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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fireheart searches for answers about why Cinderpelt was near Thunderpath. He goes to Mistyfoot and Ravenpaw to gather information and comes to the conclution that Tigerclaw was behind it all but his planned failed and instead of Cinderpelt being hit by a monster he wanted Bluestar to be hit.
Graypool tells Firestar that there were 2 Thunderclan cats in Riverclan, Mistyfoot and Stonefur. Fireheart has a lot to deal with, the information of Graypool, mentoring Brakenfur because Graystripe was with Silverstream and Tigerclaw.
Graystripe and Fireheart save some Riverclan kits from being drowned and bring them back to Riverclan they explain that they have been having trouble with prey and the 2 Thunderclan cats offer to help, but they get caught by Bluestar and are punished. Windclan know about Thunderclan sheltering Brokentail and alliances begin to form. Silverstream is expecting Graystripes kits but dies in the mean time and the kits were demanded to grow up in Riverclan, which was very sad. Fireheart mentors Cloudpaw but he is very stubborn. Tigerclaw is spotted leading a rogue team to attack Thunderclan but was defeated. Bluestar announces the exile of Tigerclaw and the new Thunderclan deputy; Fireheart. Bluestar has been betrayed and is slowly going crazy because of it.
Graystripe begs Bluestar to fight for his kits to be kept in Thunderclan btu she refuses. He goes to Roverclan with his kits.
This was a well written book and I really enjoyed it!
Graypool tells Firestar that there were 2 Thunderclan cats in Riverclan, Mistyfoot and Stonefur. Fireheart has a lot to deal with, the information of Graypool, mentoring Brakenfur because Graystripe was with Silverstream and Tigerclaw.
Graystripe and Fireheart save some Riverclan kits from being drowned and bring them back to Riverclan they explain that they have been having trouble with prey and the 2 Thunderclan cats offer to help, but they get caught by Bluestar and are punished. Windclan know about Thunderclan sheltering Brokentail and alliances begin to form. Silverstream is expecting Graystripes kits but dies in the mean time and the kits were demanded to grow up in Riverclan, which was very sad. Fireheart mentors Cloudpaw but he is very stubborn. Tigerclaw is spotted leading a rogue team to attack Thunderclan but was defeated. Bluestar announces the exile of Tigerclaw and the new Thunderclan deputy; Fireheart. Bluestar has been betrayed and is slowly going crazy because of it.
Graystripe begs Bluestar to fight for his kits to be kept in Thunderclan btu she refuses. He goes to Roverclan with his kits.
This was a well written book and I really enjoyed it!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pierw zainteresowałam się i wkręciłam w serię o kotach, a teraz ta sama seria mnie wzruszyła. Ich relacje są takie piękne i złożone. Do tego ja lubię, jak jest sporo akcji. Świetna.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For me, this was better than the last few books in that it actually resolved some of the plot threads that have been dangling for the past two books. I don't want to be too critical of some of the reveals since this is meant for a younger audience, but it did make me roll my eyes on just how long the reveal was dragged out when it was so obvious.
I still feel like the cat names are too similar sometimes. For example, there is a cat in Thunder Clan called "Cinderpaw". There is a cat in another Clan called "Cinderfur" or something like that. I also wish that the warrior code was explained by one of the cats so that I as an audience member would understand what is and isn't acceptable. Cloudkit/paw gets in trouble for not obeying the warrior code, but not once in three books do I recall them laying out what all is actually in said code. Nor is it explained why there can't be exceptions, like when Brokentail was blinded or when the river was polluted, making it impossible for River Clan to eat there safely.
If it was just me as a reader questioning these things, that'd be fine. But Fireheart questions them as well, wondering why the Clans have to be fighting all the time. It's been shown that Clans can work together and even fall in love and have kits together. So why all the hostility? Who thought up the warrior code to begin with, and has the code changed at all over the years? These sorts of questions are ones I would love answers to.
I am interested enough to keep going, and I'm attached to enough of the characters that I want to see what happens to them.
I still feel like the cat names are too similar sometimes. For example, there is a cat in Thunder Clan called "Cinderpaw". There is a cat in another Clan called "Cinderfur" or something like that. I also wish that the warrior code was explained by one of the cats so that I as an audience member would understand what is and isn't acceptable. Cloudkit/paw gets in trouble for not obeying the warrior code, but not once in three books do I recall them laying out what all is actually in said code. Nor is it explained why there can't be exceptions, like when Brokentail was blinded or when the river was polluted, making it impossible for River Clan to eat there safely.
If it was just me as a reader questioning these things, that'd be fine. But Fireheart questions them as well, wondering why the Clans have to be fighting all the time. It's been shown that Clans can work together and even fall in love and have kits together. So why all the hostility? Who thought up the warrior code to begin with, and has the code changed at all over the years? These sorts of questions are ones I would love answers to.
I am interested enough to keep going, and I'm attached to enough of the characters that I want to see what happens to them.
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
solid third addition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When we last left housecat-turned-feral-warrior Fireheart, he was trying to figure out how to warn the rest of the clan of Tigerclaw’s treachery and watching his best friend Graystripe torn between his loyalty to his clan and his love for one of the enemy. Forest of Secrets picks up a few days later, as the two cats decide to again attempt to untangle what really happened the day Tigerclaw killed Redtail. But the further they dig, the more questions they have and in their attempts to get answers, they’ll learn that Tigerclaw isn’t the only cat in the forest with something to hide.
It’s really hard to be objective about this book, but I’m going to try. Forest of Secrets is far and away the best of the three Warriors books I’ve read so far in this re-reading project. The pacing isn’t quite as good as it was in Into the Wild, but it’s still faster and more coherent than it was in Fire and Ice, while keeping the latter book’s improvements to dialogue and characterization. While most of the reveals are still perhaps overly-foreshadowed even for the intended preteen audience, the twists and turns provide satisfying “ah-ha!” moments that answer nagging questions or add new dimensions to some of the established characters and there was one moment in particular involving Yellowfang that I found quite powerful even as an adult.
I do have a few complaints about Forest of Secrets, however, which isn’t perfect no matter how much I love it. The biggest one is that, over the course of the book, several characters make choices that strike me as being really, really stupid, to the point that it becomes almost painful to read. Both of the major incidents are fairly obviously devices meant to solve plot problems – one of the allows Fireheart to obtain an ally he wouldn’t otherwise have encountered and the other seems designed to set up conflict for future books – but as an adult, both choices seem frustratingly naive in a way that isn’t justified by the characters’ personalities or the desperation of the situation.
Additionally, a couple of moments seem a bit too “easy”, like Fireheart is being handed things because he is the protagonist rather than because it makes logical sense in-universe. While some of these can be explained away circumstantially (for example, receiving lesser punishment for an offense because Bluestar is fond of him), not all of it can be.
Really, though, this is me looking for things to complain about. Despite a few issues, the book comes together very well, with enough dramatic reveals, shifting alliances, and action scenes to keep me engaged and several surprisingly intense emotional moments dealing with love and loss. Reading it now, it’s easy to see why it was the absolute peak of literature when I was in the target age range.
Content Warnings
Although Forest of Secrets is lighter on the graphic violence than earlier books in the series, it is still present, as are the in-character xenophobic elements. Parental loss and abandonment is a theme throughout, which might bother sensitive children.
One character dies in childbirth partway through the story , with the scene including descriptions of her pain and suffering and of large amounts of blood.