Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Dawn of Yangchen

lots to say.

first of all, prior to reading this book, i had read some reviews acknowledging yangchen's lack of presence in her own book, and i wasn't able to empathize with these sentiments until i read it for myself. it turns out that she does not, in fact, feel like the main character in her own story. this is the dawn of *yangchen*, not the dawn of kavik. kavik, as much as i liked him, took up the majority of the story's viewpoint, which i didn't appreciate. now, im a sucker for switching perspectives in storytelling, but shouldn't avatar yangchen's perspective be the dominant one, seeing as this is *her* life story? this certainly didn't make this book a bad book, but i do desperately wish there was more of her to witness, because the world that existed during her era was truly phenomenal. the worldbuilding in this book was so rich, well-thought out, and nuanced that it answered many questions ATLA had left a mystery. but that's the thing: TDOY focused so much on building the world around the characters that it forgot to build on raw emotions and reader-to-character connections.

despite that, despite yangchen's lack of "main-character-ness," i still, predictably, admired her as a character and an avatar. yangchen's remarkable gift of accessing her past lives' memories paves a gateway to unique struggles and possibilities for the young avatar. she's far too young to be handling the responsibilities she is faced within the book, but far too accomplished by this age to back down. that's what i love about her. she understands the greater picture of her role as "the bridge between spirits and humans," and is willing to pursue sacrifices for the sake of the greater good. yangchen is an avatar first before she is an air nomad, a friend, or a sister.

this is the primary difference between aang and yangchen as air nomad-born avatars. aang is joyous and a pacifist at heart, and still has that child-like flare to his character. drastically, yangchen is deceptive, manipulative, and controlling, and understands that, sometimes, hurt must come before healing. all the things aang is not willing to do, yangchen pursues. (to further elaborate on this distinction, TDOY explores many more mature themes than was allowed in ATLA. it was still just as politically involved, but less apprehensive about displaying darker nuances.)

to clarify, yangchen is not evil. she is empathetic, selfless, and altruistic, but when faced with drastic means, she has the will to resort to drastic measures. (her very words to aang being "this isn't about you, this is about the world.") she understands that being the avatar is about sacrifices. it's about giving up your own morals and spiritual needs to devote yourself to maintaining the balance of the world. in the end, she is only a young teen forced to fulfill her fate as a sacred bringer of peace, a burden she never asked to inherit.

for yangchen, her destiny is both a blessing and a curse.

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scarlettskyes's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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tmkutawrites's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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marigoldgem's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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miak2's review

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"I bet you thought you held all your tiles... Funny thing about that. Once you play your tiles, you no longer hold them." p.285

4.5 stars

This was not the story I expected but one that I'm incredibly glad to have gotten. Yangchen is a surprising change of pace from other Avatars that we've encountered. More proactive, more conniving, more political. Still an airbender at her core, naturally, but so very different not only from Aang but also from Korra and Kyoshi. This Team Avatar is also markedly different from others in the past. We spend a lot of time from Kavik's perspective too, but I found him to be a really fun character to follow as well, with a separate background that had me interested from the get-go.

In many ways, Yee had a fun task here, getting to write about an avatar whom we previously knew so little about, set in a time that we also hadn't yet experienced. As a whole, I'm such a fan of his writing. I said this when I read the Kyoshi novels last year, but he's the absolutely perfect person to expand this incredibly series into a book format. These books have all captured the emotional range of the original series, and similarly are able to tackle complex plot lines and mature themes.

For a bit here I felt like Yee got carried away with 'gotcha-ing' the readers, but I do think it fits the general mood of the book. Both Yangchen and Kavik are quick-witted and cunning, and their plays to one-up each other throughout the course of the book were reflected in Yee's delivery methods. Their relationship is one of the most interesting I've encountered in this universe (which is saying a lot) and I'm especially interested to see where it goes in the next book.

And, I have to say. With every new installment in the Avatar universe I find myself more and more dismayed at how dirty The Legend of Korra did The White Lotus.

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