we are already familiar with.

F.C. Yee explores the already established world by adding new elements, customs and lores that give readers more insight to the Avatar world. The rush of finding the new Earth Avatar after Avatar Kuruk died added a new thrilling atmosphere and potential introduction of the customs we haven’t known yet, as well as the laws and society that existed back before the era of Avatar Aang. I adore F.C. Yee’s creativity in building a world that wasn’t entirely his; it was magnificent and did not feel as overlapping as the original world building we’ve seen in ATLA.

As the story goes, I realized The Rise of Kyoshi has a different theme from both ATLA and Legend of Korra. The Rise of Kyoshi took a darker route and explored the more dangerous side of bending. The story goes with the grim atmosphere from the beginning to the end. Although I must admit that the climax of the story was kinda meh, I enjoyed each scene without a doubt.

Every character is morally grey and Kyoshi is no exception. We get to see the transformation of Kyoshi; from her time as the orphan and a village girl, to the young, powerful Avatar. We also learn about the origins of Kyoshi’s iconic look and about her lineage, as well as the reason why she becomes the most feared Avatar.

Lastly, I love the dynamics between Kyoshi and Rangi and I wish their relationship is explored more in the second book!