The Rise of Kyoshi / F. C. Yee / 2019
Those protective of the Avatar universe have little to fear and much to look forward to in The Rise of Kyoshi. F. C. Yee grafts Kyoshi’s story skillfully onto the universe, exploring new possibilities in the world of bending, as well as developing an Avatar more vengeful and hardened than ever before seen. Unlike Avatars Yanchen, Kuruk, Roku, Aang, and Korra, Kyoshi is not easily identified as an Avatar and subsequently raised in the lap of luxury. She’s an orphan, who ends up working as a servant in service of Yun, a talented young earthbender mistakenly identified as the Avatar. Kyoshi doesn’t receive the training and support Avatars are supposed to receive and she is forced to break many traditions in her struggle to survive. Gone is the privilege and naivete of Korra. Gone is the commitment to tradition and peacefulness of Aang. In its place, we have an Avatar familiar with the struggles of the most downtrodden and overlooked. Instead of elite bending masters, Kyoshi’s first lessons as an Avatar are with a gang of criminals she joins for protection. In battle, Kyoshi is predictably sloppy, except when she accesses the Avatar state. This seems appropriate for someone with her lack of training. Her first major villain is Jianzhu, an earthbending master whose grip on the Earth Kingdom and whose worldly standing make him a powerful political force. Rather than confront Jianzhu to bring him to justice for his war crimes, Kyoshi wants to murder him in vengeance for murdering her mentor Kelsang and getting Yun killed by a spirit. Where other Avatars are motivated by justice and world peace, Kyoshi is at first motivated by her own survival and safety.
Kyoshi is strong-willed and risk-taking yet feels distinctly different than Korra. Unlike Korra, Kyoshi is not much of an idealist. Unlike Aang, who feels innately innocent and pure at his core, Kyoshi lost her innocence early and has no problem getting her hands dirty. So far, Kyoshi is shaping up to be my favorite Avatar because of her sense of practicality and determination (getting things done by any means necessary), her principledness (her loyalty to those in her circle), and her toughness as she grunts and hobbles her way through pain. Kyoshi has the energy of a cornered fox.
While it is true that The Rise of Kyoshi features more violence than typically featured in Avatar, Yee did a great job preserving the cute anime comedy of the television series. For those curious about the violence, early on, Jianzhu uses bending to make small rocks serve as bullets. A few deaths happen in this first book.
Lastly, The Rise of Kyoshi does an excellent job navigating queerness. Whereas the Legend of Korra only softly hints at its queerness, Kyoshi engages it head on. The reader watches Kyoshi navigates what it means in real time as her relationship becomes known to others.
I recommend this book to all Avatar fans, anyone interested in YA and fantasy, especially with LGBTQ+ representation.