A Series to Last 9 Lives

Photo via Warriorcats.com

46 books?! A reader may ask themselves this, incredulously, as they survey the complete list of books in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. These action packed stories, written for readers 9+, follow the interactions between wild groups of cats as they socialize, hunt, fight and defend their borders.

The first set of books in this series stars Rusty, an ordinary house cat who ventures into the woods behind his house and finds more than he was prepared for. Little does he know, four clans of wild cats have been living there for ages. Due to the fortunality of having an orangey-red coat, and one of the clan’s prophecies stating that “fire alone can save the clan”, Rusty is accepted into the realms of the forest cats, albeit reluctantly. Before he can be fully welcomed as one of their own, he must prove his worth and earn respect from the his new clanmates.

The story continues on, following Rusty - renamed Firepaw - as he makes friends, encounters enemies, catches mice and starts a war. These collections of stories mirror real world issues, and parallels can be drawn between the themes in the books and issues we deal with in day-to-day life. It tackles subjects like prejudice, cultural differences and the thin, sometimes non-existent line between right and wrong.

The themes present in Warriors make it comparable to Guardians of Ga’Hoole, another series for readers of the same age. They both talk a lot about this idea of prejudice, in Guardians of Ga’Hoole with a certain race of owls thinking they’re superiors to a “lower race”, and in Warriors with the constant disclusion of Firepaw, the cat who was once an outsider and is seen as different because of that. This theme of prejudice is the main idea in the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, whereas in Warriors, it is just one of many.

This series is so unique not only because it is incredibly expansive, but also since it is written by three authors. Those three authors - Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry and Tui Sutherland - go by the pseudonym Erin Hunter, to make the books easier to locate under one last name. Warriors is by far the best series out of the three written by Hunter. The other two - Seekers, which is about bears, and Survivors, about dogs - just don’t live up to the original cat series, which is written with a certain original quality that the other two seem to lack. Warriors will never fail to captivate a reader’s heart right from the beginning, and develop that feeling of adventure, intrigue and a relatable closeness to the characters from one book to the next.

The Warriors saga is a wholly satisfying experience. Readers will fall in love with the characters, become absorbed in the world that is created, and find themselves wrapped up in the plot with each twist and turn. This series is rated a 10/10 and is highly recommended to young readers who love adventure and fantasy.

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