Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Lost Scrolls Collection

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Lost Scrolls Collection

2007 • 256 pages

Ratings1

Average rating2

15

Ok, I'm overhyped with Avatar the Last Airbender (again) and I'm reading everything I can get my hands on... Which is not necessarily a good idea.

This book, published primarily for 7-to-12-year-olds, consists of novelizations of certain episodes with some information on the four nations of the fictional world the show takes place in.

The episodes are re-told in first person, from a different point of view of different characters (Aang, Katara, Sokka, or Zuko) which at first intrigued me, until I realized that the first person narration doesn't really add anything new. It is the most interesting in Zuko's case, as the viewer is less familiar with his thought process. I was still disappointed however, because the author of the book chose the most simplistic interpretations of Zuko's actions. For example, in Blue Spirit, when Zuko shot a fire blast at Aang at the end of the episode. He wasn't trying to hit Aang - it was to remind Aang - and himself - that they aren't friends.

The additional material was mostly nothing new if you remember the show. They did add one or two fun facts I didn't know about, like how Earthbenders could “magnetize their limbs to stone, allowing them to climb sheer walls or cliffs”. How cool is that? Maybe they did use it in season 2, actually - I can't remember (I'm still at season 1).

Anyway, I do not recommend this book. You can learn all the factoids you need from the Avatar Wiki page (which is very extensive!) and you can just watch the episodes. I do understand how younger readers might enjoy this book, though.

December 29, 2018