Month: May 2012

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

It makes more sense to just write one post for each little trilogy, so that\’s what I\’m doing now. The Ravenpaw\’s Path series follows the adventures of another cat who has left the clans, but still finds himself involved with them. I don\’t know Ravenpaw\’s backstory, having not yet read the novel series, but he\’s left his home in the forest and taken up living on a farm with his friend Barley. Ravenpaw finds that farm life suits him very well, and he\’s perfectly content. In Shattered Peace, a gang of five cats shows up at the farm. First they abuse the friends\’ hospitality, then they use the knowledge Ravenpaw and Barley have shared against them and drive them out.

When A Clan in Need opens, Ravenpaw and Barley are wandering deeper into the forest, having been forced out of their home. They take up with Thunderclan again, asking for help to take back the farm. But Thunderclan is facing its own troubles- the cats from the city, Bloodclan, are reorganizing themselves and launching raids against the forest cats. Before they can do anything to help Ravenpaw and Barley, Thunderclan has to focus on its own battle against the city cats. Are Ravenpaw and Barley willing to assist in the battle? There\’s some surprises in store for everyone.

Of the three books, The Heart of a Warrior was most full of battle scenes. Having successfully dealt with Bloodclan, Thunderclan now sends a group of cats back to the farm with Barley and Ravenpaw to help them regain their home. But things don\’t go as easily as they\’d forseen. The gang at the farm has strong reinforcements, and it takes several heated battles to properly drive them out. Even after they\’ve regained their rightful place, Ravenpaw and Barley face more problems in the form of two brothers who\’ve begged to stay peacefully with them, but turn out to be scoundrels that continue to cause trouble.

There\’s more to these stories than just cats fighting over territory, of course. Ravenpaw and Barley face lots of ups and downs in their friendship. Barley is feeling his age and reluctant to talk about his past with the clans. Ravenpaw is happy on the farm and reluctant to live as a warrior, yet finds himself involved in more and more fights as he pursues his goals. The cats have to decide where their loyalty lies: with the cats who taught them the warrior code? which are stronger, ties of family or those of friendship? it was a rather good story arc overall, mostly gets the two stars because of the continually lame artwork.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 112 pages (each) 2009, 2010

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Reading All Year Long
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by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

In this third book about Sasha, she has just left her home with man and returned to the forest to birth her kittens. But raising young on her own is difficult. One day when she\’s out hunting the kittens wander off into the nearby town and get themselves into trouble. A friend tries to help Sasha find a place on a farm, but the resident barn cats push her out. Knowing she needs support, Sasha finally decides to join the Riverclan. But she must keep the parentage of her kittens a secret, or they\’ll all be in danger.

Another quick read.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 112 pages, 2009

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

This story starts abruptly, continuing right where the last one left off. Brokenhearted by the revelation of Tigerstar\’s true character, Sasha rejects his invitation to join the Clan and wanders off to try and find herself yet another new home. She keeps dreaming of finding her previous owners but a brief search in the city proves futile. Frightened and confused by all the new surroundings, Sasha keeps wandering until she ends up on a boat where she gets trapped. Then the boat owner discovers that her company is good for his business, so he coaxes her to stay. Sasha comes to feel comfortable in her new place with the Captain, but still feels uneasy about her future. I have to say, it came as a complete surprise to me at the end that she was pregnant. I got no hint of that from the first book of this little trio where she was keeping company with Tigerstar. I even turned back through those pages to see if there was a clue that I missed, but no. It really wasn\’t even alluded to. So her conflict about staying on the boat or leaving to return to the forest made more sense. She wants to raise her kittens in a place of freedom, not coddled by humans.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 112 pages, 2008

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

Gah! That was my first thought on picking up this book. Because it doesn\’t have Bettina Kurkoski, but yet another illustrator, Don Hudson. Who was some improvement over the first guy, so I sighed and settled in to just enjoy the little tale. This one tells about a pet cat named Sasha who gets left behind when her elderly owner goes into a nursing home. Bereft, she wanders into the forest and makes a new home for herself there. Living in the forest is more thrilling and dangerous than she\’d imagined. So when she meets some Clan cats, Sasha wonders if she should join them. Even after falling for the attractive leader Tigerstar, she still has her doubts. When she discovers that Tigerstar isn\’t quite what she thought him to be, she isn\’t sure what to do.

Rating: 2/5 ……. 112 pages, 2008

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This Kid Reviews Books

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

The third volume here completes the little storyline about Graystripe\’s time away from his clan. I realize now that these Warriors comic books are extra stories not a part of the main series, but connected to it. I kind of like that they\’re adding to the main story instead of just retelling it.

In this one, Graystripe and Millie continue their journey to find the Thunder clan. A cat at a truck stop tells them he saw the clan and they went to the \”sun-drown place\” (the ocean). He tells them how to get there but Graystripe has issues with the recommended mode of travel: in the back of a truck! A main theme of this story was the conflict between the two cat companions: Graystripe despises anything connected with humans and is scornful of Millie when she uses her knowledge of the human world to solve problems. Yet at the same time he finds her attractive and struggles to tell her his true feelings.

I enjoyed reading this one, even as the visuals continue to disappoint. The books are so short, though, you can read each one in a single sitting. It would make sense to have them in one volume, as three chapters.

Rating: 2/5 ……. 112 pages, 2008

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

This short comic book picks up where The Lost Warrior left off. Graystripe the cat and his new friend Millie are on a journey to find Graystripe\’s missing clan. They have to navigate dangerous roads, find food, avoid territorial cats and evade dogs. After an incident in a cornfield with terrifying large machinery, they hole up for a while in a barn with some resident cats who are kept trapped there by the household dogs. Millie proves that even though she grew up a pampered housecat (\”kittypet\” in their lingo) she has valuable skills: she knows how to deal with the dogs. Eventually the two move on and finally locate Graystripe\’s old home, but everything has changed…

The storyline was a bit more interesting this time, but the artwork still disappointing. I also found it odd to discover that although Erin Hunter\’s name is on the cover, she didn\’t actually write the book. On the title page it says created by Erin Hunter, written by Dan Jolley. Wondering what exactly that means. The author of the series hatched an idea and Jolley fleshed it out? Not sure.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 112 pages, 2007

by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley

I was in the mood for some light reads but still interested in experiencing more graphic novels. The pictorial adaptations of the Warriors series was just right for this. True, I didn\’t care much for the Warriors books when I first tried the series out but like Redwall, I thought it might be a case where the writing didn\’t work for me, but a visual kind of book might. I was right. The manga Warriors series is still a bit insubstantial for me (it\’s geared at middle-grade readers, I believe) but it\’s nice for a quick read.

I\’m still not sure exactly how these comic books tie into the main series; do they just include portions of the original story, or tell parts that aren\’t included in the books? Well, this first one, The Lost Warrior, is about a cat named Graystripe who belongs to a clan of cats that lives in a forest. When their territory is seized by humans for development and the cats are trapped for removal, Graystripe helps free some of his comrades but in the process gets caught himself. He ends up living in a home as a pet cat, which frustrates him to no end. Eventually he finds a way to escape the house, but is lost in a maze of suburban backyards. He thinks all is lost when he meets a friendly female willing to help him find the way back to his forest home. It\’s a nice enough story, with a pretty straightforward plot. The illustrations leave something to be desired. I liked it as a light, distracting read, but nothing more.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 96 pages, 2007

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Ann\’s Reading Blog
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