And yet, her story begins as village girl living in poverty whose parents abandoned her and would later serve as one of the Avatar’s servant – and be one of his closest friends. The title of this may raise a few eyebrows – because no one simply becomes the Avatar, they always are, right? Well, The Rise of Kyoshi poses a question that we may not have asked when we followed Aang and Korra’s journey: what happened if the world struggled to find the Avatar and after seven years of searching, they chose the wrong person? If you are familiar with the lore of Avatar, you’ll know that the story is about Kyoshi. A story of how a servant girl became the Avatar Following Kyoshi as a young teenager and set in a time of political and civil unrest and uncertainty, The Rise of Kyoshi details her humble origin story and her tumultuous beginnings and her journey of becoming one of the most feared and ruthless Avatars. But, of course, like any fan who was gravely disappointed by the live action film ( the way six earthbenders bended that one miserable and poorly animated rock still haunts me to do this day), I think it’s fair to feel a little apprehensive of any addition to the Avatar universe.īut friends, you can all breathe a collective sigh of relief: The Rise of Kyoshi is a marvellous and fantastic addition to the Avatar universe. As a fan of both series and the Avatar universe, I had my trepidations about The Rise of Kyoshi.I knew that in the hands of Yee, author of one of my favourite YA book series of all time, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, that he would do a fantastic job telling Kyoshi’s story. I also loved Korra’s story and the social discourse and confronting questions that the story posed in Legend of Korra.

I loved Aang’s story and the lessons the show taught me as a young teen in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The first of two novels based on Kyoshi, The Rise of Kyoshi maps her journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar. The longest-living Avatar in this beloved world’s history, Kyoshi established the brave and respected Kyoshi Warriors, but also founded the secretive Dai Li, which led to the corruption, decline, and fall of her own nation. Yee’s The Rise of Kyoshi delves into the story of Kyoshi, the Earth Kingdom-born Avatar.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee