Avatar: The Last Airbender: 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 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, Audiobook

288 pages, Kindle Edition

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

[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.

[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?!”

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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

[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

[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.

[James Orlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some strange convenience writing that seems a bit off compared to the first entry. A few times things just happen without cause. Was almost hard to look past. Some gets ironed out but thankfully it finds solid footing in the second half

[Maryam ❥ tomesandtravels]

I'm sat. I'm so sat.

[Jacob Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is a fun, easy read for the most part. There are a few chapters where it is pretty heavy handed and transparent with the social commentary. I agree with the commentary, however, I read books like this for escapism and distraction.

[Sumanth Sridhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Kathleen Walrus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was by no means my favorite Avatar novel, nor my favorite Randy Ribay book. But man did, “I can’t let anything happen to you [Gyatso]. Not in this life - or my next” got me.

[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.