Book Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift part 2

Book: Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Rift part 2 by Gene Luen Yang with illustrations and cover by Gurihiru and lettering by Michael Heisler

Edition: Paperback

Description:

The Past Returns!

Avatar Aang and his friends seek answers to the mysteries surrounding a refinery on land sacred to the Air Nomads. As Toph uncovers a startling truth about her father's involvement with the refinery, Aang travels to the spirit world, discovering a secret as surprising as it is dangerous. Soon, Team Avatar realizes they may be facing a threat more dire than they could have possibly imagined!



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The second part of The Rift picks up after the Gaang helped the workers in the refinery following the earthquake while Toph was surprised by her father showing up at the refinery. He was the Earth Kingdom business partner Satoru was telling her about. The reunion between father and daughter did not go well at all because he denied she was his daughter and he wanted her and rest of the Gaang escorted off the property. Avatar Aang and Toph had no intentions of leaving not without Toph speaking with her father and Aang speaking to the owner of the refinery about the plant polluting the water.

This of course resulted in a big fight between the Gaang and The Rough Rhinos who were hired as security for the refinery. Even the three Airbender acolytes were trying to help fight The Rough Rhinos but they were a bit out of their depths in this setting.

As the fight which broke off into three parts dwindled down, Aang and his acolytes went to finish celebrating in honor of Avatar Yengchen. Meanwhile, Toph went back to speak with her father while Katara and Sokka inadvertently found a hidden cave where some of the refinery workers were digging for iron ore. This was a big problem because not only was the cave very unstable but it was also located beneath the town. The cave was also the source of the earthquake that damaged the refinery (in The Rift part 1) and due to one of The Rough Rhinos an even bigger quake happened leaving those in the cave in a dire situation.

In the last trilogy (The Search) Aang sort of severed his connection to his past lives but while trying to celebrate Avatar Yengchen he was able to speak with her in the spirit world. She was in the process of telling him an important part of the story of one of her experiences dealing with an angry spirit when the earthquake happened breaking their connection. Perhaps in part 3, Aang will find out what she was about to tell him because I'm sure it's something beneficial that could help the Gaang with their current problem.

The Rift continues to be a great read with equally great illustration and the title is so fitting because in part 1 and 2 there seem to be a multitude of rifts happening from Aang and Toph to Toph and her father. As well as Sokka and Katara experiencing opposition from two Southern Water Tribe sisters who are working at the refinery because the conditions back home were so bad that they needed to find jobs to survive. With Katara and Sokka traveling around the world with the Avatar they are unaware of what's happening back home which I think is great foreshadowing for the North and South trilogy.

I really enjoyed reading this and can't wait to see how the story is wrapped up in the third and finale part. I do wonder if Toph and her father will reconcile or will their relationship stay the same? I guess I'll find out once I read part 3.