The Awakening of Roku

Chronicles of the Avatar #6

by Randy Ribay

From National Book Award finalist Randy Ribay comes the gripping follow-up to The Reckoning of Roku, book one in the latest duology in the New York Times bestselling Chronicles of the Avatar series, set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

This epic sixth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series continues Avatar Roku’s journey toward discovering what it means to be a spirit of no nation…even if the lesson comes at great personal cost.

The stunning conclusion to a powerful duology, The Awakening of Roku is certain to leave readers breathless.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Ebooks, Audiobook

288 pages, Hardcover

Published December 30, 2025

About the author

Randy Ribay is an award-winning author of young adult fiction. His most recent novel, Patron Saints of Nothing, earned five starred reviews, was selected as a Freeman Book Award winner, and was a finalist for the National Book Award, LA Times Book Prize, Walden Book Award, Edgar Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His other works include Project Kawayan, After the Shot Drops, and An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes. His next novels, The Chronicles of the Avatar: The Reckoning of Roku (Abrams) and Everything We Never Had, (Kokila/Penguin) will be out in 2024.

Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy earned his BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Ed.M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.

Reviews

[Claire]

I'M SO EXCITED

[Haley]

if its ATLA, you know i'm there

[Chelsea Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book of 2026!

This one never really fully grabbed me. And I have a few problems with it.

I take issue with some of the misdirection the author sets up regarding a specific character because it never feels like real misdirection. I also think there are some things that are repetitive in Roku’s character development. And I just don’t like Sozin, but I guess that’s kind of the point? Knowing the trajectory ahead of him, I don’t want him to be a likable but complicated guy who we can sympathize with…he’s a bad guy, and I like that that’s explicit across these two novels.

I do admire that Ribay continues the tradition of these ‘Chronicles of the Avatar’ books not being direct prequels to the show, even in the case of us following the Avatar directly preceding Aang; I like that the story is more about Roku becoming Avatar in his own right than about Roku becoming the version of Roku we saw in the show. It’s self-contained.

I also like that Ribay used a small character created for the Avatar Legends TTRPG who I didn’t know about until reading about her here. A trans character in the ATLA universe? And in telling her story, we learn that there were past companions of Avatars who were also trans - and at least one trans Avatar? Heck yeah. Her being trans is a *very* small part of this story, but I found her backstory chapter to be deeply meaningful.

All in all, I love this universe, I like Roku and Gyatso and Makittuq…it just wasn’t my favorite book. And at the end of the day, a 3/5 rating is still greater than 50%! I’ll gladly read whatever Ribay contributes to the universe next.

Bookstagram - @chelsealikesbooks

P.S. - as a side note, I would just like to point out that I’ve never seen as many errors in a book as I did in this one. Spelling mistakes, missing words, misplaced apostrophes. There has to be more than 10 that I actively noticed while reading through, which just seemed weird to me in such a major release. This didn’t factor into my rating, but every time a new one popped up, I was like, “…again?!”

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 in Storygraph. I quite enjoyed this adventure of Roku and his friends - finally a full Team Avatar - in the icy North. Love the new character, Makkituq, who was a healer and a badass waterbender. All the description of the cold Northern environment is also really cool. The author explained in his acknowledgment that he used a number of Inuit cultures as inspiration.

From the new POVs, I liked Sozin's POV best just because it explains his genocide decision later. I guess except Zuko almost all Fire Lords are mostly assholes and toxic fathers.

The novel does not get a full four star rating because it feel a bit too short - maybe it was rushed? Additional 20 pages would be nice to flesh out some of the conflicts, like Dalisay and the Omashu part. Plus, can't we meet the queen? Alas, I am still being pampered by Yangchen novels that are so very intricate with lots of characters and the villains are more mysterious. Here, the world felt too small. Though there are some moments that made me sad, knowing what would happen many years later.

Ribay had two more novels to write so I hope he wrote about Kuruk who has been a fascinating character since the Kyoshi's novels.

[Luke Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another epic tale from avatar Rokus young life becoming the avatar! A fun story of overcoming great issues and threats and building up a story that you know will come true when you watch avatar aangs story on the big screen. Again like the last Roku book it was really fun seeing another avatars journey and story and seeing how different it was from aangs version of mastering the elements, at the end of this book Roku still can’t really bend earth and he’s been avatar for years now in these stories, meanwhile aang did it in a summer! I cannot wait to start kyoshis books and learn her journey of being chosen avatar to how she became the most solid and hardcore avatar, next to korra of course!

[Faye 🫀]

Revenge of the Sith (Roku x Sozin edition)

Ngl this was very anticlimactic….. this whole book felt like one big random side quest & the last like 10 pages felt actually interesting….

I of course always love this world & I loved all the little cameo’s….. but idk this felt so meh

[Andrew Eder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I always love these avatar books and I love getting more background on the former avatars!! This one was no exception. The adventure was strong, the lore was consistent, and I have a better understanding of Roku and Sozin’s relationship ship.

I do wish this one had more bending fights since that’s the best part. And I also wish it was less “omg ily Ta Min” and more “gyatso you’re my #1 no one else will get in our way”.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

canon trans character! or, two-spirit character? definitely not cisgender character!

I continue to adore Gyatso and I like seeing him in these books a lot.

it's hard to write a character's face-heel turn well. I don't think they quite manage it with Sozin. he's too ridiculously villainous right away, rather than letting his power corrupt him over time. Roku and Sozin were supposedly friends up until the end of Roku's life, but these books have a rift growing between them as soon as Roku leaves for his training. I think it would have been more interesting if Sozin started out with better intentions and only later became ruthless and cruel. as it is, it makes Roku seem kind of willfully ignorant for continuing to trust Sozin.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randy Ribay found his stride in this second installment of Roku’s story in the Chronicles of the Avatars series. I do wish this one was longer to spend more time in the Northern Water Tribe and delving more into Atka and developing spiritual water bending. The cast of characters continue to be the highlight of Ribay’s style, in developing Gyatso and Makittuq (who I learned is part of the avatar game so it’s really cool to bring more connections between the avatarverse mediums!).

I will say it feels a bit weird that Roku is starting to distrust Sozin but still stays adamant friends with him for decades and seems to willfully ignore the signs despite other people’s misgivings.

All in all, an enjoyable installment and I love spending time in this world!

[Colson Fairchild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment in the series. I'm sad that it wasn't longer. But any time spent in the avatar world is a good time. Rokus experience in the northern water tribe is another great way that these books help contextualize what we know about the different settings in the avatar world

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un 3.5

Ribay sabe escribir y juntar varios personajes a un clímax, también puede argumentar y novelar una historia de forma amena... lamentablemente la historia no pasa más de lo que sería un capítulo de relleno de la serie animada. Mientras las novelas de Kyoshi y Yangchen (hasta City of Echoes) aprovechan la menor censura y capacidad de la narrativa para escenas de acción muy buenas y el agregar elementos, las novelas de Roky son más una mirada a la "vida cotidiana" de otras épocas de Avatar.

De nuevo, las novelas a pesar de ser muy buenas no cambian ni agregan mucho al "canon" de la serie. Y aquí ni siquiera hubo menciones a nuevos pasados Avatares. Otro punto que "sería" bueno es la inclusión, con temas no heterosexuales... pero igual es algo que ya ha estado presente en absolutamente todas las demás historias de avatar (desde los cómics al manual del rpg y las novelas).

Sentí que el "ultra desarrollo" de Roky y Sozin o cómo son reflejados al final de la novela es desproporcional a lo poco que sucede en la historia. También se vuelve a usar un recurso para "potenciar" el control de los elementos para hacer parecer las batallas más "épicas" o fuertes, pero palicede mucho a comparación de las escenas de pelea en la serie de Korra (ni se diga en la 3er y 4ta temporada). Y me imagino que lo siguiente será la historia de Kuruk, que aquí sentí que algunas menciones a su historia echan por la borda demasiado lo que sabíamos de su "triste historia" de andar solitario cazando espíritus.

Éso sí, la novela ahora sí está plagada de referencias a muchas cosas del mundo Avatar, que son buenas reminiscencias pero la historia en sí no es muy interesante o "potente". Igual el propio autor menciona más una mirada "histórica" e influenciada por los Inuit hacia la tribu agua.

Y... existen los capibara en el mundo avatar!

[cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, randy ribay does it again. roku truly has remained my favorite avatar to read about thus far. seeing the seeds planted for how sozin slowly but surely turns into the fire lord he becomes down the line, how his hatred for the air nomads truly comes from his jealousy of roku's friendship wwith gyatso, and other ways it all ties into aang's timeline is so fun to read. while the main conflict of this book was about this 'ailment' that was poisoning the north and how that furthered roku in his waterbending, i found the actual plotline to be more so about roku's acceptance of the past, and sozin's inevitable taking over the throne. i'm interseted to see if ribay has plans to write another novel diving into roku's time learning earthbending, or if possibly he'll go back and write more on avatar kuruk, as it was nice seeing snippets of him in this as well.

overall, 5 stars !

[Joshua Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing bounce back for Ribay. I was very critical of the first Roku novel and Ribay as an extension. This novel however was so well written with great character voices. The characters were all unique and fun. I was reading this expecting to be disappointed and every time I thought I was about to be critical of a plot twist or the next part Ribay executed a different and unexpected plot point. And most importantly Ribay really settled into the lore of the avatar world and did an amazing job creating a new story that held true to every thing I love about this series. I hope we get new books moving forward about avatars before Roku, Kyoshi, and Yangchen. I imagine we’ll get Kuruk books next.

[Jordan Armes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally got to see more of Roku and Gyatso…and it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

While the story was structured nicely and it was easy to
follow, it didn’t have that same magic that The Reckoning of Roku had. I found some parts of the writing much weaker and the story didn’t pull be in as much.

However, it was nice to see Sozin’s descent fleshed out a little more even if it made me sad to know he and Roku were drifting apart. Overall, I don’t regret reading it, but I definitely enjoyed the first Roku book so much more!

[Autumn]

as always i love the references from the show. heard theres another book coming that intertwines kuruk and roku and im so excited!

[Paige Inglee · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeah so I simply just do not care about anything that happened in this…genuinely it’s okay if they stop making them

[Nick Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike most of the ATLA novels, this story has very little consequence to the grand scheme of the franchise. This is more or less a side quest stretched out into a whole novel.

[Tahsina Alam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The problem is solved very abruptly. It would've been interesting to see in-depth exploration of the Makittuq character and how she solved the issue.

[Sumanth Sridhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book but wish it could have been longer 🥲 It was well written & paced well

[Farren Hurwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed reading this one and had fun with the plot and characters. However, a few gaping plot holes are why I think it’s a 3.5

[ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

while it’s once again fun to revisit the universe and the novel is well-written, it is gapingly lacking in the plot department compared to all the other instalments, including the last one. the threat is completely non-formative to Roku’s character and Avatar journey as opposed to all the large-scale fundamental problems in Kyoshi and Yangchen’s novels, or even Roku’s last story, which was much more dynamic.

the ending could make or break such a novel and unfortunately, in this case, it plummets the narrative, even if it’s fun and easy to read. it is extremely abrupt, seems like a cop-out, reads as rushed and underdeveloped, and is a placeholder for convenience. a nothingburger in the grand scheme of things.

ultimately, the epilogue doesn’t show growth or significant character progression either and makes for an obvious gap in the context of the series when placed next to F. C. Yee’s novels (or Ribay’s last one), if we ignore the enticing style.

[Jesse Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set three years following the events of The Reckoning of Roku, The Awakening of Roku depicts the titular avatar's next unexpected challenge, one that could destabilize the two nations. Having mastered fire and air, Roku heads to the Northern Water Tribe to begin his waterbending training. We know from season 3 of ATLA that waterbending was especially difficult for Roku, and here we learn why: guilt. Roku harbors guilt for what happened with his brother Yasu and over the death of Malaya, the latter of which was not his fault. In addition to that inner battle, Roku confronts a new threat: a strange epidemic devastating small Water Tribe communities.

As in the previous novel, Roku is not the only point-of-view character. Sozin is once again explored in short chapters. The story delves deeper into his relationship with his father, Fire Lord Taiso, whose massive expectations shape Sozin's ruthlessness and cunning. Ta Min is also given more spotlight as a Fire Nation emissary who reluctantly becomes a spy for Sozin, uncovering a conspiracy within the Earth Kingdom. Finally, a new POV character is introduced in Atka, the story's primary antagonist. Of all the villains in the Chronicles of the Avatar series, she is by far the least fascinating and has no connection with the protagonist. She serves her purpose, but she was not very memorable.

A better new character was Makittuq, a skilled waterbender, healer, and possibly the first spirit-bender. I like that the story initially makes the reader question her trustworthiness until her backstory is revealed.

While not POV characters, both Gyatso and Avatar Kuruk are prominent side characters. Gyatso is undoubtedly the funniest character in the novel and solidifies himself as Roku's most faithful friend. Meanwhile, Kuruk's experience with battling dark spirits intrigues Roku and may help him with his new adversary.

Randy Ribay once again demonstrates that he can describe bending in a way that allows the reader to visualize what is happening. His action scenes are superb. However, this novel is weaker than Reckoning because the world felt much smaller here. Despite having multiple locations and POV characters, the plot moves at an incredible pace due to the book's short length. A few more chapters would have helped.

In conclusion, the novel is a fine self-contained story. I loved the relationships and development of Roku, Gyatso, and Ta Min, but the book is weakened by its short length and lackluster antagonist. 3.5/5

[Eliza M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roku est un Avatar qui était loin d’être parfait, mais j’avais assez aimé le premier de ses livres pour me lancer sur celui-ci. Si je peux dire une chose, c’est que cette suite met très bien en place ce qui s’annonce dans l’univers d’ATLA !

Maîtrisant à présent l’air, Roku se met en route vers la tribu d’eau du nord pour commencer sa formation. Accompagné par son ami Gyatso, le jeune Avatar est prêt à développer de nouvelles compétences. Cependant, la route jusqu’à la capitale nordique est longue et rude. Et avec des animaux victimes d’un empoisonnement qui les fait devenir violents, Roku doit poser ses marques rapidement avant que la situation ne dégénère complètement.

Ce tome ne perd pas de temps et va droit au but dès les premières pages en ce qui concerne les objectifs à réaliser ! Nous retrouvons un Roku qui vient de passer quelques années parmi les nomades de l’air et qui est plus que prêt pour la suite des choses. On remarque avec facilité le changement qui le marque, depuis la dernière fois que nous l’avons vu. On voit comment les enseignements qu’il a eus l’ont influencé et aussi sa prise de maturité maintenant qu’il est un jeune adulte.

J’ai toujours autant apprécié le jeune moine Gyatso, qui lui est toujours fidèle – tout en n’hésitant pas à lui faire avaler ses quatre vérités – et qui reste drôle à sa sauce, Ta Min qui cherche à bien faire depuis Omashu, et j’ai beaucoup aimé Makittuq, la nouvelle amie que Roku se fait dans le nord ! En ce qui concerne Sozin, j’ai bien apprécié son développement et le fait qu’on remarque de plus en plus vers quelle direction il s’enligne pour la suite des choses.

Il n’y a que le propos de l’histoire en tant que telle qui a pris du temps à se clarifier et à s’imposer dans le récit. Ça a pris du temps pour bien démarrer et il faut un moment avant qu’on ne saisisse l’endroit où l’auteur souhaitait nous mener. En fait, si les personnages n’étaient pas là pour sauver la mise, mon expérience de lecture aurait été toute autre.

Alors bon. Là-dessus, voyons voir si dans un futur rapproché ou non, il y aura un autre roman dans cette série sur les Avatars. Mais pour le moment, je suis fière de terminer sur cette note !

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been three years since Lambak Island and Roku has now finished his Avatar training with the Air Nomads. Water is next and that means another round of change. Roku has come to love his time with the Air Nomads and specifically his closest friend, Gyatso. But he must complete his changing. Luckily for Roku it seems that Gyatso isn’t ready either to say goodbye and offers to travel with him to the Northern Water Tribe before Gyatso starts his emissary mission with the Fire Nation. But when they arrive in the North they realize danger is in the air with a mysterious illness. And they cannot sit back and do nothing. So they team up with a waterbender named Makittuq to discover the origin of the poison and if they can find a cure before others get hurt. Meanwhile, Sozin is showing more and more of signs of meeting the future we all know is coming for him as he tries to prove his place as the heir. And then there is Tam Min! Who is currently an emissary of the Fire Nation staying in Omashu where she uncovers something big and that may connect to what Roku is dealing with. I really liked this story! As obviously a big fan of the Avatar the Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra, there were so many things we get to see here that actually will come into play in the future. So it was interesting to see a previous Avatar deal with similar issues. I also loved how seeing this younger version of Gyatso is basically Aang. The man raised a mini him and it’s hilarious to see. I also just enjoyed really getting to know Roku more and how his journey shapes him more and more into the Avatar we see in the future. Great story all around!

[Wami · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

I’m obsessed with all things Avatar, so I’ll be reading these novels as they come out regardless. That said, this one lands solidly in the middle for me.

Honestly, I struggled with what to write for this review, and that probably captures how I feel about the book overall. It wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad either. I was reasonably entertained throughout, but I never felt that urgent need to devour the next chapter. In fact, I traveled for a week while reading it and didn’t feel compelled to pick it up at all during that time. Still, I was happy to return to it when I got back.

One aspect I really enjoyed, both in this book and the previous installment, is how Roku consistently looks for the good in people, sometimes to the point of overlooking the harm they’re actively causing. His instincts about people aren’t always wrong, but they aren’t always right either. By the end of this novel, we see him developing the humility to question his initial judgments and seek advice from others, which feels like meaningful growth.

Roku’s uncertainty as he tries to find his footing as the Avatar is also endearing. These origin novels do a great job reminding us that the Avatars we admire in ATLA all started from humble beginnings and struggled with doubts about their own legitimacy. That remains one of my favorite parts of these stories.

[Caitlin Trepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this book is some of the side characters. The mystery identity of the villain was intriguing and much better than the previous book. There were still quite a few things missing for me. For example, each avatar has a uniqueness to that makes them the right avatar for that era. Roku doesn’t seem to have that. Also, while I appreciate the many nods to the show, the Roku novels are the only ones so far that I feel don’t stand on their own. There is not enough value added when it comes to world-building.

It felt more like the comics which are sort of like a day or season in the life, rather than full-on stories the way the Kyoshi and Yangchen stories reveal much about the lore and history. They feel like solid prequels. This one feels more like deleted scenes. And that they were deleted because they didn’t add a lot. I feel there was so much that could have been done here. Roku could have been likable and the development of Sozin needed much more. It wasn’t realistic in the novel that they were friends. It could have been a really good story and I was really excited to read it. I wish it had lived up to my expectations.

[Heather Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I really liked this one. The chemistry between Roku and Gyatso as friends is solid, and the setting of the Northern Water Tribe was interesting to see. Also, Makittuq as a character was a nice addition, as well as exploring the concept of 2 Spirits to the Avatar-verse, and I feel like they integrated it well. And the POV chapters with Sozin were a good connective explanation as to how he gained power as Fire Lord, while giving insight to the royal family dynamics.

Only downside was the actual conflict and antagonist didn't really get fleshed out as well as they could have. Atka's origin is just kind of glossed over, and there's no real explanation of how she's an Earthbender living in the North, or if there was, I missed it entirely. Also, as much as I liked Ta Min as a character, her POV chapters just didn't fit as well in the book, and sadly, it leaves a really interesting plot hanging, since I think at this point, it's a foregone conclusion that these Chronicles books only get two per Avatar, making it feel kind of pointless.

Still the writing and characters were solid enough to make this a worthwhile read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the second Roku book in this series it is not bad. I will 9-10 always rate these books pretty high, because of my love for the avatar universe and the plethora of lore drops of the previous avatars. I truly do find this series really fun and almost brain scratching to read. The atmosphere and setting always hits! Dialogue always hits. They just need to step up in the plot department a little bit.


I will say there is a similar story to the first Roku book. This is the first time where I have felt that one of these novels have repeated themselves or that they were a little too similar. With the other Avatar books you are continuing the story and it did not feel like the plot itself was repeating,unlike this book. Though Roku and the gang go through there normal adventures I felt as though there was something missing. I felt as though the ending was left unfinished.


I am very curious to see if they make another book about Roku. Since all the other Avatars have only gotten two books.

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love ATLA and everything in this universe!

The Awakening of Roku was a good book. The story was entertaining and the characters were very good. Gyatso was my favorite. He was a lot of fun and you can really see where Aang gets his jovial spirit from. Also, Makittuq was a surprisingly good character. She was written really well and I actually could have used a few more chapters following her.

I love that this story also gave us a main character, and an unknown past Avatar, that are canonically trans/two-spirited. This universe has never shied away from being inclusive, which is another reason why I love it so much.

On the negative side of things, I wish we got a little less Sozin. I know he plays an important role in Roku’s story but I feel like all of his chapters weren’t really needed. We already know what happens between them, so it didn’t add much. This issue wasn’t nearly as bad as Yangchen’s novels, but if it’s supposed to be a Roku novel, then I want more Roku.

[shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wasn’t incredibly impressed by the first roku novel, and unfortunately, that was the case for this one. it’s a shame because there were some interesting moments and plot lines set up, but overall the book failed to deliver. this book was much shorter than the other ones, and it felt rushed (and also dragged in some areas?)

i’ve noticed that the author does not often let the characters have serious moments, and always tries to break up tension with a joke (even in times where it feels wrong to do it). he also puts so many “hints” of the future that is to come, in a way that feels clumsy. the reader knows what will happen but having roku constantly saying something like “sozin would never hurt innocent people” just feels like lazy writing.

i hope we get more from this universe but please. please. a new author. i beg.

plus one star for having trans rep