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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've loved this series since I was little, so I go back and reread it every once in a while. To me, this is really when the series starts picking up. I had forgotten how heartbreaking this book was, so I was in for a not-so-pleasant surprise. regardless, I loved it.
Two of my favorite characters got a lot of page time in this one, Cloudtail and Brightpaw. (I refuse to acknowledge the fact that Lostface is her current name.) This book was when I first started loving Cloudtail, so I'm excited to continue the series. These books are super quick reads for me, so I'm always drawn into them. The author does love ending on cliffhangers though!
Two of my favorite characters got a lot of page time in this one, Cloudtail and Brightpaw. (I refuse to acknowledge the fact that Lostface is her current name.) This book was when I first started loving Cloudtail, so I'm excited to continue the series. These books are super quick reads for me, so I'm always drawn into them. The author does love ending on cliffhangers though!
I do like this one quite a lot but out of all the first arc books, I'd also consider this one the weakest. Still good, don't get me wrong, but it isn't as good or enjoyable as the rest if you ask me.
I personally found the subplot of Bluestar's breakdown always a bit of a chore to read because it's just a lot of the same conversations between Firestar saying A and Bluestar being upset and saying B. She also pretty much loses all likability she still had left in this book as she stops caring what happens to the cats she's responsible for, starts blindly throwing around accusations of theft and trying to start a war (because why even bother to give a shit about the lives of the cats who depend on her?), starts declaring war on StarClan, and is an ableist cunt towards Brightpaw by renaming her to Lostface after she's viciously attacked and left permanently scarred by dogs. Her last minute redemption does not undo all of this shit she did in this and the past book and suddenly make all that okay. She's mentally ill in this book, yes, but that doesn't excuse trying to blatantly risk lives of people who depend on you or being horrible and ableist towards a traumatized and badly injured young cat.
Also the whole subplot with WindClan and trying to prevent the war, because of how much it hinges upon Bluestar acting like an ass, always felt a bit boring to me especially because the resolution is rather uneventful (except for leading to yet another Bluestar breakdown).
Another big problem I have with the book is the mystery of what the "pack" is, however. It's literally revealed to the reader in the prologue that this pack is a pack if bloodthirsty dogs who escaped into the forest. So there is zero surprise for the reader what is actually roaming the forest, which is supposed to be a huge mystery in this book. The cats don't know what it is, and think it's just a single dog roaming loose, but we as the readers know from the literal first few pages of the book exactly what it is. The only new reveal is that Tigerstar has been feeding the dogs. So yeah, not a very good "mystery" if the answer is revealed to the reader right away when picking up the book.
But despite these gripes I'd still say this is a really solid installment, it just has some elements I don't consider as strong as the previous books.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-review-warriors-arc-1-prophecies.html
Also the whole subplot with WindClan and trying to prevent the war, because of how much it hinges upon Bluestar acting like an ass, always felt a bit boring to me especially because the resolution is rather uneventful (except for leading to yet another Bluestar breakdown).
Another big problem I have with the book is the mystery of what the "pack" is, however. It's literally revealed to the reader in the prologue that this pack is a pack if bloodthirsty dogs who escaped into the forest. So there is zero surprise for the reader what is actually roaming the forest, which is supposed to be a huge mystery in this book. The cats don't know what it is, and think it's just a single dog roaming loose, but we as the readers know from the literal first few pages of the book exactly what it is. The only new reveal is that Tigerstar has been feeding the dogs. So yeah, not a very good "mystery" if the answer is revealed to the reader right away when picking up the book.
But despite these gripes I'd still say this is a really solid installment, it just has some elements I don't consider as strong as the previous books.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-review-warriors-arc-1-prophecies.html
I'm 23, I've read these books COUNTLESS times, but still this one makes me tear up every goddamn time! 3
New review as of 29/07/2019
Actual rating: 4.5 Stars
I loved this book and I'll admit that the ending made me cry
I managed to read this in only a few hours and it was amazing
I was annoyed at Bluestar and the way that she was acting but I know that it's kind of the point and that it's understandable the way that her mind works
------------
I loved this book just as much this time around and would definitely read it again. I borrowed it from the library and read it in under 24 hours
Actual rating: 4.5 Stars
I loved this book and I'll admit that the ending made me cry
I managed to read this in only a few hours and it was amazing
I was annoyed at Bluestar and the way that she was acting but I know that it's kind of the point and that it's understandable the way that her mind works
------------
I loved this book just as much this time around and would definitely read it again. I borrowed it from the library and read it in under 24 hours
I enjoyed the previous four books of this series, but this book really left me on the fence.
I think the author must have a prejudice against disabled people whether she knows it or not.
I dismissed in previous books the name Deadfoot for the WindClan deputy, and initially thought it was good disability rep that a cat with a limp was second in command. I also thought Crookedstar with a broken jaw was good disability rep because he was a clan leader.
I dismissed when Cinderpaw got injured on the thunderpath and had a bum leg. I did find all the self pity to be a little over the top and the fact that she thought she was useless to be unnecessary, but I do understand from personal experience that people recovering from a serious injury can blame themselves for things they had no control over. Since becoming a medicine cat, Cinderpelt is really a rock to ThunderClan. Even though her limp is mentioned on almost every page she's on. We get it, this cat has a limp. I know plot points are repeated often in children's books, but does it really need to be mentioned so often to "other" her?
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Where I really take umbrage with the fifth installment of Warriors is all the unnecessary pity from the clan placed on Snowkit and Brightpaw.
Snowkit was deaf and he was treated like he was mentally slow. Even if you're going to say "this is just a book about cats" to dismiss how he was treated, that just means you don't know much about cat behavior. In the wild, feral cats don't really vocalize to each other aside from hissing/growling. Feral cats primarily talk to each other through body language... which would mean that Snowkit's only disadvantage would be that he can't hear prey/predators. To have him shown as a weakling/slow/stupid and then carried off by a hawk was a bit much. Deaf cats do face dangers, but they don't just all die in the wild.
As far as Brightpaw goes... Bluestar really named her Lostface after her encounter with the dogs... freaking Lostface??? And on top of that Cloudtail is the only one who speaks out against it and that's just because he's an atheist who doesn't believe in StarClan??? And Fireheart thinks that the naming ceremony is irreversible or unchangeable, which is stupid. The words in the book to describe Brightpaw after her injury make her sound like a monster. Her face is described as being "ravaged" more than once. It's so unnecessary.
How much do you hate disabled people, Erin?
I just think, what if a kid with a broken leg, or a deaf kid, or a kid who had a facial injury read this book? It would probably make them feel pretty crappy. Also any abled kids who read this book could take away a bad message about disabled people being a burden.
Also the last two books Bluestar has really been suffering with some mental health stuff and since there's no therapy cat, Cinderpelt just gives her opioids all the time and advises her to sleep. Sleep isn't going to cure PTSD... but like most of these cats have PTSD, it's not just Bluestar.
What I'm really trying to say is, if you want a book about feral cats, fine. But as soon as you start adding cat religion, medicine, and hierarchy; it's clearly fiction and the author should just make the extra effort to not be horribly ableist on the way. These books do show the brutality that feral cats face, the dangers, but they are still anthropomorphized, so if the author is assigning human emotions to cats, they should be dealt with in a way that makes sense and shows sensitivity to the audience.
I'm still going to read the last book in this run, but I'm not sure if I will continue after that.
I think the author must have a prejudice against disabled people whether she knows it or not.
I dismissed in previous books the name Deadfoot for the WindClan deputy, and initially thought it was good disability rep that a cat with a limp was second in command. I also thought Crookedstar with a broken jaw was good disability rep because he was a clan leader.
I dismissed when Cinderpaw got injured on the thunderpath and had a bum leg. I did find all the self pity to be a little over the top and the fact that she thought she was useless to be unnecessary, but I do understand from personal experience that people recovering from a serious injury can blame themselves for things they had no control over. Since becoming a medicine cat, Cinderpelt is really a rock to ThunderClan. Even though her limp is mentioned on almost every page she's on. We get it, this cat has a limp. I know plot points are repeated often in children's books, but does it really need to be mentioned so often to "other" her?
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Where I really take umbrage with the fifth installment of Warriors is all the unnecessary pity from the clan placed on Snowkit and Brightpaw.
Snowkit was deaf and he was treated like he was mentally slow. Even if you're going to say "this is just a book about cats" to dismiss how he was treated, that just means you don't know much about cat behavior. In the wild, feral cats don't really vocalize to each other aside from hissing/growling. Feral cats primarily talk to each other through body language... which would mean that Snowkit's only disadvantage would be that he can't hear prey/predators. To have him shown as a weakling/slow/stupid and then carried off by a hawk was a bit much. Deaf cats do face dangers, but they don't just all die in the wild.
As far as Brightpaw goes... Bluestar really named her Lostface after her encounter with the dogs... freaking Lostface??? And on top of that Cloudtail is the only one who speaks out against it and that's just because he's an atheist who doesn't believe in StarClan??? And Fireheart thinks that the naming ceremony is irreversible or unchangeable, which is stupid. The words in the book to describe Brightpaw after her injury make her sound like a monster. Her face is described as being "ravaged" more than once. It's so unnecessary.
How much do you hate disabled people, Erin?
I just think, what if a kid with a broken leg, or a deaf kid, or a kid who had a facial injury read this book? It would probably make them feel pretty crappy. Also any abled kids who read this book could take away a bad message about disabled people being a burden.
Also the last two books Bluestar has really been suffering with some mental health stuff and since there's no therapy cat, Cinderpelt just gives her opioids all the time and advises her to sleep. Sleep isn't going to cure PTSD... but like most of these cats have PTSD, it's not just Bluestar.
What I'm really trying to say is, if you want a book about feral cats, fine. But as soon as you start adding cat religion, medicine, and hierarchy; it's clearly fiction and the author should just make the extra effort to not be horribly ableist on the way. These books do show the brutality that feral cats face, the dangers, but they are still anthropomorphized, so if the author is assigning human emotions to cats, they should be dealt with in a way that makes sense and shows sensitivity to the audience.
I'm still going to read the last book in this run, but I'm not sure if I will continue after that.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
It was so much emotion and suspicion from the start.