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zauren 's review for:
The Shadow of Kyoshi
by F.C. Yee
The Shadow of Kyoshi takes place a short while after the events of the prior installment. It follows Kyoshi as she struggles to find her footing as avatar and deal with what became of Yun.
These books are so underrated (okay, actually, the rating is pretty perfect, but I never hear anyone talking about them). This year I’ve noticed I’m simply getting too old to enjoy a lot of YA books. However, with that, I have noticed that when a YA book is good, it is SO GOOD.
What did I like? These characters are messy and imperfect. Kyoshi makes mistakes. A lot of them. She is a teenager who can find herself led by her emotions and less by logic. She doesn’t always have the answers. She doesn’t always know the customs and it backfires on her. This makes her feel so real. There is LGBTQ rep that is included so seamlessly and real. It isn’t a big deal to the characters. It isn’t the focus of the story. It’s there in a way that matters. It also doesn’t shy away from some real moments. It looks at how some times people change for the better and sometimes for the worse. It shows how some characters can have an idea that is good in theory, but the execution is so poorly planned that it makes them a sort of villain as well. This world is so complex and intricate.
Without giving spoilers, I am really nervous and curious to see how things play out with what the fire lord has planned. This is obviously the set up for how we get to the situation in the show, but I’m intrigued to see how we get there.
That said, I didn’t love everything. My main complaint is sometimes the dialogue can be a little cheesy. My cringe tolerance is relatively low, though, so this is mostly a me problem. I also struggled to focus during some chapters. The book didn’t drag, per se, but there were simply moments I didn’t care about as much. These are super nitpicky complaints and I’m excited to read the other avatar’s stories.