This is the follow-up to last week's blog, "The Rise of Kyoshi," I've recently read. If you haven't checked out that blog, I encourage you to read it before getting into this one. The sequel was perfect; it shows where each character was after the first book, picking up where it left off. We start to see the beginning stages of the character that 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 of the struggles I enjoyed reading about had to do with 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. I was under the impression from the first book that he had more of a fighting spirit than he displayed. I would’ve at least wanted them to show Yun's internal conflict so we know more of why he started to go crazy, killing everyone after a week, or better yet, have him maintain 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 aside, I did like how Kyoshi dealt with 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 came to realize that even though the avatar's spirit is reincarnated, each one has to live their own life and make their own mistakes and have their 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 some things that they cannot do by themselves, and they will need the help of others to reach their full potential. What were your main takeaways from this story?