In Warriors #6: The Darkest Hour, Firestar is the leader of ThunderClan. Tigerstar has further schemes to take over the forest and it is up to Firestar to lead the clans back to their former glory.
The Darkest Hour
My Comments
I enjoyed the ending of the series. I felt I had accomplished something… I took my time reading it and really did enjoy this last book. There were some heavy handed moments, some serious foreshadowing, and one very anticlimactic part but on the whole it was really enjoyable.
In A Dangerous Path, Thunderclan Deputy Fireheart has a lot to deal with. The clan leader Bluestar thinks everyone is a traitor and their warrior ancestors have abandoned them. Tigerstar is the leader of Shadow Clan. And there is a pack of dogs loose. What will it all mean?
A Dangerous Path
My Comments
Again a fun book and closer to the end of the series. In this book, we learn more of Starclan and see the end of Bluestar. As Fireheart had been named deputy, it was up to him to figure out what to do. Tigerstar was minding his Ps and Qs but it wasn’t a surprise when we found out he was behind the current tragedy to befall the ThunderClan. All and all, I enjoyed the book. I found the love interest to be about the level of a preteen which is the level of the target audience. Good book…
Book 4 of the Warriors series is Rising Storm. Our good friend Fireheart was able to see Tigerclaw banished but is he really rid of him? What of his wee kittens? Will they grow to be like their father? (Well, we don’t find out in this book…) Bluestar, the leader of the Thunderclan, starts losing her marbles just after Fireheart is made deputy. Now it all falls to him… Sort of…
Warriors Rising Storm
My Comments
A fun read but a little heavy handed on the Tigerclaw eyes and such.
My Recommendation
Good book and an easy read. However, be sure to start with Book 1.
Book 3 of the Warrior series is Forest of Secrets. Fireheart finds out what really happened to Redtail and the intrigue deepens with Tigerclaw, Graystripe, and the rest.
Forest of Secrets
My Comments
This one went faster for me for some reason. Perhaps it was because I had some time over the weekend to get through it. Either way, it went down well.The kitties are always fun. I’ve enjoyed reading the book and it has been a light-hearted diversion. The real reason I started this series was to keep up with my son who has already finished it and moved on to the next.
My Recommendation
A good read. Good for the kids but start at the first book.
Book 2 of the Warrior series is Fire and Ice. Fireheart continues making his way through the Thunder Clan while watching his back from Tigerclaw and trying to teach his nephew Cloudkit.
Fire and Ice
My Comments
I’m reading this series at the same time as my 11 year old son. I have to say, he’s left me in the dust. (Of course, I read other things too but still. I love the boy loves to read!)
The book is a good read. Most of it is pretty simple and the story moves along well. I enjoyed it though it is amusing to think these are fluffy little puddy tats…
Recommendation
It’s a good read and a solid 2nd book in a series.
The Mocking Jay is the last of Hunger Games Trilogy and it brings final resolution to the tension between “the Capital” and “the Districts”. Katniss and the team are propelled forward from district 13 to start an uprising climaxing in the final assault on President Snow’s mansion.
Mocking Jay
My Comments
There is something about the way Suzanne Collins writes which makes me plow on through the story even though I should be sleeping. I enjoyed the read. However, like many guilty pleasures, I have no idea why.
I can’t stand Katniss in this installation of the series. She is such a sanctimonious idiot. Her special combination of outrage coupled with her stupidity and add a dash of not-allowing-others-to-take-responsibility-for-anything, is hard to imagine. It’s hard to buy a spoiled 17 year old with PTSD getting her way over battle hardened soldiers…
It felt a lot like what I used to call Disney ethics. The idea that almost any retaliation is fine, even death, if someone is mean to an animal or gets in your way.
In this book, people are dying right left and center. The whole of Katniss’s community had been completely wiped out but that is glossed over. However, if Primm dies… Whoa, now that’s over the edge.
Recommendation
I still liked it. I will likely read it again… And then again. The first book was so good but it’s hard to leave it there. Ms. Collins, my hat is off to you.
Erin Hunter has a whole fleet of books based around the world of the Warriors. I believe this is the book that started it all. (Or at least, this is where my daughter told me to start.)
It is the story of Rusty, a cat who starts the book as a pet of some humans (Two-Legs) and is pulled into the wild world.
Into the Wild
My Comments
It was a fun book and a relatively quick read. I like that I know what the kids are have read and it gave us a few things to talk through. However, it is a book for younger readers so it keeps the action moving and doesn’t spend too much time on detail. I understand now why my daughter loved them so much. It is all about cats. How they live, fight, and so on. Ms. Hunter did a great job of making the fuzzy lovable kitties into a fierce tribe of warriors living their life by a strict code of honor. I enjoyed it.
Recommendations
If you are 10 to 14 and love cats, you will love these books. If you are in your forties and your kids love these books, you will at least enjoy them and give you and the kids something to talk about.
Catching Fire is the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It starts a few months after the first book ended and shows how Katness and Peeta cope with being out of the games. This next book fleshes out the character of President Snow and starts to narrow in on the politics surrounding the capitol. The next round of games brings in former champions and Katness and Peeta find themselves back where they started.
Catching Fire
My Comments
Another great book but I didn’t like this one quite like the rest. President Snow is far too two dimensional to be real. He is the embodiment of evil and even smells of blood. This is better explained in the next book but for now, he remains a comic book super villain. The other characters become more likeable with the exception of Katness. In the first book she didn’t have a clue as to what was going on and that helplessness worked for her. Now, it’s just her modus operandi and it becomes a bit tiresome in this book. Still, it is a solid read and genuinely entertaining.
The Hunger Games was a book before it was a movie. That shouldn’t seem so much of a surprise but everyone seems to grasp on to the movie version. This book tells of a dystopian future where the United States becomes a place called Panem. Where the majority of people are forced in to work in squalor to feed and clothe the “Capital” where the rich and decadent live. Every year an event known as “the Hunger Games” is held. These games pit the children of the poor against each other in a struggle to the death. This first book describes how a young girl of 16 named Katniss manages to live through the games and beyond. Two more books follow; Catching Fire and the Mockingjay.
The Hunger Games
My Comments
This book was every bit as good it was the first time I read it. The first time was read well before the movie so I was one of those people who thought Woody Harrelson was an odd choice for Haymitch and Jennifer Lawrence was a terrible pick for Katniss. Still, they made a solid movie. The book was and is better though…
Recommendations
Great book. If you can stomach some violence and suspense you will have a great story. Read the book before you see the movie though. It will make it all so much more fun.
The Giver is a story is set in a rigidly controlled futuristic society where a young man is just coming of age. Like everyone his age, he is assigned a duty in the community. This will be their job for the rest of their lives. He is given the singular honor of being the next “Receiver”.
The Giver
My Comments
This was a great book. I didn’t want to put it down… I do so love a utopian society and this was a very interesting commentary on what has to be sacrificed to achieve the ‘greater good’.
