Warriors: Changing Skies #1: The Elders' Quest: A Thrilling Novel Where Prophecy, Danger, and Chaos Threaten the Cat Clans for Kids

Warriors: Changing Skies #1

by Erin Hunter

The launch of a brand-new arc in Erin Hunter’s #1 bestselling Warriors series find the Clans navigating an ominous prophecy that foreshadows the destruction of the Moonpool, and the end of the Cats' connection to StarClan.

As Leafbare approaches, a new danger threatens the Clans. Twoleg construction has encroached on Clan territory, poisoning the stream and making prey especially scarce for SkyClan. Meanwhile, their leader, Leafstar, is struggling with a loss of vision while trying to maintain authority over a Clan that increasingly doubts her ability to lead.

In ShadowClan, Tawnypelt senses peril as the Twoleg construction threatens the Moonpool, but she can’t get anycat, especially her son, TigerStar, to listen. Frustrated with the younger cats who don't respect her, she decides to take matters into her own paws.

In the midst of the chaos, Moonpaw, an apprentice struggling to understand the mysterious voice in her head, thinks that she might be having visions. But the voice becomes increasingly sinister, and Moonpaw wonders if it's a sign of darkness on the horizon.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Childrens, Middle Grade, Cats, Fiction, Young Adult

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Erin Hunter is the pseudonym of five people: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Tui T. Sutherland, Gillian Philip, and Inbali Iserles, as well as editor Victoria Holmes. Together, they write the Warriors series as well as the Seekers and Survivors series. Erin Hunter is working on a new series now called Bravelands.

Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. As well as having a great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior, shaped by her interest in astronomy and standing stones.

Reviews

[Rebecca Chisam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start!

Honestly, I think this book has been getting a bit of an unnecessary bad rap. The only real complaint I had with it was that it was short, and seemed only just barely introduce the three MC's stories before ending. But it's only book one, and it seems like they are setting up from some interesting ideas.

Here's what I thought about each charrie's story:

Leafstar: I've never really cared too much about Leafstar, but I actually found her story to be the most interesting of the three here! Her Clan had the most drama going on. I am curious to see if Hawkwing will take over in the next book (that seems a little too easy, doesn't it?) and if Leafstar will become Leafdapple once more.

Moonpaw: I also liked her story, and I think she has potential to become an unique and interesting charrie. I'm wondering if somehow, her sister is in the Dark Forest? I have no idea how that could have happened, but who knows? More likely she's a ghost, just a... threatening one. I'm still desperately hoping that throughout the arc, Moonpaw becomes the first ever Evil Medicine Cat™ or even just an evil protagonist because that'd be so epic!!

We've had enough sweet little kitten doctors, let's have some chaotic evil doctor cats. :P

Also, Moonpaw's voice in her head also kind of reminds me of Goosefeather.

Tawnypelt: I like Tawnypelt, she's a nice charrie, but her POV was the least dramatic. The drama with her great grandson was interesting enough (Wow, are Tigerstar and Dovewing being jerks or what? Talk about controlling parents...) but it didn't blow my mind. I think they're shaping up Tawnypelt to do some cool stuff, but not quite yet.

And, oh yes, of course. Tawny/Crow.

It honestly wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was. They interacted like... twice? And there's no indication that Crowfeather is even remotely interested in Tawnypelt. Honestly, I think Tawnypelt's just lonely, and is looking for comfort in someone. I really don't know if anything will come of this, it may just be passing feelings. I don't think it's as big a deal as some were making it to be.

So anyway, there are my thoughts. :P

Of course, one part of me is a sad little bean that Frostdawn was only in one scene, (because I don't want to move on from ASC :P) but I still think they are setting up for some interesting dilemmas in this arc.

However, I don't know why this book is called The Elders' Quest, because none of the POVs are actually elders...

[Luke Port · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE ELDERS QUEST SUCKED

After breaking into HarperCollins and grabbing an early copy of the book, I wwas horrified and disgusted with this book. I hated it so much. They killed off everybody's favorite character: REDTAIL!!!
Redtail was killed because he has no plot relevance, but I don't care. I love will always love Redtail.
THIS IS CALLED HORRIBLE WRITING.

Anyways, we then have this weird subplot between Squirrelstar and Jayfeather and Brambleclaw.

When Moonpaw's voice, Deadkit, is trying to possess Moonpaw, everybody ignores Moonpaw. Then, Deadkit finally takes over Moonpaw's body and forces Rainbowglitterstar, the leader of all of the clans, to read The Raging Storm, making her lose her 83rd life to bad writing after reading The Raging Storm and seeing Redtail die.

This book has made me severely depressed. I have lost my will to live because I am so sad Rainbowglitterstar died after 634 books, and 152 which she was the main character in. I hope the authors get exposed for this. I am never reading this series again.

Anyways, thanks for reading my review <33

NOTE: I decided to give Hidden Moon and StormClan's Folly a try even though I said I would never read the series again. They were both good!

[Harper Cearley · Rating 2 out of 5]

they just be doing anything now 🤦🏽

[Loang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 7 out of 10

A pretty solid introduction to a new arc! Honestly I didn't find anything particularly noteworthy about this one; the plot with Moonpaw's sister is definitely shaping up to be really interesting, but we're not quite there yet and we'll have to wait and see how it develops in the following books. While not having the most exciting plot (which is naturally bound to happen since the arc is just beginning), the pacing here was above average and at no point did I feel like it was lagging.

Now, most criticisms I've heard about online about this book are mostly fans jumping to conclusions or purposely reading the writers' motivations in bad faith.

To start with the biggest controversy, TawnyCrow is not at all a thing yet, and depending on the route the authors end up taking I think it could end up being pretty decent of a storyline. Is it needed? Probably not. But it's nice seeing a female character like Tawnypelt getting to find love after her previous mate passed away (a storyline that seemed to be reserved for male characters in the past) and I don't think it's fair to assume a bad outcome just yet.

Regarding the whole Dovewing and Tigerstar debate, my take is that this direction is bold but does have some positive potential. Those who believe that either or both of them are acting out of character do not seem to be taking into account the context of their actions (Rowankit's death specifically) and/or their actual personalities, as they have been characterized as overbearing, protective parents since they had their first litter. The narrative is already showing, although still between the lines, Dovewing as being somewhat unsure of her decisions, and so far the most likely outcome is that they will eventually make up with Birchfeather (who was a lovely character in this book, on a tangent).

Finally, regarding the arc being about moving territories again, although the book certainly hints towards this being the case, I don't think it's obvious enough to be taken as a fact (like the Impostor's identity was back in early The Broken Code) and the specifics of what the journey might entail are still up in the air.

If this feels more like me discussing online complaints than anything else, truly it's because there's just not that much else to talk about. I'm personally not very attached to either Tawnypelt nor Leafstar as characters, so I was mostly focused on the Moonpaw part of the storyline; still, each of the subplots had something to add to the book as a whole and I really appreciated when the authors skipped certain POVs when they weren't really necessary rather than prioritizing the rotation (I had been wishing for this for a while!). The prose quality was pretty average for a Warriors book and, while not amazing by any means, didn't leave me disappointed (I do wish they hired better editors for typos and silly mistakes, but that's been an issue for a very long time!).

This was a fine book that set up some fun concepts, and I'm definitely excited to read the rest of this arc!

[Dandy ˙ᵕ˙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

am i crazy for thinking this book was significantly shorter than most regular warriors books? i feel like i flew through this and now I have to wait until NOVEMBER for the next one??? i hope the next one at least has 300 pages
4/5 so far because i really like the direction this COULD go, but if it ends up with them having to move territories that will quickly fall to 2 or 3 stars. i do not want to sit through another travel montage for 2 books... also, why is this book called the elders quest. no elder went on a damn quest at all in this book?

love moonpaw and her story though! really excited to see how this plays out but i hope it isnt just ashfur 2.0

[Salem · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the authors is definitely going through a mid-life crisis.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this with the lowered expectations one should have for a new Warriors book in 2024, it was easy to have fun with. The Tigerstar/Dovewing mischaracterisations are frustrating - it makes zero sense for either of their characters. I was one of the minority among my friends willing to give Tawny/Crow the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately the writing having Tawnypelt swooning over him is painfully bad. All that being said, I loved Tawnypelt's supportive grandma moments; I loved enough of a time skip to allow things to have settled somewhat from A Starless Clan; I love that we seem to only have to suffer with one book of Moonpaw keeping her problem a secret, so that hopefully the rest of her arc can be dealing with it rather than trying to conceal it; I loved Leafstar being allowed to step down (although I wish she didn't have to be mischaracterised as quite so single-minded in order to eek out more filler chapters); I loved that the page count was a little lower than usual, it felt like a very necessary trimming of the fat.

I don't know how much I can be convinced to care about another territory moving plot, but although this is receiving a lot of criticism as the team "running out of ideas", a plotline that concluded _twenty years ago_ being repeated is, as far as I'm concerned, the least of the series' problems.

I do wish that the titles for these books were a little less probably-AI-generated, particularly after the last series where none of the titles had any relevance whatsoever to the story. This trend seems to be continuing, as there are ironically, technically, zero elders featured in zero quests in this book. It feels like a title was selected assuming the plot would move a little further along than it did in the end.

Perfectly decent book one, excited to see where this cycle leads.

[lion ♡]

did I just read this in one sitting at chapters? yes!!

tawny - okok best characterr - loved her supporting birchfeather, and dovewing gurl ur my fav but you n ur mate r falling off rn 😭 , like you switched clans for love, and cant accept that birchfeather likes ridgeglow?? also the crow x tawnyyy and the whole starclan thing at the end… wow

moon - good, don’t like how she swapped from warrior to medicine cat, and I just wanted her to tell SOMEONE about the cat in her head

leaf - I thought she would say she didn’t wanna be leader by herself, yes she was kinda annoying this book but reedclaw feels rlly imarture to mee

[Alex Richey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a new narrator for the Warriors series now, and I miss MacLeod Andrews. The new audiobook isn't enjoyable, but I don't think it's the new narrator's fault at all. I've heard her narrate other audiobooks just fine. I get the impression that the production team behind her just didn't care about quality this time around, which is a real shame. Expect weird pauses and quick reading.

The story is pretty good, quite unique, and I'm curious to see where we go. I hope the audiobook production gets better, but we'll see.

[Ava Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umm WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!?! i NEED the next book ASAP!!

[Bailey Vande · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is certainly controversial. There are some pretty big issues with it. For one, the previous arc set up Fernstripe and Shellfur as a cross clan relationship where Fernstripe leaves WC to join TC and be with Shellfur. Then suddenly Shellfur is with Myrtlebloom in this book? Has to be a mistake. Tigerstar and Dovewing being entirely unsupportive of their son wanting to change clans is another inconsistency in character writing here, especially for Dovewing who did the same thing her son is doing! The overall plot seems to be heading in the direction of a rehash of TNP, which I don't love, but I won't disregard it until it has more time to pan out. This book overall did little besides establishing a plot, it was not very eventful overall. The big controversy though is Tawnypelt and Crowfeather being set up as a potential relationship. While I don't hate the idea of two elders finding love again after losing their mates, this pairing doesn't really make sense since they haven't interacted in many years, and Crowfeather already had 3 mates. It just seems pretty forced and fanservicey. All that aside, I still found myself enjoying reading this book. While Leafstar being deposed as leader was certainly sad for a character that's been around for so long, it felt bleak and realistic in a good way that Warriors would typically stray away from. I also enjoyed the setup for Moonpaw and her dead sibling and their strange connection. Feels like there is a lot of potential there, but it depends on the direction they go with it. Maybe a villain POV? Definitely the highlight of this book for me was her story. Overall, this book definitely has some issues, but most of them are minor and don't take away from the main plot. I found most of the book to be enjoyable to read, and at the very least this book had solid setup for the rest of the arc, even if not a lot happened in this one. The real question is if Warriors can actually stick the landing for once and not squander the potential it has.

[Twilight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little bit dissapointed with this book. It wasn't bad, but I feel like some cats seemed to act differently compared to how I know them from the rest of the books, and 'The Elders' Quest' did not stay true to their character. Speaking of the title, I do not understand it. Yes, there were some older cats investigating things for a chapter or so - but there was no such things as an 'elders quest'. Also, there were a few 'plot holes' or cats doing things that I found illogical.
Sadly I did not think Tawnypelt and Leafstar were very interesting perspectives, but I did love reading from Moonpaw's perspective. I found her storyline really interesting. The ending shocked me and I loved it, so I'm curious to see what the next book will bring!

[Sloane · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!!! This book made me cry, laugh, cheer, AND have nightmares! It is aboutTawnypelt, a she-cat who has lost most of her family, Leafstar, who gets voted out of leadership, and Moonpaw, a strange looking cat that isn’t sure what she should be. At the end of the book, Moonpaw found out that she had a twin sister who threatened to kill her all the way from star clan!

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5-8/10 stars.

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would.

When this book was initially announced and I heard the main characters listed, I was definitely disappointed and skeptical. I was frustrated that Leafstar and Tawnypelt were returning as protagonists and I admit, part of my reluctance to read more of them was the fact that they are so old now (especially funny with ageism and insecurity of age being such big themes with this book) and I've gotten tired of older cats in this series who probably should've long since died or have retired by now getting special treatment or leadership positions simply to pander to nostalgia and to provide fanservice (because the new team definitely seems to try to be pandering to fans lately, which has been both a positive and a negative in various ways). Then there is the 'Quest' part of this book's title... the Warriors team - both old and new - have never been quite good at making travelling interesting and so that only lowered any hope I had for this book being good. And don't worry... that fear of future travels lingers even now. Really, the only thing I was optimistic about was our newest protagonist, Moonpaw, who sounded interesting from the jump. (Also we have a tortoiseshell protagonist in the main series finally!)

But color me pleasantly surprised. I was not only entertained by this book, but I actually found myself emotionally invested in some parts and intrigued for the upcoming book in November, though I will admit, there were some flaws that still have me fearing for the momentum of these coming novels.

I will talk about each characters storyline and perspective individually.

Tawnypelt - Admittedly, Tawnypelt's chapters were my least favorite chapters out of the three perspectives we had. A lot of people's biggest issues with Tawnypelt's chapters seemed to be with Tigerstar II and Dovewing and how they treated Birchfeather wanting to move to SkyClan. I am going to admit, that didn't bother me as much. Sure it is hypocritical of them (which the book and narrative itself points out many times) but I think the book does a good job explaining the reasoning. Tigerstar and Dovewing both have been portrayed as very protective parents and dedicated family people, so it kind of read realistic to me that they would take it badly and I have no doubt the story is setting up their eventual acceptance and forgiveness for Birchfeather eventually.

My issue with Tigerstar more came from his characterization towards Tawnypelt in this book. Tigerstar II has never been the most consistent character in the world, but I do think the new team had been doing a good job in the past two arcs making him a consistent and even flawed, but likable character. The Broken Code and a Starless Clan actually made him my favorite leader out of the current leader line up. And while he has been consistently stubborn and set in his values, I did find myself feeling like his indifference to any of Tawnypelt's concerns to be unrealistic to his character and kind of undermining his 'destined to be the greatest leader of ShadowClan' thing from his Super Edition as a whole. Tawnypelt shows valid concerns and talks about them rationally to Tigerstar, but for some reason he is not willing to hear any of it out for the sake of conflict in the plot, I suppose. Even when Leafstar and others are doubling down about the concerns this raises and bringing up real points, he is just refusing to hear them out which feels ... not right. Even the other leaders being indifferent to it feels not right, to be honest. I feel like he would've been willing to hear his mother out and would've been more willing to solve the problem like he had with the past problems in the Broken Code and a Starless Clan, seeing as he directly involved himself with both the Bramblestar possession conflict and the RiverClan power vacuum problem despite neither "fully involving" ShadowClan either. I don't know.

The other problem I had with Tawnypelt's narrative is what I bring up earlier... it is the part most hinting at the fact we are about to have several books of journeying and that we are going to do the New Prophecy Part Two. I am not necessarily opposed to having a new setting should they decide to move from the Lake, but I will admit, the fact we seem to be repeating the EXACT same storyline from Arc 2 and the fact that some of these future books might consist entirely of journey and travelling is killing me inside. Like please... somehow spare me from this. I will also admit, all of the moments of them investigating the humans building were the most boring parts of the book for me.

But Tawnypelt's narrative wasn't entirely bad. I do think her struggle with finding respect in a Clan so filled with young cats to be realistic. I really liked her relationship with Birchfeather. Grandparents-grandchildren relationships are so rare in Warrior Cats and it was nice to see in this book. Birchfeather was cute and I actually do find it funny that all of the appearances we saw of Ridgeglow, his new mate, actually had her acting like somewhat of a jerk (I say that positively). I actually funnily enough thought Tawnypelt had the strongest opening chapter out of the three protagonists too, though her plot later felt the most contrived in the typical Warrior Cats way of "no one will listen to me even if I present everything in the most rational, unobjectionable way possible."

As far as the TawnyCrow stuff goes... I can't say I love the idea of the relationship and I do resent the fact that I think it is guaranteed to happen because Warriors has to shoehorn in at least one romance... but I do think if they play it right, it could be interesting to explore in the sense that... maybe she doesn't love Crowfeather as an actual person, but more as a concept? Like he is someone her age who shares similar experiences and has the same worries she does, which is something she is desperately craving in ShadowClan since she has no one else her age around... like he is essentially a vessel for her nostalgia and worries, you know? I highly doubt it though. We'll see where it goes.

(Also since I don't know where else to put this... why did Bluestar give Tawnypelt the omen and not like... someone from ShadowClan like Blackstar or even Shadowstar or anyone else? Felt really weird to me since Tawnypelt just feels like a pure ShadowClan cat at this point so why...?)

Leafstar - I actually found Leafstar to have the chapters I was most looking forward to in the book! I really liked seeing her struggles with aging and going blind, her insecurities with Hawkwing and whether or not he was usurping her, and then later her struggling to come to terms with her Clanmates lack of faith and whether or not she should give up her position as leader.

I even admit, the part where she steps down as leader and is humiliated in front of the Gathering actually made me almost tear up. I thought it was very well-written. There were actually a lot of bits in Leafstar's perspective that made me surprised. I loved that it acknowledged how badly the lake territories have treated SkyClan (something I've always thought about when reading the past two arcs) and I also love the tidbit where after Leafstar is deposed at the Gathering, the other leaders become nervous realizing they too might fall victim one day. It was ominous and good.

There were parts of Leafstar's narrative though that I didn't love. The gorge thing, while I am sure leading to something narratively, got so annoying and repetitive after a while (also there were so many times in all three perspectives that relied on the cats falling asleep on their feet all the time... like narcolepsy has spread through these cats).

While I actually loved the conflict between her and Reedclaw and the voting system, I do admit I wish it was done with more... tact and better pacing (like why are they forcing this cat who just came out of a concussion in this situation? Also why did Reedclaw get the opportunity to challenge over and over again... seems like their should be a limit on that. LOL) I also found it a bit convenient that the moment Hawkwing has to take over as leader temporarily, he somehow manages to find prey to fill the freshkill pile despite the book establishing that no cat no matter how much they searched could find a lot of viable prey. It just seemed like a very convenient way to make Hawkwing look like a good leader in comparison to Leafstar. Also, the first chapter of Leafstar's chapter was so comical in the fact that they just made every disaster that could happen in that moment happen one right after the other, conveniently after Leafstar was thinking about how great life is. Like, I feel like they definitely could've paced that out better. Especially since they just drop the sick cat plotline right after they introduce it. I am just going to assume everyone got better, especially since Cloudmist and Sagenose get to be mentioned later?

I am actually saddened to see that it looks like Leafstar is losing her perspective in the next book, though Starlingpaw does intrigue me. Starlingpaw being partially responsible for his father's death and Leafstar even blaming him at one point for it will bring some interesting angst but Rest in Peace this being the only arc without a male POV. I am hoping though we get more insight on Leafstar's feelings about being an elder (if that even happens... something has me wondering if Hawkstar will become a thing) and how she interacts with her Clanmates afterwards. That has to be so awkward interacting with cats who voted you deposed and humiliated you in front of a Gathering. I really hope they don't give up on her fully in favor of Starlingpaw and that she might get POV chapters in later books.

Especially since she had the most lack of closure out of the three protags. I can't believe they didn't give us at least one last chapter with her.

Moonpaw - The second most interesting chapters in the book. The Voice obviously being the most interesting thing. I am so curious what The Voice's deal is and how it works and the Voice being such a little shit was so fun to read about and so eerie in a lot of parts. I am wondering why her sister didn't get to travel to StarClan and is instead bound to Moonpaw as a ghost? I am also curious about the prophecy and where they are going with her character. I somehow doubt they will make Moonpaw a villain, but if they do, I am down for it. I also wish they would've given us The Voice's name so I don't have to keep referring to it as 'The Voice' ... they totally had the opportunity to when she had the conversation with Thriftear and Bayshine.

I was actually disappointed they did not keep Moonpaw in the medicine cat den. I liked reading about her enjoying learning about herbs and bonding with Jayfeather. I also think the scenes with her in the Moonpool were enjoyable and interesting (and the scene where she falls in and has to be saved was like... a fun scene to read too)... I think her being a warrior is a little less interesting though we'll see if it stays that way.

She had the least amount of actual stuff going on plot-wise since most of the stuff in her chapters was just her doing her apprentice duties and worrying about the Voice and seeing her dead sister... but I do think she has the most potential and she was probably the most fun to read about personality-wise... she also leaves me with the most questions.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It wasn't perfect and it had a lot of Warrior typical issues, but I am actually excited for the book in November. I am curious to see where this plot goes. I actually felt a lot of different emotions reading this book which was more than I thought it would accomplish!

Also complete side note, but I had to give up on the audiobook for this one and find a PDF to read to finish this book off because it was genuinely the worst production of an audiobook I've seen. I know MacCleod Andrews retired from doing the Warrior audiobooks and the new narrator isn't godawful in voice... but the audio was inconsistent, the characters sounded the same, words were mispronounced, and so many other little glaring errors were left in! I had to check the PDF multiple times to make sure the mistakes were coming from the narration and they were! I have never seen a more unprofessional official audio reading in my life. I really hope they can get it together but for now, I will be reading physical and pdf copies of this particular arc from now on.

[Marisa Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was fun and interesting! I wasn’t very excited about this book after how badly they fumbled the last book in the previous arc, but I’m glad it seems like some coherent thoughts were put together for this new arc. I especially like that two of the three new POVs are older characters—it’s always bothered me how characters fade into the background after their arc is over, but now old favorites are getting a chance to shine again!

I thought Leafstar’s story was really interesting. With her being the oldest leader now, I thought it was probably only a matter of time before the Erins remembered she’s a bucket of old bones too and worked out how to get rid of her. I appreciate they actually put time and thought into the effort as opposed to some one-page anecdote like “Yeah she was getting old so she stepped down.” I’m glad that at the last moment she decided to step down out of her own agency and thought the plot was realistic and understandable, as well as heart-wrenching and sad. They did a very good job!

Tawnypelt was kinda fun too, especially with her dynamic with her son being leader and her grandson joining a different Clan. I did NOT see old person romance coming, and I did say, aloud, NO NONONONO whenever she was like “omg Crowfeather?” but you know what? The situation is so funny I think I’ll just allow it. This crackship might as well happen. Why not? Let’s let Crowfeather fumble another beautiful woman, what could possibly go wrong? 😂 Maybe she’ll get with his ex wife instead.

Moonpaw is just kinda the cherry on top of everything at this point. I think the situation with the voice in her head is interesting and spicy! I will be curious to see if the voice actually is evil it if it’s complicated. The idea of being haunted by your forever-child dead sister who has all the selfishness and neediness of a child is really interesting and chilling. I’m also curious how Moonpaw looks half like her if her sister died after birth? And if she’s really being possessed by her?? So many questions, can’t wait to learn some answers! But, this is Warriors so that probably won’t happen for at least a few books.

Overall, for once almost no reused plots/tropes other than some really minor ones that I can excuse. Definitely a decent start to a new arc!

[Lang Beeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new WC team is definitely hit or miss as they get further into each series, but they really know how to write an opening book. The follow through is what they struggle with for sure, but so far all they've done is set up some pretty compelling concepts for the new series to explore which I loved. Moonpaw's whole deal is particularly captivating, I am very excited to see what they do with the voice as a character because right now as of the final chapter I do believe they have set up a few red herrings for us to get through before we really figure out what is happening. I know TawnyCrow is controversial, unfortunately I think that it is funny enough that I do not care. Fuck it. Why shouldn't Crowfeather get a fourth try at a wife at this point- I'd love to see how he screws it up again. Leafstar being demoted is an interesting concept as well, though I am not sure where they will go from here with her. Speaking along that vein- would losing another life not regenerate her vision? Even this far into the series there is still a lot we don't understand about the lives system.
I do love that the cats have democracy now- babies first impeachment vote.
Low point of this book is every time Tigerheartstar speaks- god what an asshole. Dovewing is that one friend with the boyfriend where you can't possibly understand why she stays with him.

[mariam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont know who in their right mind decided that tawnypelt and crowfeather should couple up but trust that was the worst decision these writers could have made. Completely ruined tawnypelt and everything she seemingly stood for
Fav scene was obviously anything to do with windclan😝😝😝😝🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰esp harestar being annoyed that tigerstar picked crowfeather for him was cute

alsoo YAWWNN YAWN YAWN YAWN i HATEEE when the cats r travelling like ugh give me some emotional conflict

moonpaw seems cool though!! I called it being her kit sister. Plsss for the love of god must every main character go through the whole “medicine cat or not” thing ??? There r like 20 medicine cats the clans r too op

[Hailey Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appropriately sinister ending. A lot of things irritated me with this book, but I see potential for the arc.

I found the book interesting but unremarkable. It loosely breaks into the plots for each character, giving a slow approach like touching your nose to the Moonpool and not getting any visions. I wasn’t tearing through this noticeably shorter-than-usual book like I thought I might. Though to be fair, that can happen with the start of a new arc. I’m happy to see a new face (or two) with Moonpaw, and surprisingly, Leafstar and Tawnypelt’s chapters are good. As more books come out, I hope they’ll pick up in speed and interest.

Here is my full review: https://www.fandomspotlite.com/first-...

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very high three stars. For a Warriors book, this was pretty good.

However, this is only book 1 of 6 for this arc, so I unfortunately have little doubt that this will slowly degrade as each book releases like every other arc except the first one has.
That being said, the writing style is still the weird, jumpy, overly smooth new Warriors writing that I have mixed feelings on at best. Once again, it really shows in the fight scenes (yes, there was a border skirmish for the first time in forever! Yay!) that this style leaves a lot to be desired. It does feel like the new writing tries to avoid the typical Warriors pitfalls of painfully long, boring discussions that go nowhere, and to this book’s credit, I think it does. That gets a bit more into the plot section, but for what it’s worth I do think this book has been paced pretty well.

The overall story is going to be pretty similar to The New Prophecy, I think. I’m REALLY excited about that, because I for one am sick and tired of the lake territories. I want some new stuff! Give me a new, interesting setting! And I bet StormClan will be a part of this somehow, which I’m actually not too upset about.
Speculation aside, Leafstar’s plot is interesting but feels entirely self-contained. I do worry that this book resolving that plot already will leave it feeling unnatural in the future. Or worse, the story will be dragged out and a new leader won’t be chosen for six books. . . Why does that sound familiar?
But I think her story was paced very well. Moonpaw’s story is a painfully recycled plot that we’ve seen three times before, and even though it being shortened to one book instead of multiple makes it and the ones before it seem even cheaper, I am so glad we didn’t stay in the ‘maybe a medicine cat’ phase for even longer. And, bonus, it seems like she’s going to actually be a Warrior! Hooray!
Tawnypelt’s arc is by far the weakest of the three. Nothing important really happens, and she just kind of exists. I REALLY hope we get something interesting for her down the line.

The characters themselves are all painfully bland, which is part of why I mentioned their plots separately.
Leafstar’s story, while a bit boring, is unique. Leafstar herself feels like any other Warriors protagonist, and has nothing special going for her. I really hope we get a different cat’s POV in the next book. I think her story works better when it’s self-contained, like Stormfur’s in Moonrise.
Moonpaw is annoyingly basic, but it’s nice to have someone who tries to be better and actually seems capable of achieving it. I’m a bit concerned how her sister is going to become important to the overall story, and how the lore behind her will works but I am super excited to see where that arc goes. I hope Moonpaw actually changes and grows as a character by the end rather than just ‘maturing’ (which in actuality is barely seen in the books and is at best usually a result of dire circumstances forcing them to stop acting silly instead of showing them actually develop). But frankly, I don’t hold out too much hope.
Tawnypelt is another nothing character. Tigerstar’s and Dovewing’s actions in this book make no sense, and the fact that I have more to say on them than Tawnypelt says something about how interesting our lead actually is. Her crush on Crowfeather is something I’m actually really interested in; I just wish it was any other cat except Crowfeather. His story resolved so nicely in his Super Edition, and he’s had more than enough forbidden romance. I’m sick of the same plot with the same cat; give me something new! I don’t hate the idea of Tawnypelt finding new love, though. And hey, maybe the Erins will be so busy writing her they’ll forget to give Moonpaw a love interest and let us have a single female character who doesn’t even want a mate! (I know Frostdawn ends up alone, but she had the whole Splashtail arc so I’m not counting her.)

There are no villains yet, except the mysterious Moonpaw ghost, so we’ll see what happens, I guess. The Twolegs would probably count, but that threat doesn’t feel real yet either, so I don’t think it’s pushing the stakes or anything.
For what it’s worth, I do think Warriors in general needs to pick up the pace in some regards. I miss the first series, where we had our threat, lead(s), beginnings of actual arcs, and major plot set up from book 1. This book’s pacing isn’t bad or anything, but it feels a bit aimless not having a notable threat and having three uninteresting stories that rarely cross paths. If they all stood on their own, that would be one thing. But put any of these arcs alone and they become tedious and unoriginal. I hope the next books can improve on this, but I doubt it at this point.

Oh well. This definitely wasn’t a bad opener to the arc, for Warriors at least.

EDIT: I completely forgot to mention that this book is completely inappropriately named. There are neither elders nor a quest central to this story. I feel like the Erins (or HarperCollins- I’m not sure if the authors or publishers name the book) just used a ‘Warriors title format’ instead of actually trying to name it. I sincerely hope book 2 has a more fitting title.

SERIES RATINGS:
The Elders’ Quest: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hidden Moon: TBD
Chasing Shadows: TBD

[BRASH · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so pissed it’s not even funny I’ve been a Leafstar fangirl since day one dude they’re bullying her!!!! She’s a great leader!!!!! What even!!!! I’m so pissed Cherith sleep with one eye open plz thank you ❤️❤️❤️

[Kaylee]

Audiobook

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curious to see what will happen next! The title is oddly disconnected from the plot, but I feel like there is potential for another interesting subseries here.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better written than Ivypool’s Heart but oh man colored me worried for how Moonpaw’s whole deal is going to be handled in the next books.

[Joke Verbeke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5/5
Honestly, idk how to feel on this one. It's not necessarily bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just kinda average, toppling towards boring even? Maybe a bit frustrating at times. Not a lot happened, it's quite literally "The new prophecy" meets "SkyClan's destiny" meets "Tawnypelts clan". There is a lot of reused plot points.

Also, the three main characters feel extremely disconected this time around. Like more so then in other main series' first books. Like at least i could imagine how Frostpaw, Nightheart and Sunbeam would eventually interact, but this time around, Leafstar seems to live her own story that's not that connected to either Tawnypelt or Moonpaw and while I can imagine Moonpaw's and Tawnypelt's stories eventually intertwining, Tawnypelt's view on young cats will probably make it akward af. Atm, they're 3 mostly disconected stories happening simultaniously, which makes it feel like it's 3 saperate books in one, instead of one book that's part of a series.

I didn't particularly care about Leafstar's parts, I'm not that interested in seeing where her story goes bc honestly, idk where it can go from here. Tawnypelt's story was average, it has some potential though i feel like it'll mostly just be that moment where the journeying cats have to convince the clans they need to leave all over again. And Moonpaw's story is honestly the only one i'm sort of entrigued by, but mostly bc I'm cunfused by why the voice is sinister. Not bc i actually have a huge interest in her story, her story's pretty non existent outside of the voice bothering her. Like nothing super big has happened yet. The other arcs at least had that going for them.

In arc 1, Firepaw basically goes through his entire apprenticehood, there are several big, inpactful battles.

In arc 2, the journeying cats actually complete the first half of their journey, and they even find Midnight. Their prophecy is basically already partly fullfilled, meanwhile cats go missing in the clans

In arc 3, Grasytripe returns, Lionpaw starts his meetings with Heatherpaw, there is a ton of border drama that leads to battles, the day gathering happens, Jaypaw gets this massive prophecy which we see a part of being fullfilled.

In arc 4, there's the whole Bever sidequest and the discovery of the thirds special cat

in arc 5, the goups end up splitting up after just having made a terrible journey, a lot of death happened too

Arc 6 had the introduction of Darktail, a prophecy being partly fullfilled, high stakes

arc 7 had a leader die, come back to life and act strange, it had the confirmation that Bramblestar was possessed, that was the cliffhanger of that book

Ar 8 had Mistystar and Reedwhisker die, had RiverClan in shambles, one of the main character's mother's dies in a traumatic way, there's this mystery about Reedwhisker possibly being murdered by another cat

and then you have this arc, where there is some drama about Leafstar not being fit to be a leader, which is basically resolved by the end of the book bc she steps down. Then you have some drama about Tawnypelt being frustrated the young cats don't take her concerns seriously, her being afraid they'll have to leave and her getting a vague prophecy at the very end of the book that warns her of danger and Moonpaw for somle reason. And then you have Moonpaw, who just kinda exists, she doesn't really do a lot, but she has a sinister kitten ghost following her around so that's something ig

Over all, is the book worth reading? honestly idk. It doesn't bring a lot of new stuff onto the table but i wouldn't tell you not to read it if you absolutely wanted to. It's not Onestar's confession or Spottedleaf's heart's levels of bad by a mile, there is no reason to skip out on it if you want to read it. But it's probably not gonna be interesting if you weren't planning on reading it or were on the fence about reading it.

I'll now give a short summary of each character's story as well as some of my thoughts on these stories in more detail.

Let's just, tackle the pov's saperatly because there's not a lot of reason to put them together, their stories barely intertwine.

---

Starting off with Leafstar. Leafstar's having trouble keeping her clan in charge. She's going blind, and is doubting her decision to stay at the lake. On top of that, a lot of her clanmates start to notice she's growing old (girl's been leader for 11 or so years, she's been leading for a long time). All of this worsens when her clanmates and the prey in their territory start to get sick due to their water being conteminated by humans who're assumably building apartments nearby. This causes the clan to start starving. Which then leads to Leafstar deciding to fight a badger who has settled nearby to try and make that aria safe to hunt. During this fight, she mistakes one of the new apprentices as a badger and accidentally attack him, causing the apprentice's father, Kitescratch, to try and stop Leafstar which then results in hem being attacked by a badger which then leads to his death. This is the final straw for some of her clanmates and they start a vote to demote her. Leafstar ends up winning, though barely. She later goes hunting on her own and gets heavily wounded, causing her to be bed ridden for a few days. In this time Hawkwing basically fixes most, if not all of SkyClan's current problems resulting in another vote, which Leafstar loses. They bring it up during a gathering as the other clan leaders need to agree to demote Leafstar too. It looks like Squirrelstar and Tigerstar are going to decide to side with Leafstar but before they can, Leafstar steps up and demotes herself regardless of what the other cats decide. That's basically where her chapters leave off.

I didn't really have much of an opinion on Leafstar's bit. Idk what they can do with her now that she's basically decided to retire. The only way i could see this story go that would maybe keep it interesting is if Leafstar and Hawkwing cannot reach StarClan, which i'm sort of assuming will happen looking at the prologue. But even then, idk how much her story would interest me later on. I kinda expected her to die, and have the rest of the arc be from the pov of a different cat. Hawkwing or Starlingpaw (the apprentice who saw his father die) for example. But as that's not the case, i'm not sure how they could keep her relevant. For the majority of this book already she's just kinda been there. Heck, a big portion of her pov is literally inside her dreams, she doesn't interact that much with her clanmates outside of Hawkwing and her med cats. Also, i guess this proved that the new rule could technically work, even though i doubt it will be used again ngl.

---

Then we have Tawnypelt. For the majority of the book she is complaining about young cats not listening to her orders, or young cats being disrespectful to older cats, or her considering herself "not that old" while she's one of the only cats who's seen the old forest who's still alive. These thoughts become more and more present when she starts to grow concernt of having to move again with the twolegs doing their thing and no one seemingly caring about what's going on. Like they're destroying the Moonpool but no one really cares it seems, which understandibly causes Tawnypelt to be annoyed with her clanmates. Some other stuff happens, like Tawnypelt getting a crush on Crowfeather (which i will dive into later) and Dovewing and Tigerstar rejecting their son for falling in love with a SkyClan cat and moving to a different clan, and Tigerstar in particlar being angry with Tawnypelt because she supports Birchfeather and doesn't want to see him miserable. Her story basically ends with her nearly dying after she fell pretty badly while investigating the twolegs. During her almost death experience, she got a StarClan message telling her that she's destined to lead the clans away from the danger. She's also warned to beware of 'the two faced cat who's got a paw in each world" or something along these lines. I forgot the exact wording and don't feel like looking it up, but it's pretty clear they're warning her about Moonpaw.

So... boy was this one kinda weird. I again don't really care about Tawnypelt's story in particular, more so about the stuff that happens around her. Like how is basically no one conserned about the humans. Like we've had this problem twice before, and both times at least one clan had to leave. Ik most cats that are alive today haven't lived through that, but it truly seems like only Crowfeather, Tawnypelt, Leafstar and maybe Squirrelstar are genuinily concerned about this. Not even the medicine cats seem too concerned??? which i'm like why??? In the previous arcs cats would be afraid they'd die if they go one day without access to StarClan and now humans are literally terraforming the moonpool and they all act like that's not something to be concerned about? It doesn't really make that much sense imo. They also go check on the humans several times but there's no feeling of urgency like there was in tnp, even though it's obvious we're supposed to feel this is urgent. The book just doesn't seem to convey that properly for some reason? It's a bit of a mess ngl, though yeah, i'm 99% sure they're leading up to them needing to move. Also, i'm not sure how i feel about them appointing Tawnypelt to lead the clans to what i assume is a new home. Ik she has done so before but for one, she's old, and for two, last time around they literally needed on cat from every clan to go look for a new home and convince all the clans to leave. Why is it only a single ShadowClan cat now? especially since SkyClan is experiencing the worst of the blow.

second thing that i wanted to tackle was Dovewing's and Tigerstar's behaviour. You're telling me these two forbidden lovers who literally both left their clans at some point to be together, even if the clan really needed them, and who were fine with and even supported cats changing clans for love in the past 2 arc cannot accept that their son might want to do the same? I'm glad Dovewing seems to be reluctent in her non suportiveness, i'm pretty sure she'll turn around at some point during the next book. Tigerstar seems to be the worst offender. I'm just flabbergasted by the way they even refuse to speak to their son it seems. Like what the hell?

Lastly, we gotta adress the Crowfeather and Tawnypelt plotline. It might happen, it might not happen. If it happens i personally wouldn't really like it bc I just don't think the two work together (also Crofeather would have 4 mates, give this guy a rest we get the message, he's hot). But as of this book, it seems to be almost completely one-sided. Crowfeather is friendly towards Tawnypelt, and he laughed with something she said at some point, but other then that there's no indication he sees her as anything except for an old acquaintance. Like his behaviour isn't even that friendship-like most of the time, it more so feels like he just respects her and can relate to her on some level but that's pretty much it. Heck, they don't even interact that much in this book. I think they had 3 or so proper conversations and most of these were about the twolegs. So honestly, i'm not expecting them to actually become a thing anytime soon.

---

Lastly we have Moonpaw. She's introduced to us as a kitten who wishes to become a warrior, however her parents think she's special and should be a med cat. Jayfeather and Alderheart are not convinced she has it in her so she ends up becoming a regular apprentice with Sunbeam as her mentor. However, she's not good at the job of a warrior becuase she's constantly distracted by a kit's voice talking to her. She's the only one who can hear this voice. Eventually, the constant distraction makes her think she might be having vissions after all so she start's training as a med cat. She discovers she's good at it, though the voice keeps telling her "this isn't her destiny". When she figures out she can't contact StarClan, only the voice, she starts to doubt her decission. Eventually Sunnykit gets hurt due to the voice's actions bc it wanted to prove to Moonpaw that it was real, and Moonpaw decides she should be a warrior apprentice again. She tries to ignore the voice and mostly succeeds, though at some point her fear of the voice hurting someone else becomes too much and she goes to talk to her parents. They reveal that the kit she hears talking to her is her dead sister, who died at bith. Moonpaw confronts her sister (who stays unnamed) and tries to tell her that she should move on the the afterlife. The ghost kitten tells her they're tied together, and if Moonpaw doesn't allow her to stay with her in the living world, she'll have to take Moonpaw to her world. This is basically where the book ends.

Again, my opinions on Moonpaw are pretty neutral. she basically speedran Frostpaw's plotline but with her switching from warrior to med cat back to warrior instead of the other way around. As a character on her own, Moonpaw's your average young, female apprentice though she doesn't love interest at this point in time, but other then that this is basically her character, you could replace her with book 1 Frostpaw, Bristlepaw or Twigpaw and you'd likely have the same end result. The thing that makes her interesting is her sister. I don't know what the hell is going on with this kit and why it's apparently evil. The only reason why i'd be interested in seeing where Moonpaw's story goes is bc this sinister little newborn confuses me. Why can't she go to StarClan? (I swear if the authors go "it's bc Moonpaw's a chimera" I'm gonna riot. Chimera's are a result of two ufertilisd egg cells fusing and then being fertilised. They're is no possibility where two cats fully develop and are born, and then for one of them to suddenly be absorbed by the other.) Why is she so sinister and evil? I know the nurture vs nature discussion exists but come on, this is a litteral kitten who is basically confirmed to have died within one day you're not gonna tell me "oh, she was just born evil" like what happened with Darktail right??? Is it because she died within one day of being born that she can't go to the afterlife, in which case why are Juniperkit, Wishkit and Hopekit confirmed to be in StarClan? One of these was litterally stillborn. I'm just, so confused on what the hell is going on with this dead kitten which is the only reason it entrigues me ngl.

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is Warriors getting a tiny bit good again?

[Chiara Lombardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

CANT FREAKIN WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK TO COME OUT AHHH IM ABOUT TA EXPLODE CUZ I NEED THE BOOK RIGHT NOWWWWWWW

[Alex T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5/5

This is a book that exists. I feel like I got nothing out of it.

It's mostly boring, some characters are mischaracterized, very little of note happens except for setting up a plot, and Tawnypelt's romantic feelings for [SPOILER CHARACTER] feel horribly out of left field and forced. Moonpaw's chapters were mildly interesting but that's kinda it for this book. It has very little going for it.

I've certainly read worse Warriors books but gosh this was just, well, dull. Anyways back to reading better horse xenofiction.

Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...

[Bulk Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm reading this at the same time as The Sun Trail, and despite all of the egregious crimes this book commits, it is way less boring. I finished it in a day, whereas The Sun Trail is taking me weeks.

This book has three POVs in three different Clans. They are all females, which is delightful, because it's the first time we've had that since Twilight (second arc, 2006. Nearly 20 years ago.)

This book is called The Elder's Quest, but no elders actually go on a quest in this book. It seems like they are setting up for that in the next book, but this one should be called something like The Elder's Frustration, because it mostly consists of elders being treated badly by young cats.

POVs ranked worst to best:

1. Leafstar.

Leafstar is apparently losing her vision and also having a lot of dreams (hallucinations?) about cats who are now dead, such as Echosong and Billystorm. As such, her Clan has decided to be rude as shit to her all the time. When she tries to take a patrol to drive a badger out of their territory, everyone acts like she's crazy. She is blamed for Kitescratch's death because she accidentally attacked Starlingpaw (who wasn't supposed to be there) and all of the other warriors stood around doing nothing while the badger picked one of them off. Somehow, it's all Leafstar's fault.

Later, Leafstar goes missing for three days after being injured while hunting. Her Clanmates have no sympathy for her; it simply solidifies their view that she no longer has the right to lead them. Also, Hawkwing apparently solves all of the Clan's problems single-pawed while she is indisposed, such as defeating the badger and keeping their fresh-kill pile well-stocked, even though the prey issue was due to elements outside of Leafstar's control. This results in them voting to depose her.

All of Leafstar's chapters are excruciating because everyone in the Clan is illogical, disrespectful, and seems like they just want to try out the whole "deposing a leader" thing for fun. I'm not against her being deposed if it makes sense - it's kind of an interesting plotline - but it came at the expense of making everyone in SkyClan look like idiots.

2. Tawnypelt.

Tawnypelt's arc is mostly her being exasperated with the younger cats, and feeling like she can't relate to anyone in her Clan since her mate's death. For example, Twolegs have been causing issues in their territory (Great Journey 2.0?) and have even been setting up markers at the Moonpool. Again, the younger cats in her POV are unbelievable. None of them take the issue seriously at all. The upshot of the situation is that all four Clans decide to send out a patrol every quarter moon. They will check out the damage and keep abreast of the problems. Crowfeather goes for WindClan, and Tawnypelt goes for ShadowClan. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather bond because they are both annoyed with the younger cats; they just don't understand the hardships of moving territory due to Twoleg activity.

Tawnycrow as a friendship works fine, and is even kind of sweet, but this is where the Erins start to mess things up. Tawnypelt starts FALLING IN LOVE with Crowfeather, thinking about the "intensity of his blue gaze" and "lean, wiry body" etc. The book is even self-aware that she is acting like a "lovelorn young warrior" and that Crowfeather with his three exes is pretty much the worst possible choice for a mate. Tawnypelt is a grandmother, has known Crowfeather almost her entire life, traveled with him when he was an apprentice, and watched him make mistake after mistake. No way is she randomly developing feelings for him at this point in her life. Furthermore: what was the point of the whole scene in the last book that implied Crowfeather would choose Leafpool in StarClan? The Erins are once again inconsistent with how romance works in the afterlife; they will portray Silverstream and Feathertail as jealous, and Spottedleaf pining, but then have Rowanclaw insist that "In StarClan it is...different." He gives Tawnypelt his blessing to be with Crowfeather, implying the two will actually become mates. I hate this. I hate this so much. (But it's kind of hilarious.)

The other part of Tawnypelt's POV is that her grandson, Birchfeather, has decided to join SkyClan to be with a she-cat named Ridgeglow (Ridgeglow seems like a lil bitch if you ask me.) Tigerheartstar and Dovewing both have an insane reaction to this. Despite being responsible for the inter-Clan romance law being done away with in the first place, they are FURIOUS with Birchfeather and decide to show him "tough love," hoping that he will return to them. Only Tawnypelt will communicate with Birchfeather now, and while it is heartwarming to see her interact with her grandson, it is frustrating that his parents are being so hypocritical, especially Dovewing. Again, the book seems self-aware of their hypocrisy, but still doesn't bother to explain it.

Tawnypelt's POV ends with her almost dying when she investigates a Twoleg nest. StarClan visits her and tells her that it is the "end of an era" and that she will be a primary force in helping the Clans adjust to the changes coming their way. I have no idea what this means. I really hope the Clans don't have to move territories again; that's really depressing and repetitive. Also, I think this may be hinting this is the last arc, which is crazy if true.

3. Moonpaw.

Moonpaw is our new protagonist in ThunderClan. She is named for the moon-shaped black splotch on her face that splits it in half, and has two different colored eyes. The narration often comments about how unusual she looks, and Leafstar even thinks she is "the strangest-looking cat she'd ever seen." I'm confused; have they never seen torties or heterochromia before???

Anyway, Moonpaw's issue is that she wants to be a warrior, but is pressured to be a medicine cat. Why? She has a "voice" in her head at all times. A creepy voice. One that talks to her and responds to her thoughts, is bossy, manipulative, and very needy. And the voice really does not want Moonpaw to be a medicine cat for some reason. Moonpaw starts training under Jayfeather and Alderheart on a probationary basis, and she finds she does enjoy the work, but she is terrified at the thought of being truly honest about "the voice." Apparently, there is a lot of stigma around hearing voices after the whole Ashfur/Shadowsight debacle. Understandable.

Also, whenever Moonpaw looks at her reflection in the water, she sees a ginger cat standing next to her, the physical embodiment of the voice. It convinces her it's real by giving her a prophecy for the next day, which enables Moonpaw to rescue an injured kit. To her horror, Moonpaw ends up discovering that it was the voice who led the kit out of the camp and injured it in the first place, just to prove herself to Moonpaw. So not only does the voice torment Moonpaw, it is capable of hurting others and materializing (looking like Moonpaw) whenever it wants to. Chills!

Moonpaw eventually decides she is done with the whole medicine cat thing, although I didn't completely understand why (I think she will go back.) She talks to her parents and finds out that she had a sister who died soon after birth. Her parents think it is "sweet" that her sister is able to reach her in the afterlife. However, Moonpaw acknowledges the danger of the voice and tries to convince it to pass on to StarClan. The last sentence of the book made my jaw drop at the sheer creepiness. "And if you won't let me be with you in your world, you will be with me in mine." GHOST GIRL IS OUT FOR BLOOD.

Conclusion:

Moonpaw's POV was definitely my favorite part of the book, but even then, I didn't fully...get it? Tawnypelt gets a prophecy warning her about danger from Moonpaw, which made me feel bad for her. This poor little girl was cursed from birth, and it doesn't seem like it has anything to do with StarClan. But this is, what, the 49th book in the main series? They have to be pressed for ideas at this point.

I am not opposed to the idea of elder POVs, and given that Cherith Baldry is in her seventies now, I could tell there was some truth in her words and the themes she wanted to explore (I do wonder if she would use the words "snarky" or "unhinged" though; like is this book really her? And is she still allowed to come up with the plot?) However, Leafstar's deposition was executed poorly, with the majority of SkyClan coming off as assholes, and Tawnypelt gets shoved into an unnecessary romance with Crowfeather that cheapened any meaningful relationship we might have gotten between the two. I also felt the three POVs were unrelated. The only subplot gluing them all together was the Twoleg activity, and even so, in Moonpaw's POV it felt like it didn't exist. As the first book, I had trouble figuring out what direction the arc was going in.

Furthermore, this book was rife with inconsistent characterizations (Tawnycrow, Tigerdove), and plotholes (Fernstripe where'd you go?). I'm surprised I wanted to return to the main series after merely skimming the last three arcs, but now I do want to see where Ghost Girl goes. And since this very well may be the last arc, it may be worth it.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

“nobody will ever understand why twolegs do what they do” so true bestie 😔 smh

[Good Manticore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I hadn't intended on this being the first book I read in 2025, but here we are. First things first, this book is SHORT. Much shorter than any of the other books in the series which made it 1) quick to get through and 2) terribly paced. The pacing and timeline are messy due to the format of each character getting a chapter in a specific order. So while a month has passed between Moonpaw's chapters, only 3 days have passed between Leafstar's. It feels like each characters' story was written with no thought to the others' or a basic timeline. It's difficult to follow what is happening at what time, especially when events cross over between different chapters such as when Leafstar is injured and cannot join Tawnypelt's patrol. As for the plot(s):

TAWNYPELT: Tawnypelt's plot is more of a prologue to her story than a full plot in itself. What I dislike the most about it is the inclusion of Crowfeather who has already gone through three previous cat wives. He doesn't need a fourth! Why are all these cats fawning over this broody crybaby boy? Even now that he's an old man crybaby boy?! I'm happy that part of Tawnypelt's story involves finding love again, especially given her age as this plot point is usually only given to cats who lost their mate when they were young (i.e. Graystripe). I do want to see an old lady find love again, just not with broody crybaby old man boy. The rest of her plot involves investigating a human construction site on the edge of the territory and leans heavily on the fact that she was one of the cats from the second arc who led the Great Journey. It's a fine opening for her story, though I wish it could have been more than just an opening. 2-stars for her story.

LEAFSTAR: Leafstar's is probably my favorite plot of the book. She's getting on in years and it's beginning to affect her ability to work and lead her clan. This plot actually pulls in elements from the recent arcs revolving around deposing an unfit leader. I like to see the continuity of these new rules coming into play more. I only wish she would have had one more chapter since her cliffhanger came way too early in the book. It feels like her plot just faded away by the end. 4-stars for her story.

MOONPAW: As the only new character with a POV and one with a very interesting premise, I was hopeful for Moonpaw's story. Unfortunately, we get the same-old same-old "Do I want to be a warrior or a medicine cat?" waffling plotline. I'm intrigued by the voice in her head, but everything else about her story was standard boring chores. But Sunbeam got to be her mentor for a bit, and I love Sunbeam. 3-stars for her story.

Overall rating for the three plotlines is 3-stars. Would have been better if they were more delicately combined with one another, but it's hard to expect high quality from anything under the Erin Hunter name anymore.