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Into The Wild (Warriors, #1)
by Erin Hunter
by Erin Hunter
I was strolling through the books section at Wal-Mart one day when I spotted a book with a cat on the front, which I picked up only to discover it was a fantasy novel--featuring cats! At first I scoffed, but then I rolled my cart back and threw it in. I did a little research online and found out there is a whole series/subseries with loads of books. So I bought the first series of 6, which starts off with this book, Into the Wild.
This one is all about how Rusty the indoor/outdoor pet cat finds his way into a group of forest cats to become Firepaw. He is an apprentice warrior in the group and is close friends with two other apprentices, Graystripe and Ravenpaw. Their clan is in danger from a variety of threats, so there is constant tension through much of the book. Additionally, Firepaw realizes there are many new things he has to learn, besides his hunting and fighting skills, especially politics and social structure. Plus, he's got to figure out a way to live with being a "kittypet".
I found the worldview of the cats frustratingly limited, though, and I wondered, do we always have to go backwards with fantasy? Does there have to be a medicine cat, and prophecies, and clans? And clans with such obviously good or bad names as ShadowClan and ThunderClan? But I forgave it for these weaknesses because overall, it's an entertaining book with lots of adventure and even some surprising turns. And as the first book in a series, it sets the stage well. It would make a light read for any adult who likes cats and fantasy. It does target kids 10+, and I think most kids would like it a lot.
One thing to note is that there is violence in these books, including this one--cats die. But it is not gratuitous violence. It is not overly described or romanticized, and it is always tragic and taken seriously by other cats, even when it is an enemy that has died. Furthermore, there is often a very conscious effort on the part of the cats to avoid it. But remember that these are warrior cats--I'm just glad most of their fighting ends up with the losers turning tail and fleeing fast. I think it's probably a healthy way for kids to understand battle without overwhelming them.
This one is all about how Rusty the indoor/outdoor pet cat finds his way into a group of forest cats to become Firepaw. He is an apprentice warrior in the group and is close friends with two other apprentices, Graystripe and Ravenpaw. Their clan is in danger from a variety of threats, so there is constant tension through much of the book. Additionally, Firepaw realizes there are many new things he has to learn, besides his hunting and fighting skills, especially politics and social structure. Plus, he's got to figure out a way to live with being a "kittypet".
I found the worldview of the cats frustratingly limited, though, and I wondered, do we always have to go backwards with fantasy? Does there have to be a medicine cat, and prophecies, and clans? And clans with such obviously good or bad names as ShadowClan and ThunderClan? But I forgave it for these weaknesses because overall, it's an entertaining book with lots of adventure and even some surprising turns. And as the first book in a series, it sets the stage well. It would make a light read for any adult who likes cats and fantasy. It does target kids 10+, and I think most kids would like it a lot.
One thing to note is that there is violence in these books, including this one--cats die. But it is not gratuitous violence. It is not overly described or romanticized, and it is always tragic and taken seriously by other cats, even when it is an enemy that has died. Furthermore, there is often a very conscious effort on the part of the cats to avoid it. But remember that these are warrior cats--I'm just glad most of their fighting ends up with the losers turning tail and fleeing fast. I think it's probably a healthy way for kids to understand battle without overwhelming them.
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