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ann_s's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hnagarne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
4.0
i love when a dramatic forest fire brings the clans together
haley_b's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
zerosiero's review against another edition
5.0
Crazy stuff going on, shadowclan is back and still crazy
teddybee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition
1.0
Warning: My main complaint for this book revolves around a specific character who dies, so be careful if you don't want that kind of spoiler!
. . .
I am terribly frustrated with the way that the authors decided to kill off Briarlight. Her illness had nothing to do with her disability, yet that's all her death was about. I hated hearing characters like Bramblestar say, "It was only a matter of time before her disability killed her," "It was a miracle she lived this long," and "At least she'll be happier dead than alive." Like... She died of a very intense stomach-ache, and she was disabled because of her broken spine. How are these two things connected in any way? And even if her death had been a direct consequence of her disability, what made the authors think it was remotely okay to have characters say these sorts of things about Briarlight? Not that the way the books have treated her has ever been amazing, but this feels like a new low to me. Especially for a series targeted toward kids, is this the right message to send, that disabled people's lives must be full of suffering and end prematurely? Shouldn't the writing team think harder about the behaviors their characters model and the ableist rhetoric they (likely unintentionally) throw into their books?
It didn't help matters that the team decided that it would be a good idea to emphasize how Jayfeather (one of Briarlight's closest friends and the other disabled character in ThunderClan) was responsible for her death by exposing her to the illness in the first place. It felt like a cheap trick to get readers emotional over the book, adding in a tragic death and throwing blame and guilt where it will hurt fans the most. It made me emotional all right, but the main thing I feel right now is anger and indignation.
I could be extra petty and say that Briarlight's death was a last-ditch effort to make this book more interesting, because honestly, I'm not too interested in the direction these last two books have taken. They feel flat and void of action, even as fires rampage through the forest. I feel like I've seen all of these plot points before, and I would much rather the authors focus on their unique characters and develop their relationships than introduce artificial conflict (like Sparkpelt suddenly becoing conservative, hostile, and xenophobic to other cats).
Overall, some neat things happened in this book (Dovewing's return with Tigerheart, for one, and Twigpaw's heart-warming warrior ceremony), but they feel hopelessly overshadowed in my mind by the seemingly random and unnecessarily ableist death of Briarlight and the emphasis of its devastating impact on Jayfeather. It's like when a writer kills off a dog and tries to say, "There! I made you cry, therefore my book is good." Like... "Nah, man, you can't slap a tragic death scene onto a poorly crafted novel and call it a masterpiece. That's just lazy writing aimed at exploiting your emotionally fragile audience." I am very bitter about this.
. . .
I am terribly frustrated with the way that the authors decided to kill off Briarlight. Her illness had nothing to do with her disability, yet that's all her death was about. I hated hearing characters like Bramblestar say, "It was only a matter of time before her disability killed her," "It was a miracle she lived this long," and "At least she'll be happier dead than alive." Like... She died of a very intense stomach-ache, and she was disabled because of her broken spine. How are these two things connected in any way? And even if her death had been a direct consequence of her disability, what made the authors think it was remotely okay to have characters say these sorts of things about Briarlight? Not that the way the books have treated her has ever been amazing, but this feels like a new low to me. Especially for a series targeted toward kids, is this the right message to send, that disabled people's lives must be full of suffering and end prematurely? Shouldn't the writing team think harder about the behaviors their characters model and the ableist rhetoric they (likely unintentionally) throw into their books?
It didn't help matters that the team decided that it would be a good idea to emphasize how Jayfeather (one of Briarlight's closest friends and the other disabled character in ThunderClan) was responsible for her death by exposing her to the illness in the first place. It felt like a cheap trick to get readers emotional over the book, adding in a tragic death and throwing blame and guilt where it will hurt fans the most. It made me emotional all right, but the main thing I feel right now is anger and indignation.
I could be extra petty and say that Briarlight's death was a last-ditch effort to make this book more interesting, because honestly, I'm not too interested in the direction these last two books have taken. They feel flat and void of action, even as fires rampage through the forest. I feel like I've seen all of these plot points before, and I would much rather the authors focus on their unique characters and develop their relationships than introduce artificial conflict (like Sparkpelt suddenly becoing conservative, hostile, and xenophobic to other cats).
Overall, some neat things happened in this book (Dovewing's return with Tigerheart, for one, and Twigpaw's heart-warming warrior ceremony), but they feel hopelessly overshadowed in my mind by the seemingly random and unnecessarily ableist death of Briarlight and the emphasis of its devastating impact on Jayfeather. It's like when a writer kills off a dog and tries to say, "There! I made you cry, therefore my book is good." Like... "Nah, man, you can't slap a tragic death scene onto a poorly crafted novel and call it a masterpiece. That's just lazy writing aimed at exploiting your emotionally fragile audience." I am very bitter about this.
aotora's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hate the way everyone treats Skyclan - and that they pretty much ignore Tree who is there to mediate... Including Leafstar.
I also didn't like Leafstar in this book.
I didn't care for the romance between Velvet and Alderheart though I do wish that Velvet stayed in the clan. She would make an interesting medicine cat since she was a kittypet. We need more medicine cats that used to be kittypets- that would make them a bit more unique since they could communicate with Star clan yet have no kin in the clans- unless a clan cat mated with a kittypet.
I loved Violetshine and Tree and their budding romance, hated Finleap though and the next book only makes him worse.
Not a huge fan of Tigerstar 2.0. - he starts off great as a warrior but as soon as he became a leader... he became my least favourite leader of the current ones. And he only gets worse through the rest of the books so far. i also love Dovewing and Ivypool. Also hated Sparkpelt in this book. She was a horrid mentor at the beginning and I hate how pushy she gets about making SkyClan leave again. Ivypool was grat mentor though, she needs to mentor more cats!
Also, Briarlight's death was so emotional, one of the best deaths so far in this series.
I also didn't like Leafstar in this book.
I didn't care for the romance between Velvet and Alderheart though I do wish that Velvet stayed in the clan. She would make an interesting medicine cat since she was a kittypet. We need more medicine cats that used to be kittypets- that would make them a bit more unique since they could communicate with Star clan yet have no kin in the clans- unless a clan cat mated with a kittypet.
I loved Violetshine and Tree and their budding romance, hated Finleap though and the next book only makes him worse.
Not a huge fan of Tigerstar 2.0. - he starts off great as a warrior but as soon as he became a leader... he became my least favourite leader of the current ones. And he only gets worse through the rest of the books so far. i also love Dovewing and Ivypool. Also hated Sparkpelt in this book. She was a horrid mentor at the beginning and I hate how pushy she gets about making SkyClan leave again. Ivypool was grat mentor though, she needs to mentor more cats!
Also, Briarlight's death was so emotional, one of the best deaths so far in this series.