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Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'
Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Legacy of Yangchen by F.C. Yee
3 reviews
pandacosm's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's a relief to finally get an Avatar novel by F. C. Yee that has a real happy ending and where friends actually stay loyal and play important parts in the final climactic battle . I have to admit, reading the prior books partly ruined the mood for me all the way through because I kept on expecting betrayals or a tainted, Pyrrhic victory, so the highs of the book couldn't be enjoyed . And this book still has points that I consider unnecessarily dark for the Avatarverse, like literally having a tortured child kill a sky bison and then die himself. Yeah, that happened . It was an interesting book. I'm relieved this is the end of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Sorry if I missed any content warnings. There was a lot of dark stuff as usual.wooblatoober's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
WOW! i was already convinced halfway through the book that this would be one of my favorite books i’ve read. i enjoyed its themes, issues, and characters immensely. yangchen and kavik (and the other characters, as well) all grapple with understandings of family and family dynamics, loyalty, humanity, hope, grips on reality, politics, abuse, manipulation, power, identity, morals, balance, and more.
i loved kavik, and the intricacies and changes surrounding his relationship with yangchen and everybody else. i LOVED the angst. i wanted more, actually.as much as it furthered, the story & important relationships for kavik to choose to be stabbed to fool kalyaan, i was supremely disappointed when i found out he was in on it.
unfortunately, i felt the ending left a little to be desired compared to the rest of the book, which was perfect in my opinion. i can’t put my finger on what’s missing, though.i don’t think it’s the fact that yangchen and kavik didn’t end up canon by the end. i think i actually really enjoyed that aspect.
i deeply enjoyed the politics, sleight of hand, and espionage in comparison to straight bending. yangchen is just too powerful for that to have worked. the mind games made for an incredibly engaging read. on top of that, yee included an interesting new bending technique that’s SUPER HYPE, so i was disappointed to see other reviews ignoring that when discussing how they didn’t like the politics game in comparison to cool new bending ideas.i’m referencing the airbending vacuum that yangchen made into a violent implosion in order to combat combustion bending. that scene against thapa had me FREAKING OUT it was SO COOL. additionally, yee’s introduction to the background of combustion bending is haunting and interesting.
i liked yangchen’s struggle with being haunted by her past lives, especially since i could relate to a struggle with sanity and it was well-done. i think it would have been cool if that had an even more prominent place in the story, especially in her struggles, though it was already pretty prominent anyway i think. i also enjoyed reading about yangchen’s struggle with faith in humanity (because of her relationship with her past lives), and her struggle with morals as an airbender. this book did a great job of showing how many shades of gray everything can be in, especially when you have a strong set of morals you want to be able to stick to and your hands are tied. this is in comparison to kyoshi’s duology, since kyoshi already came thru in ATLA as a character who’s willing to be ruthless, so it wouldn’t affect her moral identity like how it would yangchen. kyoshi’s problem is more if she’s going to win in a battle against others. yangchen’s seems like a problem of if she’s going to win in a battle against herself, and both of those have merit as stories.
lastly, and this is just as a fan, not as an objective reviewer, but i LOVED kavik’s personality, his guilt, how he balanced that with his loyalties, his intelligence, his bending abilities (underrated!!), his humor, and a million other things about him. even as much as i’ve enjoyed everything i’ve mentioned so far, i enjoyed reading kavik more. quite possibly one of my favorite characters of all time.
i loved kavik, and the intricacies and changes surrounding his relationship with yangchen and everybody else. i LOVED the angst. i wanted more, actually.
unfortunately, i felt the ending left a little to be desired compared to the rest of the book, which was perfect in my opinion. i can’t put my finger on what’s missing, though.
i deeply enjoyed the politics, sleight of hand, and espionage in comparison to straight bending. yangchen is just too powerful for that to have worked. the mind games made for an incredibly engaging read. on top of that, yee included an interesting new bending technique that’s SUPER HYPE, so i was disappointed to see other reviews ignoring that when discussing how they didn’t like the politics game in comparison to cool new bending ideas.
i liked yangchen’s struggle with being haunted by her past lives, especially since i could relate to a struggle with sanity and it was well-done. i think it would have been cool if that had an even more prominent place in the story, especially in her struggles, though it was already pretty prominent anyway i think. i also enjoyed reading about yangchen’s struggle with faith in humanity (because of her relationship with her past lives), and her struggle with morals as an airbender. this book did a great job of showing how many shades of gray everything can be in, especially when you have a strong set of morals you want to be able to stick to and your hands are tied. this is in comparison to kyoshi’s duology, since kyoshi already came thru in ATLA as a character who’s willing to be ruthless, so it wouldn’t affect her moral identity like how it would yangchen. kyoshi’s problem is more if she’s going to win in a battle against others. yangchen’s seems like a problem of if she’s going to win in a battle against herself, and both of those have merit as stories.
lastly, and this is just as a fan, not as an objective reviewer, but i LOVED kavik’s personality, his guilt, how he balanced that with his loyalties, his intelligence, his bending abilities (underrated!!), his humor, and a million other things about him. even as much as i’ve enjoyed everything i’ve mentioned so far, i enjoyed reading kavik more. quite possibly one of my favorite characters of all time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War
theuncannydani's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, and Vomit