Michael Dante DiMartino

F. C. Yee

F. C. Yee's The Rise of Kyoshi delves into the story of Kyoshi, the Earth Kingdom-born Avatar. The longest-living Avatar in this beloved world's history, Kyoshi established the brave and respected Kyoshi Warriors, but also founded the secretive Dai Li, which led to the corruption, decline, and fall of her own nation. The first of two novels based on Kyoshi, The Rise of Kyoshi maps her journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

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Kiran Aftab

as the wise britney spears says, "gimme gimme more"

Chell A

Always loved the world-building of the ATLA universe! Since I thoroughly enjoyed watching the ATLA and LOK shows, it wasn't a surprise that I appreciated reading the Kyoshi narrative. On to the next Kyoshi novel!

** spoiler alert **
           the roller coaster of emotions this book is so,,,, Kyoshi and Rangi my beloveds 😭 i got a lil sad when Rangi has to leave in the end and Lao Ge said something about them not being the same once they meet again .that stuff ruined me cuz i have no idea what to expect

britt

this was much more brutal than i was expecting. kyoshi’s been through so much shit and will continue to go through so much shit and it’s awful. 

anyways, luv rangi, loved lek (rip babes). and i’m glad there’s actually going to be an explanation on how kyoshi lived for so fucking long, but i’m also said because she most definitely outlived rangi. 

i do think it’s crazy how bat-shit insane kyoshi and yangchan are and then aang is aang. these bitches are technically the same person.

I can't describe how much I loved this wtf. An epitome of a prequel; develops an iconic character with her own unique journey and her own unique conflicts while still feeling intensely like the Avatar world. And SO many subtle (and not so subtle) nods to the future events that take place in the show. Some of the references actually gave me shivers. It's fascinating to see how things were like in the world before the fire nation, as they say, attacked. Kyoshi and Rangi also have my entire heart. Bisexuals WON and keep winning with the Avatars.

Megan Daigle

Overall, the book was good. It had a bit of a slow start but not to where it was hard to keep going. After watching “Avatar: the Last Airbender”, this story takes a small piece of the show and expands on that portion. It was interesting to read the back story of Kyoshi fleshed out with much more detail. I would not recommend this for young audiences as it has some more mature content.

Nessa Luna

I know I know I’m ‘late’ with this book, the sequel is almost out already (that’s an exaggeration shh). But I really wanted to at least finish (re)watching ATLA before diving into this book. But oh it was WORTH it because I loved this book so so much! I do have to admit it felt a little bit similar to Aang’s story at the beginning but it totally went a different way and I loved it so much more towards the end. What I also love is that the original creator of the show has worked together with the author so this book is 100% canon. Highly recommend it if you loved Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra (and yes, I will go and watch that soon, don’t worry).

CAWPILE: 9 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 (Avg: 8.64)

Fran Gutiérrez

** spoiler alert **
           3 stars

I have so many mixed feelings I literally don’t know where to begin lmao. The Rise of Kyoshi tells the origin story of Avatar Kyoshi, who we see a few times during the Avatar series. F.C Yee does a formidable job of coming up with a story for this Avatar and there were things that I greatly enjoyed and some other things that...didn’t quite reach the mark.
 
	Personally, it took me quite a long time to get into the writing style but that’s a very personal thing. I just found it a little dry and very expository, but again, that’s just me. Unfortunately this meant that I was able to put the book down quite easily several times, and didn’t really miss it when I wasn’t reading it. I don’t mean to spoil anything, but the main premise of the book (nobody knows Kyoshi is the real Avatar) runs out of fuel pretty early (since they kill Yun) in the story, and overall it feels like the book had a lot of great ideas but none of them really reached their own potential, opting to take easy ways out. The stakes didn’t feel as raised as they could be, the distribution of perspectives between Kyoshi and Jhianzu didn’t feel even and the romance between Kyoshi and Rangi didn’t do it for me. (I know people ship them but I lowkey felt more chemistry between Kyoshi and Yun and that’s a problem.) And Team Avatar felt too quick of a solution, they all got introduced in one setting and that made it hard for me to remember who was in Team Avatar, what they did, and I felt like the members of team avatar didn’t have much individual characterization.

	So yeah...narratively it wasn’t my favorite thing ever. However, this book did a lot of other things right:

	I loved Kyoshi’s general arc of becoming this insecure awkward girl who doesn’t know how to take up space and her transformation into a confident warrior. I love the explanations the book gives to her parents, her friends, and worldbuilding concepts like Daofei, lightning-bending, Kyoshi’s use of fans and the way she uses her bending powers, etc. I also love how this book humanizes Kyoshi and explains how her Avatar-philosophy originated. I also loved Lek and Kirima, and although I feel like the introduction of Team Avatar is rushed, I do love their dynamic and their progression from low-key enemies to reluctant friends to family. Very heartwarming. Oh, I also loved the small A:TLA callbacks, those are always fun.

	So 3.7 stars it is, but for the sake of goodreads I’m saying 3 stars since it doesn’t quite reach 4 stars, but if you like Avatar, I would still recommend this overall since it really expands on the world and the lore.

Sara

Miranda Mendoza

I always thought Kyoshi was a really cool character, and I’m glad we got to see her origin. Can’t wait to read the next one!

Anastasia 

I have to say that I am in awe of this book...F.C Yee does a fantastic job of making a written avatar verse character carry as much suspense and cohesive writing /plot as the series we all know and love 

Before now kyoshi was a favourite of mind from the few glimpses we got from the show in 3 seasons and I can tell after ready about her background I absolutely worship her ...the writing is so good, the description of the techniques for each of the bending is outstanding and I enjoyed the little bit of romance it had 

I look forward to the next book ...this was incredible...I wish us avatar fans could get a Toph beifong novel that tells us the story of her life as chief of police while raising her daughters ...5 stars

Marisa Petri

This BOOK. If you liked Avatar when you were young, you will simply love this book as an adult. This is defo less children friendly, more YA/adult, full of amazing plotwists and loveable characters, but also dark and terribly sad. I enjoyed reading it so much, the nostalgia it brought matched the surprise at how well written and well thought Kyoshi's story is.

Eva Bailey

This was so well written and fun. So many little Easter eggs and really expanded what we already know about Kyoshi. Can't wait for the next one.

Mia Kern

As far as she was concerned, her personal honor and reputation had no value. Trading them for more power was an easy choice. She would do it. p.216


F.C. Yee did what I might have thought impossible: he captured all the heart and spirit of the original cartoon while also fleshing out the Avatar universe through a brand new story about an already beloved character. Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised about greatness coming from this franchise, given that everything else in it is near flawless. I think I just didn't know how the magic would be translated to book format. The answer? Very very well.

Through The Rise of Kyoshi, Yee tackled a lot of mature themes in the same manner as the cartoon - with a lot of tact and respect. However, the book maintained the same sort of jaunty humor as the show and the comics, flitting with ease between tense or action-packed moments to ones that made me laugh out loud.

Yee continued to expand upon this world that I've loved since I was a child. This was achieved through new lore, customs, political strife, and everything in between. There were a couple of callback moments that felt a little on the nose - little bits of trivia about people or places from the original cartoon that served mostly to stir up nostalgia. However, these were few and far between, nowhere near the likes of Fantastic Beasts. Yeesh.

I LOVED the characters that Yee and DiMartino wrote, again, to nobody's surprise. Kyoshi felt and acted like a teenager throughout the book, something which many authors fail to do with their teenage protagonists. Her gang was full of interesting characters who were developed well alongside serving as comedic reprieve. Kyoshi's conflicts with Rangi were well explored, and their developing relationship was just lovely. A major theme in this book was morality, from the grim reputation of the Daofei to Kyoshi's own internal struggles as her obligations as the Avatar conflicted with her personal quest for vengeance. The main antagonist's morality was also heavily explored, and their good deeds contributed to that struggle Kyoshi faced when deciding her course. 

The Rise of Kyoshi had such large shoes to fill, coming into such a well-loved franchise. It absolutely met and exceeded any of my expectations. (Also, here would go a clever joke about Kyoshi having large feet if I were smart enough for that). Very much looking forward to jumping into the sequel ASAP.

Dilayra Verbrugh

This book in one sentence: be gay, do crime. 

As someone who loves avatar the last air bender and especially avatar Kyoshi, this book was amazing. Sapphic relationship, lots of references to the show and a great plot. In the middle it got a bit slow but at the end they picked up the pace again.

Leia Douglas

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. /:

Alexa Jade

Megan Lapides

This was good. I got lost a few times. I found my way back most of the time. I just don't think it was my cup of tea.

Sam Pulliam

I was completely blown away by this book. It follows Avatar Kyoshi, an Avatar who existed before Aang, and her journey in realizing that she is, indeed, the next Avatar. I didn’t expect to get so attached to a new cast of characters but I certainly did. There’s battles, political intrigue, bending, and the sweetest blossoming romance. I even almost cried. It read like a season of the show and I really appreciated that. The only thing that kept me from giving this five stars was that you can tell this book is meant to set up a series therefore, the beginning is a little slower than the second half. Otherwise, what a magical, beautiful book. I definitely think watching the show first will add to the experience but I don’t think it would be too confusing to jump into without having seen Avatar.

Katie

I feel that tie-in novels have a reputation for being mediocre cash grabs (or maybe that's just my perception), but this SLAPS. Kyoshi is one of the prominent Avatars featured in the show, but most of her backstory was still shrouded in mystery, which left F.C. Yee a blank slate to create her story. I had no idea where this was going to go, and I loved every second of it. Although I knew where Kyoshi ended up, I was surprised by her path in this book. There were tons of surprises! I want to make it clear this is not a kids' book, like the show is a kids' show. There is a lot of violence and a lot of death, and the narration does not shy away from describing it, so TW for that. There's also tons of political intrigue and it gives me low-key Six of Crows vibes with the gang of criminals that Kyoshi meets on her journey. I loved learning more about the lore of the Avatar universe and getting to know Kyoshi better. We already knew she was a Bad Bitch but TRULY I'm obsessed with her and she's an icon.

Also: gay.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: My husband bought this book for me. Thank you @summonsays! Support your authors!

Book: The Rise of Kyoshi

Author: F.C. Yee

Book Series: The Kyoshi Novels Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Asian and Sapphic romance!

Recommended For...: ATLA fans, Asian fantasy, fantasy, superhero books

Publication Date: July 16, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (slavery, cat calling, gory, starvation, violence, death, romance, sexual content, abandonment, found family, torture, sassy Kyoshi)

Publisher: Amulet Books

Pages: 442

Synopsis: F. C. Yee’s The Rise of Kyoshi delves into the story of Kyoshi, the Earth Kingdom–born Avatar. The longest-living Avatar in this beloved world’s history, Kyoshi established the brave and respected Kyoshi Warriors, but also founded the secretive Dai Li, which led to the corruption, decline, and fall of her own nation. The first of two novels based on Kyoshi, The Rise of Kyoshi maps her journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

Review: Overall I really enjoyed this book. It has the raw emotions and feel of Avatar that I love and Kyoshi is such a complex character. I loved her development and the romance. I loved the action scenes and the plot line too.

The only issue I had was that the book sometimes did more telling than showing and the book sometimes was confusing in bits. I had to reread some of it but it was a great book overall.

Verdict: Highly recommend Avatar fans!

damla

the last few chapters were a roller coaster. i can't wait to read the second one. also can netflix stop the live action bullshit and just make an animated series for kyoshi?

Vitor Augusto Dal Molin 

Okay, this was a little disappointing. 

I am truly sorry for my friend Who listened to all of my complains about this book (hi mi ;) ) 

First of all, im a huge fan of "The last airbender" and "Korra", so u can imagine the expectation to be able to know the iconic avatar Kyoshi.

So... let's go, i was hyped of the start, and with the development of the first chapters i was noticing a lot of unrealistic "coincidences" that doesn't make sense, raising a lot of "????? How...???" moments :). Another problem was the abrupt change of Kyoshi personality (after one chapter she was totally a different person, like 360°,yes i know that was traumatic, yet doesn't fell the same character was very weird guys). The plot was so predictable, unfortunately wasn't a good book for me. Yet i like it a few scenes, the writing was "okay", overall in my opinion the rise of kyoshi would be 10x times better in a graphic novel format.

Grace Madden

The second half was better than the first.

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