THE RISE OF KYOSHI is a Fabulous Book for Fans of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. I know I’m not alone in that. I also know that a lot of fans have wanted to learn more about past Avatars. One of the more popular Avatars is Avatar Kyoshi and that’s exactly who we are getting books about right now. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi is a new book written by F.C. Yee with Michael Dante DiMartino. It is the first book in a series that will explore Kyoshi’s life. I’ve had the great pleasure of reading the book and I must say, I loved it. I’ll do my best not to spoil anything though as I talk about it.

So, The Rise of Kyoshi starts as some men go out looking for the next Avatar after the passing of their friend, Avatar Kuruk. Years pass and the men eventually find someone who they believe is the Avatar, but it’s not Kyoshi. In fact, Kyoshi doesn’t even know she’s the Avatar. Eventually, all becomes revealed and a character commits an atrocity and Kyoshi ventures off to train as she swears revenge on them. She then ends up with some very unorthodox teachers. The story even explains where Kyoshi got her iconic robes and gauntlets.

Along the way, we meet a lot of fun and interesting characters such as Rangi who is Kyoshi’s friend and Firebending teacher, Kirima her Waterbending teacher, and Wong her combat teacher. The characters add a lot of depth to the story and can be very interesting.

This book is handled very well. Some parts get a little predictable leading up to them, but there are other parts that I did not see happening. Everything written tends to serve a purpose and there isn’t much, if anything, included to pad the pages. Personally, I would love to see this book animated into the first season or so of a Kyoshi series for Netflix or Hulu or whoever (probably Netflix since they’re doing the live-action series). If you’re a fan of Avatar, I highly recommend The Rise of Kyoshi and I cannot wait for the sequel.