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Avatar Legends: City of Echoes
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Judy I. Lin comes a brand-new series featuring the unsung heroes behind legendary events within the world of The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
There is no war outside of these walls.
This is what the citizens of Ba Sing Se are told to believe, but Jin knows better. As a refugee whose parents were killed by the Fire Nation, she is haunted by her past. Now, she does her best to keep her head down in the Lower Ring, caring for her ailing grandfather and balancing school with survival.
Her one bright spot is her best friend Susu, whose family treats Jin like one of their own, and whose bakery she helps make deliveries for.
Her world shatters when Susu’s father gambles away the bakery and Susu is forced to take a contract in the Upper Ring to pay off the family’s debt. Jin vows to help her friend—no matter what it takes. A chain of events fueled by her desperate promise leads Jin to Xuan, an arrogant boy from the Middle Ring with ties to the Silver Fangs, a major player in the city’s black market.
The deeper Jin delves into her double life, the more she learns about Susu’s own entanglement in a conspiracy darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined.
As whispers swirl of the Avatar’s presence within the city’s walls, the Fire Nation creeps ever closer. With Ba Sing Se teetering on the brink of revolution, Jin must defy the powerful forces that control her city and risk everything for the friend she’s determined to save.
There is no war outside of these walls.
This is what the citizens of Ba Sing Se are told to believe, but Jin knows better. As a refugee whose parents were killed by the Fire Nation, she is haunted by her past. Now, she does her best to keep her head down in the Lower Ring, caring for her ailing grandfather and balancing school with survival.
Her one bright spot is her best friend Susu, whose family treats Jin like one of their own, and whose bakery she helps make deliveries for.
Her world shatters when Susu’s father gambles away the bakery and Susu is forced to take a contract in the Upper Ring to pay off the family’s debt. Jin vows to help her friend—no matter what it takes. A chain of events fueled by her desperate promise leads Jin to Xuan, an arrogant boy from the Middle Ring with ties to the Silver Fangs, a major player in the city’s black market.
The deeper Jin delves into her double life, the more she learns about Susu’s own entanglement in a conspiracy darker and more dangerous than she could have imagined.
As whispers swirl of the Avatar’s presence within the city’s walls, the Fire Nation creeps ever closer. With Ba Sing Se teetering on the brink of revolution, Jin must defy the powerful forces that control her city and risk everything for the friend she’s determined to save.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2025
About the author
Judy I. Lin
9 books2,415 followersJudy I. Lin is the #1 New York Times-bestselling and award-winning author of fantasy and horror books for young adults, including the Book of Tea duology, Song of the Six Realms, The Dark Becomes Her and the upcoming Avatar Legends: City of Echoes. Judy was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughters.
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August 20, 2025One of my fav authors writing an atla book ?? Sign me up!!!
(genuinely feel like my worlds have collided)
Edit: I won a copy of this book AAA I feel do lucky rn
(genuinely feel like my worlds have collided)
Edit: I won a copy of this book AAA I feel do lucky rn
July 23, 2025
ALC 🎧 Book Review 🤍
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As an ATLA fan— This was everything and more.
The feeling when you get to revisit one of your favorite series? Priceless.
Esp since we get a different POV (Jin) to the story we all know and love— A Tale of Ba Sing Se.
The fountain scene? So cuuuute. We all love Zuko & his misunderstood bad boy moments.
Being able to see scenes like that, which we’ve previously saw on TV in a different light is so fun!!
Especially in the mind of a side character, which in this she’s not anymore— She’s the main!!
This had more than just nostalgic moments. This had grief (I literally started to tear up), struggles of the lower ring, found family, revolution, & so much that we all pulled from ATLA growing up.
I felt the burial was such a powerful moment. It really showed inner working of an Earth Nation village at the end of it all.
“They can burn us, but the Earth remains.”
*This line hit hard.
Overall, I enjoyed seeing some of the characters we know & love, literally ‘cause I ate this up the same day I downloaded it lol!!
Special thanks to Blackstone Pub for auto-approving me 🫶🏽 It’s always an honor reviewing your selection.
Nancy Wu did such a wonderful job narrating!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As an ATLA fan— This was everything and more.
The feeling when you get to revisit one of your favorite series? Priceless.
Esp since we get a different POV (Jin) to the story we all know and love— A Tale of Ba Sing Se.
The fountain scene? So cuuuute. We all love Zuko & his misunderstood bad boy moments.
Being able to see scenes like that, which we’ve previously saw on TV in a different light is so fun!!
Especially in the mind of a side character, which in this she’s not anymore— She’s the main!!
This had more than just nostalgic moments. This had grief (I literally started to tear up), struggles of the lower ring, found family, revolution, & so much that we all pulled from ATLA growing up.
I felt the burial was such a powerful moment. It really showed inner working of an Earth Nation village at the end of it all.
“They can burn us, but the Earth remains.”
*This line hit hard.
Overall, I enjoyed seeing some of the characters we know & love, literally ‘cause I ate this up the same day I downloaded it lol!!
Special thanks to Blackstone Pub for auto-approving me 🫶🏽 It’s always an honor reviewing your selection.
Nancy Wu did such a wonderful job narrating!!
September 3, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, this book is definitely for fans of Avatar the Last Airbender. Without the context of this show I do not think this book stands on its own as it runs concurrently with events in Seasons 2 and 3 of the show and has mentions of different events and scenes we see in the show. I do think if you’re a fan, I can highly recommend this book. It lets us see a snippet focused only on the city of Ba Song Se and the ramifications of the actions of the Avatar on the normal people in the Earth Kingdom.
I immersion read this and I think the audio narrator was solid. I didn’t find them bringing an extra spark to the performance, but they also didn’t hurt the reading experience. It was a perfectly adequate audiobook, so if that is your preferred reading method I would not dissuade you from picking it up that way.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of the audiobook for review via NetGalley.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, this book is definitely for fans of Avatar the Last Airbender. Without the context of this show I do not think this book stands on its own as it runs concurrently with events in Seasons 2 and 3 of the show and has mentions of different events and scenes we see in the show. I do think if you’re a fan, I can highly recommend this book. It lets us see a snippet focused only on the city of Ba Song Se and the ramifications of the actions of the Avatar on the normal people in the Earth Kingdom.
I immersion read this and I think the audio narrator was solid. I didn’t find them bringing an extra spark to the performance, but they also didn’t hurt the reading experience. It was a perfectly adequate audiobook, so if that is your preferred reading method I would not dissuade you from picking it up that way.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of the audiobook for review via NetGalley.
August 5, 2025
2.5 stars.
I'm having trouble connecting the sweet girl who gathered up the courage to ask a boy on a date with the loner spy of this novel.
Besides that, this story is fine. Sure, it lacks emotional depth, and the pacing in parts 2 and 3 is off. However, nothing goes against the established lore of Avatar or is downright silly. The ending of Jin's story is bright, hopeful, and triumphant, just like Aang.
I'm having trouble connecting the sweet girl who gathered up the courage to ask a boy on a date with the loner spy of this novel.
Besides that, this story is fine. Sure, it lacks emotional depth, and the pacing in parts 2 and 3 is off. However, nothing goes against the established lore of Avatar or is downright silly. The ending of Jin's story is bright, hopeful, and triumphant, just like Aang.
Read
March 6, 2026I'm gonna let my boy Sokka review this for me.
October 27, 2025
Was a 2 star. I slept on it and it's now a 1 star
I'm going to be really critical here so if you plan to read this book, please do so instead of this review so you can form your own opinion.
Let me preface this all to say I was a young girl when the original show came out, so I have "grown up" watching ATLA. I also loved season 1 of Korra, but didn't like the forced progression of the showrun due to the writers not having planned that far ahead. Lastly, I amicably enjoyed Netflix's attempt of the live-action remake. It's main trio was weakly written, but the actors who played Zuko and Iroh broke their BACKS carrying that show. It's easy to say that I am a fan of this world and I know it well.
The short: The author does not have respect for the sorce material. We already connected with this world and we already knew who Jin was and this book ain't it.
The Long: Jin was never this bitter, tortured girl who was standoffish too all the boys she meets while being snapish and clueless to her classmate who, at first was rude and bullied her, but then
✨️saw the error of his ways✨️
and then shows her shallow one-sided affection that is there for the sake of a forced love interests.
In the small snapshot we get of Jin from the show, she is this sweet girl who is a little bold and gave a really rude boy (Zuko) and chance with that date. Jin in this book is rude to Xuan (the classmate) and the same time being open to a relationship with a guy (ZUKO) she just met and had shown her zero affection and yet it took her until the 3rd act to realize she had developed feelings for Xuan, and we as the readers should take the author's word on in that they "slowly fell in-love" during that condensed time-jumble of two-ish months of planing a non-existent heist. (the way it was written, it felt like everything happened in 3 days). There is no emotional connection for the reader. The romance was off-screen 65% of the time!
Xuan suffered from the same issues as most male love interests in YA: Falls first and its out nowhere and the romantic build up is shallow and too quick and unrealistic. I tried reeeeallly hard to like this kid, but he was too cookie cutter and generic. It feels like this in another FMC who is a man hater... until it's convenient not to be.
Book!Jin loaths the city and economics around her and criticizes the classisim of Ba Sing Se, constantly making a point to say to the reader that people are poor because the system is broken. These views feel forced and out of touch of this fictional world. Its a little heavy-handed with "real world" messaging where our own global and national (USA) economy is depicted as "in shambles", which is NOT the same scenario as this fictional world. And yet the author tries to force her own views down your throat instead of focusing on the main issue of the climate of the FICTIONAL world which is literally and tyrannical takeovery from a malicious government/party. I'll say the quiet part outloud since people like to tiptoe around this: The Fire Nation is an allegory to Nazi Germany. But the author cares more about the message of "look how modern scociety is keeping the little man from getting ahead in this world! We are poor because They make us poor! Life is unfair because They have privileges that I don't and that's UNFAIR! I just want to have my own small business but I don't want to go to school because of bullies." Its PAINFULLY obvious that this author used this already established world and characters to preach her own message that she couldn't get a platform for, so she had to piggyback off an already known IP to say it. (PLEASE watch TheBackgroundNCP'S video on Why Do They Keep Doing This https://youtu.be/-I-wOSo0SJ4?si=ck1Ua...)
I would be more understanding to the main narative of the book, which is supposed to be a different perspective of the geopolitical climate of this world on a small scale while the Gaang were doing their thing, but this book has this horrible habit of TELLING you and not SHOWING you which is truly my main issue with this book.
We are TOLD through Jin's inner dialog more than half of the plot points and world lore. We are not SHOWN it.
We are TOLD that there is a plan in the 3rd act, and that there are contingencies for failer, but it was never explained or shown until after the fact. You can't have a heist/plan/mission arc without the exposition of said plan! That's just things happening without any set up! How did they get jobs in the palace? Why are we in the Laundry room? We are TOLD because of underworld connections after we are already there! Its a jarring way to change the scene without any explanation.
We are TOLD that she has this best friend who saved her when she first came into the city, but we were never shown that flashback, therefore we didn't have that emotional connection with the characters which makes the 3rd act suffer when they go to save Susu (the best friend), and Jin and Susu have this psudo-emotional reunion and the only core memory they can give the reader is that moment where they were sitting on that rooftop, dreaming of eating roast duck in the palace in the beginning of the book. You mean to tell me that these two girls are so close that Jin risks peoples' lives to save her, and are supposed to be "like sisters" and the best way they could undo Susu's brainwashing was to jog up their most recent happy memory of them dreaming of being rich? Gee, it sure would have been nice to draw up a deep trauma-filled flashback where the reader emotionally connected with these two characters🙄 Too bad it doesn't exist.
I'm tired. I feel like I'm being too critical in bashing this book. There are loads more issues I could touch on but I'm tired of being negative.
What the book DID do good is nailing the main established characters from the show. Zuko and Iroh, Smellerbee and Longshot, they are all very well written. More so Smellerbeed and Longshot since they have a bigger presence in the book. Their relationship was so sweetly written, and they really truly felt like the most humanized characters in the story. (The book should have been about them.) Joo Dee turned a little unhinged in the end, but I'll blame that on the trauma (instead of the writer needing a villain for the sake of a lackluster plots twist.)
In closing I ask, who was this book written for? Was it for people who were barely a teenager when the show came out and are now in their early 30s who want to revisit the universe as an adult? Or was this book written for a 13 year old who after having watched the live-action Netflix adaptation, realized there is a whole superior 3 seasons out there for them to watch for this said 13 year old to then discover there is a BOOK where the MFC is ✨️just like them✨️ in the most generic, safe, broad way so that it can reach a wider audience? Too bad the majority of the people who pick up this book are going to be the former scenario because the latter audience are the 13 year olds of today, and they are too busy reading ACOTAR or whatever book-of-the-week TikTok spews at them.
I don't know the audience for this book but it sure as hell wasn't me.
I'm going to be really critical here so if you plan to read this book, please do so instead of this review so you can form your own opinion.
Let me preface this all to say I was a young girl when the original show came out, so I have "grown up" watching ATLA. I also loved season 1 of Korra, but didn't like the forced progression of the showrun due to the writers not having planned that far ahead. Lastly, I amicably enjoyed Netflix's attempt of the live-action remake. It's main trio was weakly written, but the actors who played Zuko and Iroh broke their BACKS carrying that show. It's easy to say that I am a fan of this world and I know it well.
The short: The author does not have respect for the sorce material. We already connected with this world and we already knew who Jin was and this book ain't it.
The Long: Jin was never this bitter, tortured girl who was standoffish too all the boys she meets while being snapish and clueless to her classmate who, at first was rude and bullied her, but then
✨️saw the error of his ways✨️
and then shows her shallow one-sided affection that is there for the sake of a forced love interests.
In the small snapshot we get of Jin from the show, she is this sweet girl who is a little bold and gave a really rude boy (Zuko) and chance with that date. Jin in this book is rude to Xuan (the classmate) and the same time being open to a relationship with a guy (ZUKO) she just met and had shown her zero affection and yet it took her until the 3rd act to realize she had developed feelings for Xuan, and we as the readers should take the author's word on in that they "slowly fell in-love" during that condensed time-jumble of two-ish months of planing a non-existent heist. (the way it was written, it felt like everything happened in 3 days). There is no emotional connection for the reader. The romance was off-screen 65% of the time!
Xuan suffered from the same issues as most male love interests in YA: Falls first and its out nowhere and the romantic build up is shallow and too quick and unrealistic. I tried reeeeallly hard to like this kid, but he was too cookie cutter and generic. It feels like this in another FMC who is a man hater... until it's convenient not to be.
Book!Jin loaths the city and economics around her and criticizes the classisim of Ba Sing Se, constantly making a point to say to the reader that people are poor because the system is broken. These views feel forced and out of touch of this fictional world. Its a little heavy-handed with "real world" messaging where our own global and national (USA) economy is depicted as "in shambles", which is NOT the same scenario as this fictional world. And yet the author tries to force her own views down your throat instead of focusing on the main issue of the climate of the FICTIONAL world which is literally and tyrannical takeovery from a malicious government/party. I'll say the quiet part outloud since people like to tiptoe around this: The Fire Nation is an allegory to Nazi Germany. But the author cares more about the message of "look how modern scociety is keeping the little man from getting ahead in this world! We are poor because They make us poor! Life is unfair because They have privileges that I don't and that's UNFAIR! I just want to have my own small business but I don't want to go to school because of bullies." Its PAINFULLY obvious that this author used this already established world and characters to preach her own message that she couldn't get a platform for, so she had to piggyback off an already known IP to say it. (PLEASE watch TheBackgroundNCP'S video on Why Do They Keep Doing This https://youtu.be/-I-wOSo0SJ4?si=ck1Ua...)
I would be more understanding to the main narative of the book, which is supposed to be a different perspective of the geopolitical climate of this world on a small scale while the Gaang were doing their thing, but this book has this horrible habit of TELLING you and not SHOWING you which is truly my main issue with this book.
We are TOLD through Jin's inner dialog more than half of the plot points and world lore. We are not SHOWN it.
We are TOLD that there is a plan in the 3rd act, and that there are contingencies for failer, but it was never explained or shown until after the fact. You can't have a heist/plan/mission arc without the exposition of said plan! That's just things happening without any set up! How did they get jobs in the palace? Why are we in the Laundry room? We are TOLD because of underworld connections after we are already there! Its a jarring way to change the scene without any explanation.
We are TOLD that she has this best friend who saved her when she first came into the city, but we were never shown that flashback, therefore we didn't have that emotional connection with the characters which makes the 3rd act suffer when they go to save Susu (the best friend), and Jin and Susu have this psudo-emotional reunion and the only core memory they can give the reader is that moment where they were sitting on that rooftop, dreaming of eating roast duck in the palace in the beginning of the book. You mean to tell me that these two girls are so close that Jin risks peoples' lives to save her, and are supposed to be "like sisters" and the best way they could undo Susu's brainwashing was to jog up their most recent happy memory of them dreaming of being rich? Gee, it sure would have been nice to draw up a deep trauma-filled flashback where the reader emotionally connected with these two characters🙄 Too bad it doesn't exist.
I'm tired. I feel like I'm being too critical in bashing this book. There are loads more issues I could touch on but I'm tired of being negative.
What the book DID do good is nailing the main established characters from the show. Zuko and Iroh, Smellerbee and Longshot, they are all very well written. More so Smellerbeed and Longshot since they have a bigger presence in the book. Their relationship was so sweetly written, and they really truly felt like the most humanized characters in the story. (The book should have been about them.) Joo Dee turned a little unhinged in the end, but I'll blame that on the trauma (instead of the writer needing a villain for the sake of a lackluster plots twist.)
In closing I ask, who was this book written for? Was it for people who were barely a teenager when the show came out and are now in their early 30s who want to revisit the universe as an adult? Or was this book written for a 13 year old who after having watched the live-action Netflix adaptation, realized there is a whole superior 3 seasons out there for them to watch for this said 13 year old to then discover there is a BOOK where the MFC is ✨️just like them✨️ in the most generic, safe, broad way so that it can reach a wider audience? Too bad the majority of the people who pick up this book are going to be the former scenario because the latter audience are the 13 year olds of today, and they are too busy reading ACOTAR or whatever book-of-the-week TikTok spews at them.
I don't know the audience for this book but it sure as hell wasn't me.
Read
October 4, 2025It's times like this I need to remember Avatar is primarily a kids/teen franchise. And though I grew up with it, and continue to enjoy the series, I'm way out of the target demographic.
While it's amazing that we're getting extended universe books, this wasn't the strongest start to that in my opinion. The concept and bones of the story are really good, as Jin was a really cool one-off character in the Ba Sing Se arc from the show. And the idea of her working with not only The White Lotus, but Smellerbee and Longshot, makes all the sense in the world, as there's enough blank space for her character to make that work. Making her an Earthbender though felt like it was more out of convenience than anything, as we've seen countless efficient non-benders in the series. Also felt like her grandfather character could have just been cut and not lost anything, as well as her attending an academy, for all that it factored in. What's really compelling is her friendship with Susu being the driving force to take down the brainwashed "Joo Dee" characters, which was always left open ended in the The Last Airbender. And it was really interesting seeing a POV of a character who had absolutely no interaction with the Gaang, and how that reflects her worldview as a result.
All that being said, the writing just felt for lack of a better term, immature. Like it read like a middle grade book, which the length doesn't really justify I don't think. Also after a bit Jin's inner monologue read to me as really cheesy, and wasn't too far off from the Ember Islands version of Katara. I know that's harsh, but I think with a little tweaking, this could've been great, and the execution just fell flat.
While it's amazing that we're getting extended universe books, this wasn't the strongest start to that in my opinion. The concept and bones of the story are really good, as Jin was a really cool one-off character in the Ba Sing Se arc from the show. And the idea of her working with not only The White Lotus, but Smellerbee and Longshot, makes all the sense in the world, as there's enough blank space for her character to make that work. Making her an Earthbender though felt like it was more out of convenience than anything, as we've seen countless efficient non-benders in the series. Also felt like her grandfather character could have just been cut and not lost anything, as well as her attending an academy, for all that it factored in. What's really compelling is her friendship with Susu being the driving force to take down the brainwashed "Joo Dee" characters, which was always left open ended in the The Last Airbender. And it was really interesting seeing a POV of a character who had absolutely no interaction with the Gaang, and how that reflects her worldview as a result.
All that being said, the writing just felt for lack of a better term, immature. Like it read like a middle grade book, which the length doesn't really justify I don't think. Also after a bit Jin's inner monologue read to me as really cheesy, and wasn't too far off from the Ember Islands version of Katara. I know that's harsh, but I think with a little tweaking, this could've been great, and the execution just fell flat.
July 28, 2025
The first thing I want to say is that I am mad I didn't do my research and realize that the main character of this book was an extremely minor character in ATLA!
This book revolves around our main character Jin and takes place during the ATLA show. Jin's best friend Susu has signed a contract to pay off her father's gambling debts in the Upper Ring and Jin is determined to save her.
To be honest, this didn't feel like a book from the Avatar world as much as the books about the previous Avatars do at first. As we got towards the end though, things that I remembered from the show pulled me fully into that world.
Jin is a really likeable character. She was adorable and would do anything to help Susu pay off her contract so she could return to her family. She had such a tragic backstory and family meant a lot to her. There was even a cameo from Zuko and Uncle Iroh!
Like I said, it took a minute to get into the story as an Avatar story, but I still enjoyed it as a story. I really liked how it wove in with the things that happened in the show. We get mentions of Lake Laogai, things happen on the eclipse and the comet. By the end, it really had me hooked and wanting to watch the show again and then read the book again.
The audiobook narrator was also great. She sounded like someone who would be in this world even though she was not the voice of Jin in the show.
I would love to read more books about Jin, or more books about minor characters being brought to the forefront and learning their stories. I think this is a really cool idea!
Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book revolves around our main character Jin and takes place during the ATLA show. Jin's best friend Susu has signed a contract to pay off her father's gambling debts in the Upper Ring and Jin is determined to save her.
To be honest, this didn't feel like a book from the Avatar world as much as the books about the previous Avatars do at first. As we got towards the end though, things that I remembered from the show pulled me fully into that world.
Jin is a really likeable character. She was adorable and would do anything to help Susu pay off her contract so she could return to her family. She had such a tragic backstory and family meant a lot to her. There was even a cameo from Zuko and Uncle Iroh!
Like I said, it took a minute to get into the story as an Avatar story, but I still enjoyed it as a story. I really liked how it wove in with the things that happened in the show. We get mentions of Lake Laogai, things happen on the eclipse and the comet. By the end, it really had me hooked and wanting to watch the show again and then read the book again.
The audiobook narrator was also great. She sounded like someone who would be in this world even though she was not the voice of Jin in the show.
I would love to read more books about Jin, or more books about minor characters being brought to the forefront and learning their stories. I think this is a really cool idea!
Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
January 6, 2026
As an Avatar fan, I loved this book so much!! The cameos of Zuko, Iroh, and Jet were fantastic. I smiled seeing them so much, like running into old friends, and I loved Jin getting to witness the Zuko/Jet fight, which is one of my favorites of the whole series.
The story itself was really engaging. Jin was a great protagonist to follow and I enjoyed that Smellerbee and Longshot got bigger roles as well.
My one critique would be I don't know how I feel about them turning Jin into an earthbender. I would have loved to see her be a badass nonbender instead but this is just personal preference rather than a complaint on the story.
Definitely a must read for all ATLA fans!
The story itself was really engaging. Jin was a great protagonist to follow and I enjoyed that Smellerbee and Longshot got bigger roles as well.
My one critique would be I don't know how I feel about them turning Jin into an earthbender. I would have loved to see her be a badass nonbender instead but this is just personal preference rather than a complaint on the story.
Definitely a must read for all ATLA fans!
dnf-s
August 10, 2025DNF 66% in
I fear I maybe needed to rewatch ATLA before dabbling with this?? I don’t really remember anything about Jin & I’m finding myself unsure of the other side stories/plot and the overall point of it & how much I was supposed to already know going into this??
I think when I rewatch ATLA I may come back and dabble with this
I fear I maybe needed to rewatch ATLA before dabbling with this?? I don’t really remember anything about Jin & I’m finding myself unsure of the other side stories/plot and the overall point of it & how much I was supposed to already know going into this??
I think when I rewatch ATLA I may come back and dabble with this
July 30, 2025
By far the best YA novel yet in the ATLA universe! Hope they keep these coming!
November 12, 2025
City of Echoes is a story within the world of Avatar. Jin is a refugee in Ba Sing Se and ends up getting tangled up in the revolution in order to save her friend. This story had a good mix of action, drama, romance, and hopefulness. My biggest issue with the book was the timeline. It was hard to tell how much time was passing between major events. It made the story feel rushed in some areas. Overall, it was a quick and engaging read. It was fun to enter into the world of Avatar but from the eyes of different characters.
January 17, 2026
A fun book that adds the perspective of the more normal folk of the avatar universe.
February 15, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
This is pretty much everything I could want in a prequel. Its got great references to the touchstone material while still having room to breathe and do its own thing.
I love that Jin has been fleshed out into a real character. I was dying to see her reaction to finding out Zuko is the Fire Lord.
Its got a cute little romance, some fun action, all in one of my favorite settings from the show: Ba Sing Se. There is so much about Ba Sing Se during the 100 year war that hasn’t been explored and this tiny little peek into its history was great.
The class disparity between rings and the exploitation of refugees was topical and interesting and was set up but never explored much in the show. I was interested to see more of that.
Although I only gave this book a 3.5 I really don’t think a book like this could’ve been any better. Lin is a talented author and she did a wonderful job with the source material that is near and dear to my heart.
I finally got my Avatar book that isn’t about an Avatar! It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
This is pretty much everything I could want in a prequel. Its got great references to the touchstone material while still having room to breathe and do its own thing.
I love that Jin has been fleshed out into a real character. I was dying to see her reaction to finding out Zuko is the Fire Lord.
Its got a cute little romance, some fun action, all in one of my favorite settings from the show: Ba Sing Se. There is so much about Ba Sing Se during the 100 year war that hasn’t been explored and this tiny little peek into its history was great.
The class disparity between rings and the exploitation of refugees was topical and interesting and was set up but never explored much in the show. I was interested to see more of that.
Although I only gave this book a 3.5 I really don’t think a book like this could’ve been any better. Lin is a talented author and she did a wonderful job with the source material that is near and dear to my heart.
I finally got my Avatar book that isn’t about an Avatar! It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
June 26, 2026
I have read every book, comic, and graphic novel to come out of the Avatarverse so I can proudly say this is my favorite from the era of Aang. Although the Avatar himself is only mentioned a handful of times, seeing how these ordinary Earth Kingdom citizens try to resist the Fire Nation is inspirational. The entire time reading, you’re aware of how this war will end. You know the truths about “Lee and Mushi”, the White Lotus, the Avatar’s fate… but it doesn’t take away from the incredible narrative and journey of Jin who shines like a star in this book. Obsessed with this. Thank you for writing it, Judy I. Lin.
July 5, 2026
This was a decent read! I enjoyed it. I absolutely love Avatar the Last Airbender so it was really fun to return to the universe and to see the story of a small character we don't know much about in the show. I did kind of take it with a grain of salt since it isn't canon, but it was a fun read nevertheless.
I liked Jin. I think the main thing I didn't like was that she was an earthbender because it didn't seem to fit with the show. But I liked her personality and especially her relationship with Susu was really sweet!
I thought it was really interesting how this story showed more of the Joo Dees in particular since we don't know a lot about them and Susu's story was really sad. I loved Jin's determination to rescue her.
Xuan was okay. Their romance was cute in the end but overall I didn't get too invested.
And speaking of romance... The stuff with Zuko (Lee lol) was kind of funny. It was cool to see it from Jin's perspective.
Also with that it was fun to hear about the characters and stuff, like the Avatar of course and the Fire Lord - just to see other perspectives of the world and everything.
I didn't care for Smellerbee and Longshot but honestly I never have so that was fine.
I also did just get kind of bored at the end but that was fine. It felt a little chaotic and I also thought that it was just interesting how this story spanned so much time.
Overall it was a decent and fun read. It wasn't canon so I didn't like it as much as I could've but I didn't expect to anyways. A fun supporting read.
I liked Jin. I think the main thing I didn't like was that she was an earthbender because it didn't seem to fit with the show. But I liked her personality and especially her relationship with Susu was really sweet!
I thought it was really interesting how this story showed more of the Joo Dees in particular since we don't know a lot about them and Susu's story was really sad. I loved Jin's determination to rescue her.
Xuan was okay. Their romance was cute in the end but overall I didn't get too invested.
And speaking of romance... The stuff with Zuko (Lee lol) was kind of funny. It was cool to see it from Jin's perspective.
Also with that it was fun to hear about the characters and stuff, like the Avatar of course and the Fire Lord - just to see other perspectives of the world and everything.
I didn't care for Smellerbee and Longshot but honestly I never have so that was fine.
I also did just get kind of bored at the end but that was fine. It felt a little chaotic and I also thought that it was just interesting how this story spanned so much time.
Overall it was a decent and fun read. It wasn't canon so I didn't like it as much as I could've but I didn't expect to anyways. A fun supporting read.
November 19, 2025
Avatar the Last Airbender is one of my favorite shows, and the books are honestly just as good.
I love that this story doesn't follow any of the past or present avatars. Rarely do we get to spend time in the world with normal citizens. This is a story about those who are facing the struggles brought on by the war.
The FMC is Jin who, despite only appearing in a single episode, is well known and liked by ATLA fans. She is the girl that goes on a date with Zuko. With many appearances by other more well-known characters as well.
She lives in Ba Sing Se as a refugee. Her best friend, Susu, must take work in the upper ring to pay off her families debt. The next time the two cross paths, something is clearly wrong. Susu doesn't remember Lin or her family.
This starts a chain reaction that takes Lin's journey to save her friend into the underbelly of the city. The timeline goes from when the avatar arrives at Ba Sing Se, all the way to the end of the war.
From beginning to end this story carries the same energy and atmosphere as the show. With multiple characters with their own personalities and motivations, a sweet and slow building crush between two characters, and the beauty that can come from a community that stands against oppression.
I am very excited to see what other books we will get in this universe.
I'm begging for the Cabbage Man's story!
Thank you NetGalley for the ALC!
I love that this story doesn't follow any of the past or present avatars. Rarely do we get to spend time in the world with normal citizens. This is a story about those who are facing the struggles brought on by the war.
The FMC is Jin who, despite only appearing in a single episode, is well known and liked by ATLA fans. She is the girl that goes on a date with Zuko. With many appearances by other more well-known characters as well.
She lives in Ba Sing Se as a refugee. Her best friend, Susu, must take work in the upper ring to pay off her families debt. The next time the two cross paths, something is clearly wrong. Susu doesn't remember Lin or her family.
This starts a chain reaction that takes Lin's journey to save her friend into the underbelly of the city. The timeline goes from when the avatar arrives at Ba Sing Se, all the way to the end of the war.
From beginning to end this story carries the same energy and atmosphere as the show. With multiple characters with their own personalities and motivations, a sweet and slow building crush between two characters, and the beauty that can come from a community that stands against oppression.
I am very excited to see what other books we will get in this universe.
I'm begging for the Cabbage Man's story!
Thank you NetGalley for the ALC!
August 10, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
A solid addition to the Avatarverse. Mostly enjoyed the story. It has been nice to have a novel set during the events of ATLA, Book 2 specifically. The other 5 novels so far (sixth overall a.k.a. second Roku novel to be out in December) were all Avatar Chronicles, so this new series called Avatar Legends is a good idea indeed. I had fun seeing the minor episodic characters as main ones, experiencing the world from their perspective while also having the "cameos" from the main characters of the main show. A good structure.
Even though the progression and pacing have mostly been good, I got bored during the last 30-40 pages actually, which is surprising and weird because basing on the events already known to be occuring from ATLA, the finale chapters could and should have been better. Instead, they were kind of rushed and felt like without a soul, IYKWIM. The author's writing is adequate, but maybe she needs to work on how to finalize a good story? Who knows. We will see if she is picked for more novels, and if there are more Avatar Legends for the future.
I would strongly recommend. If it weren't for the final 30-40 pages, I would have confidently said a solid 4, but it's good at the end anyways. Enjoy!
A solid addition to the Avatarverse. Mostly enjoyed the story. It has been nice to have a novel set during the events of ATLA, Book 2 specifically. The other 5 novels so far (sixth overall a.k.a. second Roku novel to be out in December) were all Avatar Chronicles, so this new series called Avatar Legends is a good idea indeed. I had fun seeing the minor episodic characters as main ones, experiencing the world from their perspective while also having the "cameos" from the main characters of the main show. A good structure.
Even though the progression and pacing have mostly been good, I got bored during the last 30-40 pages actually, which is surprising and weird because basing on the events already known to be occuring from ATLA, the finale chapters could and should have been better. Instead, they were kind of rushed and felt like without a soul, IYKWIM. The author's writing is adequate, but maybe she needs to work on how to finalize a good story? Who knows. We will see if she is picked for more novels, and if there are more Avatar Legends for the future.
I would strongly recommend. If it weren't for the final 30-40 pages, I would have confidently said a solid 4, but it's good at the end anyways. Enjoy!
January 22, 2026
Firstly, I’d like to applaud the respect they had for the events in the series. You could really feel that the storyline has been studied and in turn well integrated in the story.
I do however feel like the story would have worked better if the main character was someone previously unknown. The story made sense, but the fountain scene with Lee (Zuko) felt like an obligation from the series rather than an organic part of the story. (That being said it was hilariously adorable getting the scene from Jin’s perspective :) )
And the Xuan romance overall filled too much for me. It was all be it organic, but it had too much space when their situations at times demanded other focus. At least in my opinion.
The idea with exploring the Joo Dee conspiracy made so much sense, but again I felt like this and the successful invasion of Ba Sing Se had too little room to breathe at times.
I do however feel like the story would have worked better if the main character was someone previously unknown. The story made sense, but the fountain scene with Lee (Zuko) felt like an obligation from the series rather than an organic part of the story. (That being said it was hilariously adorable getting the scene from Jin’s perspective :) )
And the Xuan romance overall filled too much for me. It was all be it organic, but it had too much space when their situations at times demanded other focus. At least in my opinion.
The idea with exploring the Joo Dee conspiracy made so much sense, but again I felt like this and the successful invasion of Ba Sing Se had too little room to breathe at times.
August 14, 2025
It was so neat seeing the events of books 2-3 through Jin's POV, but this book's pacing is all over the place, making it feel more like an outline/checklist of references. I appreciate this book for fleshing Jin out as a character (she's your typical YA protagonist, so she was a clear pick for a YA book), but I left this story feeling like there were better options to explore this time/place, namely Smellerbee, Longshot, or even Joo Dee (or one of them anyways). The Joo Dee plotline is in this book, but being in that perspective would have been so interesting. There was a place for Jin in this, but I think focusing it entirely on her was a mistake, as it wasn't as interesting as it could have been. I'd recommend this book only for huge ATLA fans, especially those who like Jin (all 2 of you before now?) and/or Smellerbee and Longshot. 3/5 stars.
October 27, 2025
.5 added for nostalgia
Such a great way to expand more of the Avatar universe, getting to see more of Ba Sing Se and to experience the events from another perspective was nice. I wanted there to be more focus of the ending that did end up feeling a little rushed but this was still an enjoyable read.
Such a great way to expand more of the Avatar universe, getting to see more of Ba Sing Se and to experience the events from another perspective was nice. I wanted there to be more focus of the ending that did end up feeling a little rushed but this was still an enjoyable read.
August 21, 2025
Loved this book!!! The detail, the lore, the story!!! All incredible!!!
November 22, 2025
A book that takes place during ATLA!! 10/10
December 30, 2025
3.5 stars
this is a companion book to the avatar world
this specific one is during avatar anngs adventure from the shows , but follows new characters with minor cameos of the main cast
this is a companion book to the avatar world
this specific one is during avatar anngs adventure from the shows , but follows new characters with minor cameos of the main cast
October 20, 2025
Actual Rating: 3.5 ✨
May 28, 2026
This was such a fun palette cleanser and nostalgia trip :)
November 13, 2025
Surprise #1: there's a whole novel about Jin, a seemingly one-off character from the most beloved of filler episodes, The Tales of Ba Sing Se.
Surprise #2: this book is absolutely amazing! Judy I. Lin had a really difficult task here: she had to introduce Jin's whole life while still weaving around pre-established events in the ATLA timeline, and she did a FANTASTIC job.
Some spoilers ahead from this point on, so be warned.
I always liked Jin, even when all I'd ever known about her was her brief appearance in Tales of Ba Sing Se (and she had an even more brief, non-canon cameo in Team Avatar Tales/Lost Adventures, too.) I loved her character design, confidence, and patience while dealing with Zuko's social awkwardness.
This book increased my love for her tenfold. She's smart, insecure, anxious, proactive, and palpably real, tethered by deep love and loss for those around her - especially her grandfather, her late parents, her best friend, and eventually, her boyfriend.
Let's talk a little bit about those last two. Jin's best friend, Susu, is someone I immediately took to; the way she's described is both charismatic and endearing, and it helps that Susu, too, has family ties (including an adorable baby sister) who allow me to be immediately invested in her fate.
Jin's love for Susu forms the basis of the plot. Without going into too many details, the circumstances which drive the two girls apart feel palpably real and absolutely gut-wrenching - drawn in large part from socioeconomic conditions in post-Cultural Revolution China, in which young, desperate girls are often compelled into exploitative working conditions in the hopes of creating better lives for themselves and their families.
I LOVE the fact that the basis of the book is formed around a non-romantic love story between two friends, and Jin's desire to get Susu back creates amazingly compelling tension between the narrative.
And I also love, love, love Jin's love interest, Xuan! The two have amazing chemistry, and the narrative presents their enemies-to-lovers dynamic in a way that isn't overly cliche-driven or indulgent. They're two people who got off on the wrong foot but ultimately have a lot in common, and the book really made me root for them.
The book - like the original ATLA series - also draws from both pre-and-post Cultural Revolution methods of tyranny and surveillance to demonstrate the corruption in Ba Sing Se. The way the Joo Dees are portrayed is especially haunting, and the fact that some of them don't even want to leave the position even knowing that they've been brainwashed because of the relative security it affords them.
Of course, Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom aren't JUST Chinese - it draws from a myriad of cultures for inspiration, including American, and is ultimately part of a fantasy world that isn't meant to perfectly parallel our own. That being said, the cultural inspiration works really well here, and plays into some tangible worldbuilding. The food, the attire, the surroundings, the calligraphy brushes, socioeconomic conditions, and overlapping cultures make this world feel SO real I can touch it.
Jin's vulnerability as a refugee is also really well portrayed here, which brings me to another element of the book I love: the Freedom Fighters! I never thought too much of Smellerbee, but she's one of my favorite characters now. And I loved Long Shot's portrayal, too.
And speaking of favorite characters, the book of course features appearances from two of my favorite characters in ATLA and all of fiction: Zuko and Iroh, or Lee and Mushi, as they call themselves in Ba Sing Se.
This was one of Lin's toughest tasks when it came to appeasing the fandom, and as with everything else, she did a great job. I loved how she portrayed Lin's fleeting but mutually meaningful connection with Zuko, and I loved Iroh's portrayal as well. On that note, the depiction of the White Lotus was super cool, and created a feel of espionage that made the book very thrilling.
In conclusion: it's great. Every ATLA fan should read it. I really look forward to more from this series, and I hope Judy I. Lin continues to write for this franchise!
Surprise #2: this book is absolutely amazing! Judy I. Lin had a really difficult task here: she had to introduce Jin's whole life while still weaving around pre-established events in the ATLA timeline, and she did a FANTASTIC job.
Some spoilers ahead from this point on, so be warned.
I always liked Jin, even when all I'd ever known about her was her brief appearance in Tales of Ba Sing Se (and she had an even more brief, non-canon cameo in Team Avatar Tales/Lost Adventures, too.) I loved her character design, confidence, and patience while dealing with Zuko's social awkwardness.
This book increased my love for her tenfold. She's smart, insecure, anxious, proactive, and palpably real, tethered by deep love and loss for those around her - especially her grandfather, her late parents, her best friend, and eventually, her boyfriend.
Let's talk a little bit about those last two. Jin's best friend, Susu, is someone I immediately took to; the way she's described is both charismatic and endearing, and it helps that Susu, too, has family ties (including an adorable baby sister) who allow me to be immediately invested in her fate.
Jin's love for Susu forms the basis of the plot. Without going into too many details, the circumstances which drive the two girls apart feel palpably real and absolutely gut-wrenching - drawn in large part from socioeconomic conditions in post-Cultural Revolution China, in which young, desperate girls are often compelled into exploitative working conditions in the hopes of creating better lives for themselves and their families.
I LOVE the fact that the basis of the book is formed around a non-romantic love story between two friends, and Jin's desire to get Susu back creates amazingly compelling tension between the narrative.
And I also love, love, love Jin's love interest, Xuan! The two have amazing chemistry, and the narrative presents their enemies-to-lovers dynamic in a way that isn't overly cliche-driven or indulgent. They're two people who got off on the wrong foot but ultimately have a lot in common, and the book really made me root for them.
The book - like the original ATLA series - also draws from both pre-and-post Cultural Revolution methods of tyranny and surveillance to demonstrate the corruption in Ba Sing Se. The way the Joo Dees are portrayed is especially haunting, and the fact that some of them don't even want to leave the position even knowing that they've been brainwashed because of the relative security it affords them.
Of course, Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom aren't JUST Chinese - it draws from a myriad of cultures for inspiration, including American, and is ultimately part of a fantasy world that isn't meant to perfectly parallel our own. That being said, the cultural inspiration works really well here, and plays into some tangible worldbuilding. The food, the attire, the surroundings, the calligraphy brushes, socioeconomic conditions, and overlapping cultures make this world feel SO real I can touch it.
Jin's vulnerability as a refugee is also really well portrayed here, which brings me to another element of the book I love: the Freedom Fighters! I never thought too much of Smellerbee, but she's one of my favorite characters now. And I loved Long Shot's portrayal, too.
And speaking of favorite characters, the book of course features appearances from two of my favorite characters in ATLA and all of fiction: Zuko and Iroh, or Lee and Mushi, as they call themselves in Ba Sing Se.
This was one of Lin's toughest tasks when it came to appeasing the fandom, and as with everything else, she did a great job. I loved how she portrayed Lin's fleeting but mutually meaningful connection with Zuko, and I loved Iroh's portrayal as well. On that note, the depiction of the White Lotus was super cool, and created a feel of espionage that made the book very thrilling.
In conclusion: it's great. Every ATLA fan should read it. I really look forward to more from this series, and I hope Judy I. Lin continues to write for this franchise!
September 10, 2025
This books is so great. I swear to God, it is a new type of storytelling in Avatar Universe.
This book is about Jin. You probably don't remember her, but she is the Earth Kingdom girl who kissed Zuko in Ba Sing Se. She literally had 5 minutes of screen time, but Judy I. Lin somehow wrote a whole goddamn story about her.
The whole point of the story is to show Ba Sing Se and the war from the simple person's view. And why don't they choose Jin? I mean, people always wanted to know what happened to her and some people even say that Zuko's daughter's mom is Jin. I mean, what the fuck you people be talking about? It is 100% obvious that Mai is Zuko's wife. They literally were created for each other, yes, they broke up in The Promise, but Mai still loves him and Zuko still loves her. They'll be couple again. And by the way, Jin had a boyfriend in the end of the story - Xuan and she didn't give a fuck that many about "Lee". Just a kiss, just a memory.
The story showed a war and the corruption of the Ba Sing Se from the Lower Ring girl's view. How she was struggling to eat sometimes and how people from other rings were making fun of her. She has a bestfriend - Susu. And story kind of goes around her. Susu's dad fucked up and gambled away their house and Susu decided to sell herself to the Dai Li agents, so her family would still own the house. Pretty brave move. And Jin tried her best to buy back Susu. She got into gang Silver Fang with Xuan's help and started to deliver illegal packages. Some drug dealing is going on here. She tries her best, BUT the price is big. They also showed Ba Sing Se conquering from the people sight and how her only left family member (her gradpa) dies. While doing Silver Fang's missions, she meets two people that you probably know. Smellerbee and Longshot. So there is new plan. Kidnap her away and Smellerbee and Longshot will help. The thing is that, she already met Susu, but Susu "pretends" that she doesn't know them. She calls herself Joo Dee. Unfortunately, Jin doesn't know anything about brainwashing, so she thinks that by pretending to not knowing her, she protects her. She and Xuan got hired to be some servants in palace and they waited slowly for the eclipse to steal Susu and un-brainwash her. The general (I forgot her name, but he is the first general who met Aang) tells them about eclipse and that Avatar Aang is dead. They lose hope, but they won't give up. During the eclipse, they wanted to save Susu, but Dai Li knew about their attack and arrested them. They were in prison for 4-10 days and it is their first place where they kissed. Then something unexpected happens. Susu comes to them and tells them that she heard that you people know who she is. So there is a hope, Jin tries to recall their shared moment and after 2 days she remembers. Then one day, Dai Li takes them to somewhere where they meet Aunt Sumi (she is Silver Fang's leader). Jin and Xuan feel betrayed, but in fact, she tells them that she is from White Lotus and she need their help to take back the city. Their mission to tell as many people as they can about the war and that they need any help to fight back the city. They escape with Susu from palace and use salt cookies with hidden message to tell everyone about the upcoming war. They want to take back the city during the Sozin's comet (they have no idea its effect). And the war starts, how every bender and every man fight with Fire Nation Soldiers to take back city. Every gang member, everyone. They also saw some huge fire tornado and how this tornado was destroying tundra tanks (he is Jeong Jeong).
And that's it. The really interesting story. In the end, Jin recognizes Zuko from New Fire Nation's King poster, but she doesn't care. She just holds on the memory, that not every Fire Nation citizen is evil. The only problem I have with that story is that why did they choose Jin? This story would be amazing if it was some other unknown girl, but they chose Jin so people would stop shipping Jin and Zuko. And by the way, Jet is dead (some people think he survived), they put him in grave.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This book is about Jin. You probably don't remember her, but she is the Earth Kingdom girl who kissed Zuko in Ba Sing Se. She literally had 5 minutes of screen time, but Judy I. Lin somehow wrote a whole goddamn story about her.
The whole point of the story is to show Ba Sing Se and the war from the simple person's view. And why don't they choose Jin? I mean, people always wanted to know what happened to her and some people even say that Zuko's daughter's mom is Jin. I mean, what the fuck you people be talking about? It is 100% obvious that Mai is Zuko's wife. They literally were created for each other, yes, they broke up in The Promise, but Mai still loves him and Zuko still loves her. They'll be couple again. And by the way, Jin had a boyfriend in the end of the story - Xuan and she didn't give a fuck that many about "Lee". Just a kiss, just a memory.
The story showed a war and the corruption of the Ba Sing Se from the Lower Ring girl's view. How she was struggling to eat sometimes and how people from other rings were making fun of her. She has a bestfriend - Susu. And story kind of goes around her. Susu's dad fucked up and gambled away their house and Susu decided to sell herself to the Dai Li agents, so her family would still own the house. Pretty brave move. And Jin tried her best to buy back Susu. She got into gang Silver Fang with Xuan's help and started to deliver illegal packages. Some drug dealing is going on here. She tries her best, BUT the price is big. They also showed Ba Sing Se conquering from the people sight and how her only left family member (her gradpa) dies. While doing Silver Fang's missions, she meets two people that you probably know. Smellerbee and Longshot. So there is new plan. Kidnap her away and Smellerbee and Longshot will help. The thing is that, she already met Susu, but Susu "pretends" that she doesn't know them. She calls herself Joo Dee. Unfortunately, Jin doesn't know anything about brainwashing, so she thinks that by pretending to not knowing her, she protects her. She and Xuan got hired to be some servants in palace and they waited slowly for the eclipse to steal Susu and un-brainwash her. The general (I forgot her name, but he is the first general who met Aang) tells them about eclipse and that Avatar Aang is dead. They lose hope, but they won't give up. During the eclipse, they wanted to save Susu, but Dai Li knew about their attack and arrested them. They were in prison for 4-10 days and it is their first place where they kissed. Then something unexpected happens. Susu comes to them and tells them that she heard that you people know who she is. So there is a hope, Jin tries to recall their shared moment and after 2 days she remembers. Then one day, Dai Li takes them to somewhere where they meet Aunt Sumi (she is Silver Fang's leader). Jin and Xuan feel betrayed, but in fact, she tells them that she is from White Lotus and she need their help to take back the city. Their mission to tell as many people as they can about the war and that they need any help to fight back the city. They escape with Susu from palace and use salt cookies with hidden message to tell everyone about the upcoming war. They want to take back the city during the Sozin's comet (they have no idea its effect). And the war starts, how every bender and every man fight with Fire Nation Soldiers to take back city. Every gang member, everyone. They also saw some huge fire tornado and how this tornado was destroying tundra tanks (he is Jeong Jeong).
And that's it. The really interesting story. In the end, Jin recognizes Zuko from New Fire Nation's King poster, but she doesn't care. She just holds on the memory, that not every Fire Nation citizen is evil. The only problem I have with that story is that why did they choose Jin? This story would be amazing if it was some other unknown girl, but they chose Jin so people would stop shipping Jin and Zuko. And by the way, Jet is dead (some people think he survived), they put him in grave.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
June 20, 2026
3 stars. my reading experience was carried by the mere fact that the main character is one of my favourite atla side characters.
the writing style was admittedly very mid and the world-building wasn’t /extremely/ expansive, but this book gets extra points because i love jin and all content relating to her. i also really love atla. every positive aspect is mildly enhanced through those facts alone.
now, back to being a hater: jin and xuan’s overall dynamic left me completely unimpressed. i didn't loathe them, but i also didn't give a damn about them, either. i've read a lot of ya romance in my lifetime, and while there were attempts here and there to make it less cliche, it was clear from the start that the author intended on making xuan a love interest. do not get me wrong: i am never against a romance sub-plot and i actually love romance. i just do not like when it is written without proper development. that’s a whole other rant i’m too lazy to unpack, so i’ll leave it there. if i’m going to be honest, the writing’s delivery left me pretty underwhelmed — and irritated, at times. some parts read a lot like poorly written fanfiction.
this book was heavy on the YA aspect, which usually isn't much of an issue for me, except the writing juvenile style got tiring every now and then. i can excuse some of it as jin is very young, and anyways, the intended audience for this novel is likely for readers about her age. aside from that, plenty of her internal monologues felt repetitive and on-the-nose. i’d say everything was as subtle as a brick. there was also a stark feeling of disconnect between show jin and book jin, and it was hard to tie the two together. while i enjoyed both versions of jin, the character work felt off and the show-to-book perspectives could’ve been written smoother.
i will give the benefit of the doubt and ultimately assume that the difference between show jin and book jin was intended — to make her more than what meets the eye, and to make her perspective even more unique. but even that needed work. as of now, it just read like slightly rushed fan work. she went from very easygoing in the show to almost ... shy in the novel?
i'm not sure how to explain it. pick up any other mid ya book and the protagonist will either be a cliche sassy smart-mouth OR a cliche quirky-n-nervous clumsy girl with a Shocking Tough Side To Stand Up For What Is RightTM. you know what i'm talking about. that's what i mean. jin's internal personality change didn't end up feeling unique to me — it felt lazy and the complete opposite of innovative. don't worry, i know what the author was going for. i can tell it was some attempt to showcase a difference between how jin perceived herself versus how genial she was in the show, etc etc, but when tied with the book's unyielding habit of telling instead of showing, it didn't feel very authentic.
it was really cool to see how the avatar would seem from a common person’s perspective. as a book itself, though, i’m not convinced it would’ve been able to stand on its own, without it being backed up by the nostalgia of the original atla show.
final verdict :
warm!! + not sold on the writing style and the way a lot of interactions progressed + the new characters were alright but pretty whatever + the ties to the show were actually fun + jin was cool + there were /some/ nice lines
unfortunately middling but still enjoyable. did i yearn for more depth? yes. was it still an okay experience? yes. as a jin fan i can give it a half-assed ... thumbs up.
the writing style was admittedly very mid and the world-building wasn’t /extremely/ expansive, but this book gets extra points because i love jin and all content relating to her. i also really love atla. every positive aspect is mildly enhanced through those facts alone.
now, back to being a hater: jin and xuan’s overall dynamic left me completely unimpressed. i didn't loathe them, but i also didn't give a damn about them, either. i've read a lot of ya romance in my lifetime, and while there were attempts here and there to make it less cliche, it was clear from the start that the author intended on making xuan a love interest. do not get me wrong: i am never against a romance sub-plot and i actually love romance. i just do not like when it is written without proper development. that’s a whole other rant i’m too lazy to unpack, so i’ll leave it there. if i’m going to be honest, the writing’s delivery left me pretty underwhelmed — and irritated, at times. some parts read a lot like poorly written fanfiction.
this book was heavy on the YA aspect, which usually isn't much of an issue for me, except the writing juvenile style got tiring every now and then. i can excuse some of it as jin is very young, and anyways, the intended audience for this novel is likely for readers about her age. aside from that, plenty of her internal monologues felt repetitive and on-the-nose. i’d say everything was as subtle as a brick. there was also a stark feeling of disconnect between show jin and book jin, and it was hard to tie the two together. while i enjoyed both versions of jin, the character work felt off and the show-to-book perspectives could’ve been written smoother.
i will give the benefit of the doubt and ultimately assume that the difference between show jin and book jin was intended — to make her more than what meets the eye, and to make her perspective even more unique. but even that needed work. as of now, it just read like slightly rushed fan work. she went from very easygoing in the show to almost ... shy in the novel?
i'm not sure how to explain it. pick up any other mid ya book and the protagonist will either be a cliche sassy smart-mouth OR a cliche quirky-n-nervous clumsy girl with a Shocking Tough Side To Stand Up For What Is RightTM. you know what i'm talking about. that's what i mean. jin's internal personality change didn't end up feeling unique to me — it felt lazy and the complete opposite of innovative. don't worry, i know what the author was going for. i can tell it was some attempt to showcase a difference between how jin perceived herself versus how genial she was in the show, etc etc, but when tied with the book's unyielding habit of telling instead of showing, it didn't feel very authentic.
it was really cool to see how the avatar would seem from a common person’s perspective. as a book itself, though, i’m not convinced it would’ve been able to stand on its own, without it being backed up by the nostalgia of the original atla show.
Jing is the energy that is at the center of bending. The earth may seem unyielding, but it’s the essence of neutral jing. The shift of a single pebble can send a rockslide down the side of a mountain.
final verdict :
warm!! + not sold on the writing style and the way a lot of interactions progressed + the new characters were alright but pretty whatever + the ties to the show were actually fun + jin was cool + there were /some/ nice lines
unfortunately middling but still enjoyable. did i yearn for more depth? yes. was it still an okay experience? yes. as a jin fan i can give it a half-assed ... thumbs up.
I feel like my grandfather and my parents are watching over me still. They want to see me succeed. They dream, like I do, of a city where I am no longer a refugee, but free.
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