Title: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi
Author:
F.C. Yee with Avatar Co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino
Literary
Level: Intermediate
Rating: 6/5
Published in 2019, this is a prequel
story to the children’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The
story follows Kyoshi, a young, yet tall, girl left to fend for herself and then
taken in by a wealthy aristocrat that served as the teacher to the previous
Avatar (a person able to bend all four elements: water, earth, fire, and air).
Jianzhu, former earth-bending teacher to Kuruk, is in a persistent search for
the next reincarnation of the avatar and he knows that the next one would be an
earth bender. Unfortunately, he learns that he poorly chose, and in doing so he
murders his best friend and the child he incorrectly identified as the new
avatar. Now that he knows who the true avatar is, nothing will stop him from
protecting her from the greedy hands of the earth kingdom and their corrupt
ideals from teaching the avatar. Kyoshi, on the other hand, escapes Jianzhu and
her new role as the omnipotent being that is tasked with maintaining peace among the nations while also plotting how to take revenge on him for murdering
her favorite people.
If I could curse in my reviews I
would, because this is one of the best f-ing stories I’ve read in a while. It
kept me on my toes every single chapter, grabbing me in and keeping me reading.
The writing is pristine, so much so that
every time I read I could see the universe it was originally set in, the
animals, the people, the bending, the cities, everything. Of course, the
experience is heightened after watching the animated series that forms a stable
structure for the reading of the story. The story is so well written that even
someone without prior context could enjoy it, not being forced to watch extra
material for the added benefit of background for a future story in the history
of the book. Be warned, however, this is a two-part story, so make sure to have
The Shadow of Kyoshi in hand after reading the first installment. Also, this is
my review, I can give the rating I want, don’t judge me because I will judge
you.