A review by miak2
The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-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

5.0

 
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). 
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