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robinks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.75
I was less into this sequel than the original, maybe because of the politics. The ending was also too perfect in many ways. I still have issues with the writer being a man, but I would’ve loved to see Kiyoshi’s queerness more explicitly explored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Bullying, Medical content, and War
Minor: Sexual content, Abandonment, Stalking, Classism, and Torture
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Medical content, Kidnapping, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Grief, War, Chronic illness, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Suffocation.toffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
A more than worthy end of the duo-logy! This book really ramps up Kyoshi's character development, and continues the story of the first part in a very satisfying way that gives Kyoshi the room for self-actualization. I love these books!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, and Death
Minor: Abandonment
fiveredhens's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
favorite quotes:
Kelsang used to say there was pain and joy in all things, often when trying to comfort Kyoshi about her earliest years in Yokoya. During her visit to the Fire Nation, Kyoshi had been thrilled each time she discovered another little cache of information about Rangi, like unearthing another bit of treasure. But under the shine was life, grubby and dirty and impossible to burnish.
She would take it anyway. Along with everything else about her girl, no matter how unexpected or painful. It took every ounce of her willpower not to lean over and give the Firebender a forbidden kiss on the top of her head.
She had been so worried about turning into Jianzhu, as if the Earth Sage had been a special breed of monster threatening to be reborn through her and only her. How laughable a notion. The fact of the matter was the world grew Jianzhus by the bushel. They sprouted from the soil and multiplied from the seas. People sought to emulate Jianzhu with every fiber of their being.
this was not quite as good as the first one but still pretty good
She would take it anyway. Along with everything else about her girl, no matter how unexpected or painful. It took every ounce of her willpower not to lean over and give the Firebender a forbidden kiss on the top of her head.
this was not quite as good as the first one but still pretty good
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Self harm, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, and Vomit
swordspoint's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
TL;DR, content breakdown, and recommends at the bottom! This review will contain minor spoilers for the first book in the duology.
Wow, I am so glad I got to borrow copies of this amazing duology and prequel to the Avatar: the Last Airbender series. Kyoshi is often made into a meme in the fandom, shown only as a ruthless but powerful Avatar who would encourage Aang to act violently. This book showed her true backstory, one of a girl caught between two worlds and struggling to reconcile her identity as the Avatar with her own beliefs.
Essentially, I loved it.
The story of The Shadow of Kyoshi starts off a little after where we last left the cast. Kyoshi is off on her own carrying out justice as best she can, separated from the Flying Opera Company and her girlfriend Rangi. She's also on the hunt for ex-Avatar candidate Yun, who reappeared after being believed to be dead at the end of the last book.
The pacing in this book was about on par with the last one, if a little faster. It moves delightfully quickly, barely giving the reader time to process what's happened before flinging off to the next scene. The end and final fight scene felt slightly rushed, and I really wished that Kyoshi had been able to reunite with the Flying Opera Company earlier, instead of just at the end. It felt like the sudden unexplained reunion almost trivialized her relationship with them, in a way, considering how major of characters they were in the first book.
FC Yee's writing is just as good as in The Rise of Kyoshi- I'm not particularly picky about prose, and to me it felt perfectly serviceable for the story that was being told. The more tense, emotional scenes hit especially hard with Yee's writing style, but there was one element of the story that really shone.
The characters.
Kyoshi's character development is fantastic. She comes to terms with who she is, the anger she holds onto, and what sort of Avatar she's going to be, and she is so incredibly flawed. She's one of the most real characters I think I've encountered in YA lately, especially with the way her background affected her view of the world. She's almost an antihero- morally grey, not always heroic, and a little too ready to let her personal problems interfere with her actions- and I loved seeing her grow and come into her own during the story.
I'm also happy to say that the reader gets some insight into Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen's history which really brings together some of the motifs from both the book and the TV series.
Yun's few PoV chapters were goddamn heartbreakingly painful to read, and reminded me a bit of Holland from the Shades of London series. Yee did an excellent job with him- that's about all I can say without spoilers.
Rangi is going to hold a special place in my heart. I loved her little angry explosions and habit of chucking furniture about in anger- she's another profoundly real-feeling character, and the way her and Kyoshi's relationship imperfectly builds and changes throughout the book is absolutely lovely. (Also, well-written LGBTQ+ romance in mainstream YA!)
The only thing I didn't love, leading to the half-star off (also, as someone who just moved from Goodreads- how great is it that Storygraph lets you use quarter and half stars?!) was the ending, which although satisfying was just a little too fast-paced for me after all of the buildup leading up to it.
TL;DR: 4.5/5 A fast-paced, emotional, hard-hitting conclusion to a duology that gives great insight into a wonderful character from the A:tLA series.
Content Warnings: Moderate fantasy violence and death, some mentions of bullying and emotional abuse.
Recommended For: AtLA fans, fast-paced fantasy lovers, those looking for powerful gay antiheroes, fans of elemental magic, those who enjoy strong character development.
Favorite Moment: Rangi showing her love to Kyoshi by throwing soup at her. :)
Wow, I am so glad I got to borrow copies of this amazing duology and prequel to the Avatar: the Last Airbender series. Kyoshi is often made into a meme in the fandom, shown only as a ruthless but powerful Avatar who would encourage Aang to act violently. This book showed her true backstory, one of a girl caught between two worlds and struggling to reconcile her identity as the Avatar with her own beliefs.
Essentially, I loved it.
The story of The Shadow of Kyoshi starts off a little after where we last left the cast. Kyoshi is off on her own carrying out justice as best she can, separated from the Flying Opera Company and her girlfriend Rangi. She's also on the hunt for ex-Avatar candidate Yun, who reappeared after being believed to be dead at the end of the last book.
The pacing in this book was about on par with the last one, if a little faster. It moves delightfully quickly, barely giving the reader time to process what's happened before flinging off to the next scene. The end and final fight scene felt slightly rushed, and I really wished that
FC Yee's writing is just as good as in The Rise of Kyoshi- I'm not particularly picky about prose, and to me it felt perfectly serviceable for the story that was being told. The more tense, emotional scenes hit especially hard with Yee's writing style, but there was one element of the story that really shone.
The characters.
Kyoshi's character development is fantastic. She comes to terms with who she is, the anger she holds onto, and what sort of Avatar she's going to be, and she is so incredibly flawed. She's one of the most real characters I think I've encountered in YA lately, especially with the way her background affected her view of the world. She's almost an antihero- morally grey, not always heroic, and a little too ready to let her personal problems interfere with her actions- and I loved seeing her grow and come into her own during the story.
I'm also happy to say that the reader gets some insight into Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen's history which really brings together some of the motifs from both the book and the TV series.
Yun's few PoV chapters were goddamn heartbreakingly painful to read, and reminded me a bit of Holland from the Shades of London series. Yee did an excellent job with him- that's about all I can say without spoilers.
Rangi is going to hold a special place in my heart. I loved her little angry explosions and habit of chucking furniture about in anger- she's another profoundly real-feeling character, and the way her and Kyoshi's relationship imperfectly builds and changes throughout the book is absolutely lovely. (Also, well-written LGBTQ+ romance in mainstream YA!)
The only thing I didn't love, leading to the half-star off (also, as someone who just moved from Goodreads- how great is it that Storygraph lets you use quarter and half stars?!) was the ending, which although satisfying was just a little too fast-paced for me after all of the buildup leading up to it.
TL;DR: 4.5/5 A fast-paced, emotional, hard-hitting conclusion to a duology that gives great insight into a wonderful character from the A:tLA series.
Content Warnings: Moderate fantasy violence and death, some mentions of bullying and emotional abuse.
Recommended For: AtLA fans, fast-paced fantasy lovers, those looking for powerful gay antiheroes, fans of elemental magic, those who enjoy strong character development.
Favorite Moment: Rangi showing her love to Kyoshi by throwing soup at her. :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Emotional abuse
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