Shadow of Kyoshi Review

This is the follow-up to last week's blog, "The Rise of Kyoshi," which I recently read. If you haven't read that blog, I encourage you to do so before you get into this one. The sequel was perfect; it shows where each character is after the first book and picks up where it left off. We start to see the early stages of the character Kyoshi will grow into as the Avatar. I think the second book has many interesting struggles the characters go through, and I like how Kyoshi developed in the story.

One struggle I enjoyed reading about involved Kyoshi's association with the criminal underworld. I did not like how quickly Yun, Kyoshi’s friend, was broken down to his core within a week of fighting Father GlowWorm. From the first book, I was under the impression he had more fighting spirit than he showed. I would’ve at least wanted them to show Yun's internal conflict so we'd understand more of why he started going crazy and killing everyone after a week, or better yet, have him stay the person he was trying to be. Additionally, I didn't particularly appreciate how he brought a powerful spirit to the point where it felt like it needed to bargain with him. He took out his rage on a world that he felt wronged him.

That said, I liked how Kyoshi handled the situation at the end. I respect how Kyoshi still believed in Yun even in the future, despite having to defeat her friend. I also liked how she realized that even though the avatar's spirit is reincarnated, each one has to live their own life, make their own mistakes, and have their own accomplishments. And if that's not a great lesson to take away, I think another big one is that even if someone has all the power in the world, there are still things they cannot do alone, and they will need others' help to reach their full potential. What were your main takeaways from this story?