The Burning Horizon

Seekers: Return to the Wild #5

by Erin Hunter

Erin Hunter’s New York Times bestselling Seekers series continues in the fifth book in the Return to the Wild story arc. With its thrilling blend of action and suspense, this epic animal fantasy is perfect for fans of the #1 nationally bestselling Warriors series.

Toklo, Kallik, Lusa, and Yakone are determined to reach Great Bear Lake in time for the Longest Day Gathering. Even Toklo, who has already claimed a new territory in the mountains, has promised to stay with them until Lusa has found a home of her own. But when Lusa is unexpectedly separated from the others, she must face her past—and make a decision about her future.

Also includes a sneak peek at the final Seekers book, Seekers: Return to the Wild #6: The Longest Day!

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

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2015

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

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've reviewed a Seekers book on Goodreads before, so I'm going to ahead and review this entire arc instead of just this book.

I don't think I've ever experienced such an unnecessary continuation of a series. The Seekers books ended okay, but literally nothing happened in these last five books that couldn't have been condensed into one super edition that would have been so much better in all regards instead of just dragging this now extremely dry and uneventful story out into another six book series.

Basically nothing happened in this book at all. The conflicts were thrown in out of nowhere and just had less of an urgency behind them. I'm just not engaged anymore and find myself skimming some parts when nothing is really happening. I just hate that what was once a good series continues to be dragged out like this.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low three stars. Yet another incredibly mid Seekers book.

The writing of this series remains as it always has been: typical Erin Hunter writing that to me is very nostalgic but in actuality just gets the job done. It’s not anything special, but it’s not bad by any means. There also weren’t any typos that I remember, which is a nice change of pace from many Erin books.

The plot of this book is the same plot as the entire series. The bears walk very slowly towards a destination while thinking about how hungry they are and how much they’ll miss each other when they have to separate. Lusa gets captured and has to escape. Then she walks alone for half the book until the bears meet up again. Then they resume walking very slowly towards a destination while thinking about how hungry they are and how much they’ll miss each other when they have to separate. But hey, at least in this one they actually reach that destination at the end. It’ll be nice to get to know a setting again in the next book, and to revisit what is, in my opinion, one of the better books in the whole series (Great Bear Lake).
Unfortunately, despite the boring, repetitive nature of the base plot, I think this book is honestly more annoying for its missed opportunities than its recycled plotline. There was some real potential to do something with these characters beyond base-level thoughts and feelings that LITERALLY ANYONE would think in their situations. Lusa traveling alone and being captured SHOULD have led to interesting introspection on her early life and family. This is even hinted to on the back cover summary. But in the actual story? She spends the entire section 100% convinced she’s a wild bear and that she needs to leave. Which means that instead of giving us an interesting glimpse into her inner dialogue and creating intriguing chances for her to develop, Lusa has another shallow plot that would have gone the exact same way with any of the other three bears subbed in. In my opinion, this severe disregard for any chance of meaningful character studies or development is what makes these books fall so flat. Without meaningful characters to make the repetition feel unique, each book is just a rehash of the same story in slightly different fonts. Toklo and Lusa herself have both had the ‘captured by flat-faces’ arc already, and it’s just boring without a new, nuanced emotional take on it. Why would I want to read something predictable and bland that I’ve already read multiple times before?
Maybe these complaints belong in the character section, but I really do think these books (and most Erin stories) need to have more connection between their plots and characters. They have such interesting ideas, but we never get anything substantial from them because every character is the exact same, with maybe one defining personality trait.

Anyways. Now I’ll summarize those characters with their one major personality trait.
Toklo: grumpy
Lusa: weak
Kallik: uhh idk. . . Motherly, maybe? Protective?
Yakone: what personality?

😒🙄 Okay fine. Here’s an actual in-depth analysis.
Toklo was fine, as usual. Nothing stood out at all with his development in this one, but he felt properly motivated to find Lusa and he retained his sliver of uniqueness from the others, so he wasn’t too bad.
Kallik also got to be alone for a bit in this one, which again should have been really interesting, but her plot was again very surface-level. She didn’t get anything new in this one, and I wish she had more of a personality.
Lusa I’ve talked about extensively already, but I’ll add on that I’m sick of her being the one who gets in trouble just because she’s small. In the first few books, when they were all small, she was one of the better swimmers and was pretty capable. Now it feels like if something goes wrong, it’s probably Lusa needing to be helped. While it’s cute that the others look out for her, it, like most everything else in this story, gets pretty old after a while. Her escaping by herself was nice, but I wish we got more of her being independent.
Yakone is nothing. I have no opinions on him because he has no opinions on anything unless it’s convenient for the plot.

The flat-faces are kind of antagonists, but also kind of not. They serve their purpose. There are no real villains, expect a singular coyote that exists so we don’t feel sad about Lusa leaving the flat-faces.

Why was this second series even made? This would have been so much better condensed into the rare Erin trilogy, or even one really big Super Edition. Yeah, it might have been rushed, but at this point that would have been a nice change of pace for this series.

This book was typical Seekers quality, which is to say not that good. I would only recommend this if you are a big fan of the series.

SERIES RATINGS:
Island of Shadows: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Melting Sea: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
River of Lost Bears: ⭐️⭐️
Forest of Wolves: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Burning Horizon: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Longest Day: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Micayla Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have much to say about this one. I found most of it boring. There are a few moments of tension, but they aren't as intense as other moments we've seen throughout the series. I understand that Lusa is the smallest in the group so it makes sense that she needs more help, but all the times she gets captured by flat faces is really starting to get tedious at this point. I also don't like the implication that Toklo is going to be with Aiyanna at the end of the series instead of Lusa. I understand Lusa wanting to be with other black bears, but Toklo always seemed more comfortable alone with his friends.

[Toby Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The issue with seekers is that there is plenty of adventures to be had. But the moment flat faces are part of the story. The conflict is essentially the same oh I'm trapped plot point. I feel there could've been a better plot if it followed a dazed and concussed lusa getting lost and the confusion that follows it. The lake was interesting but simply too short of a plot point. I understand the Erin's are rounding up the story. But, throwing flat faces into everything can get old as a plot

[Piper Pringle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good! I'm crying right now! I don't want their journey to end! This series has been a huge part of my childhood. This series opened my eyes to the kingdom of Erin Hunter's amazing books! I'll walk with you on the last leg of your journey Kallik, Toklo, Lusa, Ujurak, & Yakone!

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is going well for the 4 bears until they come to a mule train. Lusa is injured and taken to a shelter where she meets a blind bear. The other 3 bears try to find her and finally leave. Other adventures include a falling down a glacier crevasse, a storm on a lake

[Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sad that lusa got lost

[Olivia Cardillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Krys · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

[Haylee Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I can NOT wait to read the next in the series! I hope Lusa gets her home! 👍🐻🐻‍❄️◼️

[ʟ ᴇ ᴀ ʜ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was awesome!

[BAYA Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four bear friends - Toklo, Lusa, Tallik, and Yakone - are traveling together to the annual longest-day meeting at large lake far from Toklo's new home. They are an unusual foursome: two white bears, a brown bear, and a black bear. The journey is a chance to say good-bye before they take their separate ways among their own kinds. But their tight schedule is challenged when first Lusa is injured and captured by "flat-faces" (humans), and then Kallik falls down the crevasse of a glacier. Throughout, however, their friendship holds them together. They will not give up on each other, nor will they complete the journey without all of them together. And Ujurak, their dead friend, watches out for them from the spirit world.

The bear world is similar in many ways to the cat and dog worlds Hunter has already created in other series. The spirit world plays an important role, as do the relationships between the characters. This series is unique in that the friends were probably always destined to split up eventually, whereas the dog packs and cat clans, in spite of lost characters and shifts in allegiance, have a greater ability to remain basically intact. Readers who are already engrossed in Hunter’s other books will likely enjoy this series too. While it is possible to orient oneself in this particular book as a first-time reader, the main characters clearly have a bit of history. As with Hunter’s other series, readers will have a better experience starting at the beginning of the series.

[Amanda Curless · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with a group of four bears (Toklo, Kallik, Yakone, and Lusa) that are on a journey to Great Bear Lake. This is a continuing story of the journey that began with five bears, but one bear (Ujurak) died trying to save them. The bears encounter more danger along the way and with Yakone’s paw still injured; they must slow down so he can keep up. Flat faces (humans) interrupt their journey and Lusa gets separated. She begins to fend for herself until she is reunited with the group again. Once they are reunited, the bears struggle to reach the Great Bear Lake. They encounter more danger and nearly drown, but they finally overcome and reach Great Bear Lake.

The book seems appropriate for grades four through six. It is a slow read at times, but when Lusa becomes separated from the group, it becomes fast paced. There is some violence; when the bears make a kill, when they get injured, and when they nearly drown in the end. I could see this book being checked out by fourth or fifth grade juveniles who enjoy reading about animals, fantasy, suspense, and survival stories. Since this book is the fifth in the series, it could be displayed with the first four books or recommended to be read after finishing the first four in the series.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so I recently started these Seekers books, as I am a fan of Warriors And Survivors. Unfortunately, the second series of Seekers is atrocious. The plot is so slow it takes about three books to actually get somewhere. Most of the time, the book concentrates on describing the bears' everyday lives, instead of anything significant. The dialogue is flat and average, and lots of this book is just actually a filler. Of course, they don't actually reach the lake in this book, that's saved for the last book.... If I were to list a few positives, I would say the chapters with Lusa were interesting as the Erin's did a fantastic job on capturing her inner conflict with her old life and her new one. The characters in Seekers are also generally way better developed than in Warriors, but this could be because there are less characters. You can really tell the difference between the Bears and watch their problem solving methods change and watch them get out of that innocence present in the first few books of Seekers. However, the pros do not weigh up the cons and the second series is not recommended. If your really want to give this series a shot, go with the original arc.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some minor spoilers ahead...

This one was okay. It took me longer to read than it usually does for the Erins' books, and that's because it did not spark my interest. Things got interesting once Lusa got separated from the group, but that was only for a few chapters (and in my opinion, only her perspective was interesting).

The bears were traveling to Great Bear Lake for the Longest Day, but as Seekers usually goes, the journey is long with many unexpected turns, and some chapters are boring. Of course, they never even make it to Great Bear Lake...the Erins have saved that for the next book. However, the book ends making you want to go read the next and very final book of Seekers (it really will be the last one...it has been said that the series has been cancelled after the next book...plus, Seekers books only come out once a year, whereas Warriors and Survivors comes out more frequently).

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is appropriate for grades four through six. It is a slow read at times, but when Lusa becomes separated from the group, it becomes fast paced. There is some violence: when the bears make a kill, when they become injured, and when they nearly drown in the end. I could see this book being checked out by fourth or fifth grade juveniles who enjoy reading about animals, fantasy, suspense, and survival stories. This book is the fifth in the series and would be best enjoyed after reading the first four titles. (Review by Amanda Curless)

[Alex T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've said it time and again, but there's too much repetition in these books. Every single conflict feels recycled from something we've seen earlier in the series and there's not much enjoyment or thrills to be found. I genuine didn't care about the conflict where Lusa gets kidnapped by humans (again) because you already know she'll get out okay. These books are just increasingly less interesting and more boring.

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

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

These bears make me emotional.

[diana]

*3.5/5 stars

[Adele]

This is a really good book! I could not put it down.

[Peter Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

great!