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rokinjaguar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Enjoyable and well done, but I was annoyed a little with the choices some of the characters made. Still, it was super easy to get through and I'm excited for the next book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
lilacwhisker's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
SO GOOD!!!! Probably my favorite book on the first series. I love Graystripe and Silverstream’s relationship and the ending is so sad :(
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
samdalefox's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I enjoyed this installment more than the second one. I like that the book picks up exactly from where it was left previously. Forest of Secrets had lots more character development and side plots and it finally wrapped up the major ongoing storyline from the first book of Tigerclaw being a traitor . As usual the storyline is adventurous and moves quickly, there a useful recaps of what has happened previously in the saga (very useful for children and forgetful adults reading at a slower pace). Some new themes introduced or expanded upon in this book:
- "There's more to being a warrior than killing", ideas of hierachy, respect for others, lenience, selflessness
- Warning against blind loyalty to authority or a leader (shown via Tigerclaw and his favourite warriors)
- Ideas of engaging in mutal aid during day-to-day (elders) and crises (the flooding of riverclan territory)
- Teaching kids not to eat unknown berries outside - they could be poisonous!
- Disability ethics and realities in the wild, e.g. Cinderpaw's usefulness to the clan with her physical disability, the perceived earned retirement of the elders through their usefulness as warriors or Queens [child rearing]
- The arbitrariness, emotions, and reasons linked to blood relations vs chosen relations (shown through Cloudkit, Fireheart, Yellowfang, Bluestar and her children) - My only frustration at the book here is the lack of recognition that in the wild intermingling would be encouraged to diversify the gene pool.
- Ideas of human interference and disturbance of nature, e.g. the pollution of the river, the danger to life the thunderpath (roads) are without animal-friendly infrastructure facilitating crossing, climate change caused by human activity impacting the wildlife.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
The minor content warnings I given here relate to normal wild cat behaviour, the violence is minimal and not graphic.elirizon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Murder
anne311's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
simonkey42's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
this book does contain death.smoothgoat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
roryroams's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I want nothing more than to give this book 5 stars. I love Forest of Secrets so much. I'd argue that the ending is more satisfying than the end to the entire arc, and that's saying something.
Let's get right into it.
[See my review of Into the Wild for my thoughts on the writing style and biases toward this series.]
PLOT
Forest of Secrets wraps up the first half of the first series very well. It takes all the questions we have from Into the Wild and Fire and Ice, and wraps them up in a nice bow with a note saying "Good luck."
Following the events of the last book, Fireheart is even more sure that Tigerclaw must be stopped. On top of that, Graystripe's divided loyalties cause both of them trouble. I really wish I could go into why this book is so good, but to do so would be to spoil major plot points. Please read it.
What I forgot upon starting Forest of Secrets is that it shares the same problems as Fire and Ice for the beginning chapters, and that can't be excused. However, once you get to the last third of the book, every chapter is amazing. I'm not kidding when I say that the climax of Forest of Secrets is amazing. It's so satisfying, and by far makes up for Fire and Ice lacked.
CHARACTERS
I won't bring up Fireheart again until there's things to say about him. He was just same old Fireheart.
We really see Sandstorm start to warm up. We saw hints of it in Fire and Ice, but here it's easy to forget her hostility from previous books. There are glimpses of the character she's yet to become.
Ahhh Graystripe. There is so much to say, but to say any of it would be a massive spoiler. Every reread, I change my mind about how I feel about his arc. This time I was relatively indifferent towards his relationship with Silverstream, but that is subject to change.
Now, this is gonna come out of left field, especially if you're familiar with the books already, but we get some interesting moments with Tigerclaw. Keep an eye out for moments of softness from him.
And finally, I legally have to mention Brackenpaw. If you've read any of my reviews ever, you'd know that I cannot read a book without growing attached to a side character (whether that be someone close to the main character, or someone who's borderline a background character). We had the tiniest amount of character development, so I justified bringing him up again.
EMOTIONS
My God, this is an intense read. Even knowing what was gonna happen, I couldn't put it down. Those last few chapters are packed with so much tension, it's almost overwhelming. I love it. We also get the first death in this series that is really supposed to hurt us. Trust me, art of the scene in question is hard to avoid if you end up in the fandom.
Let's get right into it.
[See my review of Into the Wild for my thoughts on the writing style and biases toward this series.]
PLOT
Forest of Secrets wraps up the first half of the first series very well. It takes all the questions we have from Into the Wild and Fire and Ice, and wraps them up in a nice bow with a note saying "Good luck."
Following the events of the last book, Fireheart is even more sure that Tigerclaw must be stopped. On top of that, Graystripe's divided loyalties cause both of them trouble. I really wish I could go into why this book is so good, but to do so would be to spoil major plot points. Please read it.
What I forgot upon starting Forest of Secrets is that it shares the same problems as Fire and Ice for the beginning chapters, and that can't be excused. However, once you get to the last third of the book, every chapter is amazing. I'm not kidding when I say that the climax of Forest of Secrets is amazing. It's so satisfying, and by far makes up for Fire and Ice lacked.
CHARACTERS
I won't bring up Fireheart again until there's things to say about him. He was just same old Fireheart.
We really see Sandstorm start to warm up. We saw hints of it in Fire and Ice, but here it's easy to forget her hostility from previous books. There are glimpses of the character she's yet to become.
Ahhh Graystripe. There is so much to say, but to say any of it would be a massive spoiler. Every reread, I change my mind about how I feel about his arc. This time I was relatively indifferent towards his relationship with Silverstream, but that is subject to change.
Now, this is gonna come out of left field, especially if you're familiar with the books already, but we get some interesting moments with Tigerclaw. Keep an eye out for moments of softness from him.
And finally, I legally have to mention Brackenpaw. If you've read any of my reviews ever, you'd know that I cannot read a book without growing attached to a side character (whether that be someone close to the main character, or someone who's borderline a background character). We had the tiniest amount of character development, so I justified bringing him up again.
EMOTIONS
My God, this is an intense read. Even knowing what was gonna happen, I couldn't put it down. Those last few chapters are packed with so much tension, it's almost overwhelming. I love it. We also get the first death in this series that is really supposed to hurt us. Trust me, art of the scene in question is hard to avoid if you end up in the fandom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, and Grief