Guest book review: Eclipse (Warriors Power of Three, book 4)

Eclipse
Warriors Power of Three, book 4
by Erin Hunter

Today, I bring you a guest review written by a member of the Wands and Worlds community who goes by the username Spirithunter. Spirithunter is an avid reader, writer and artist; her art appears on Deviantart and she is participating in NaNoWriMo for the second year. I saw her review of Eclipse on Goodreads and thought it was very well-written and insightful, and she graciously consented to allow me to repost it here.

It's been a while since I've been truly impressed by a Warriors book. The writing style is just on the higher end of "good", and usually the plot and characterization aren't particularly strong. Things have been pretty interesting in PoT, however. The Erins have done a good job of keeping us in the dark.

I think that if I had to choose one thing about Eclipse that I liked best (it's a hard decision), I think I would say that my favorite element was that I actually couldn't guess what would happen. Sure, I predicted a battle, but I didn't know when or with whom--and I sure wasn't expecting a battle like this. Sure, I figured there would be an eclipse, but I didn't know what it would mean to the Clans. Sure, I knew that Lionpaw was developing from a Stu to something more interesting, but I didn't expect it to be this clever. Also, ShadowClan becomes more than just its normal cold closed-doors self, and WindClan becomes more than a meager Hufflepuff-like band.

The plot and characterization in this book are great. Several of the characters who sort of lost their personalities before got them back, and the main characters' personalities were developed more as well. I went from merely curious in the outcome of the series to engaged and interested. I much look forward to Long Shadows this December, and I hope that the Warriors books can at least maintain this level of greatness at least until the end of this series.

If you liked this review, you can read more of Spirithunter's reviews on Goodreads, where she goes by the name Firekeeper.

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Calling all authors, illustrators, and jacks-of-all-trades: we need your help

On February 5, 2008, a terrible tragedy struck when a tornado swept through central Arkansas. Among those killed by the tornado were a beautiful 10-year-old girl named Emmy Grace Cherry, along with both of her parents, Dana and Jimmy. Emmy was a sweet, caring girl who loved animals and books, and wanted to be either an astronomer or a veterinarian. Her favorite author was Erin Hunter, author of the Warriors series. (Erin Hunter is a pen name for a team of writers who write the Warriors books: Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and the newest Erin, Tui Sutherland. )



Lynn Wiman, owner of neighborhood bookstore Vintage Books, knew Emmy as a friend and frequent customer in the store. Lynn wanted to do something special to honor Emmy's memory, so she wrote to HarperCollins hoping to be able to get an autographed copy of one of the books for Emmy's school.

Lynn's letter kicked off a chain of events, as person after person who heard the story was touched by it. The Erins donated not only one book, but an entire set of books. I was contacted by Erin Hunter because they know that my online community has many Warriors fans, and they asked if I would consider posting something. I, too, was touched by Emmy's story, and gladly agreed to post something.

When I posted about the tragedy on my fan community, there was an outpouring of grief and condolences. Fans of the Warriors series gave Emmy the Warrior name Brightspirit, and they named Emmy's mother Dana, Shiningheart, and father Jimmy, Braveheart. Erin Hunter announced that she would include Brightspirit, Shiningheart, and Braveheart in a cameo appearance in Long Shadows, a forthcoming book in the Warriors: Power of Three series.

Emmy's surviving family, including grandmothers Elaine and Kay, were touched by this outpouring of love, and wanted to do something to bring some good into the world as a result of the tragedy. Thus, the Brightspirit Relief Fund was born. The Brightspirit Relief Fund will be raising money to help causes that would have been important to Emmy, including tornado relief, animal organizations, and literacy.

The Brightspirit Relief Fund will be holding an online auction to raise money for these causes. The showpiece of the auction is a complete set of the six books in the first Warriors series, signed by all three original "Erins" using their real names. This is the first time that any Warriors book has been autographed by Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Victoria Holmes using their real names, and we expect this set to draw a lot of interest. A variety of other items have been donated so far by Erin Hunter and other authors, ranging from autographed books to personal items to signed pictures of the authors cats.

That's where you come in. The fund has some great items for the auction already, but more items would not only raise more money, but would also make the auction more interesting and bring more attention to it, and to the Brightspirit Relief Fund. We're hoping that more authors and illustrators will be willing to donate items for the auction, to help raise the profile of the auction and raise more money. If you are an author or illustrator reading this blog, please consider donating something: signed books, artwork, or anything else that would be of interest to your fans. Unique and interesting items would be especially valued.

If you aren't an author or illustrator, won't you consider donating something to help Emmy's causes as well? Any donation that people would be interested in bidding on would be welcome. Donations don't even have to be tangible items; if you provide specialized services, perhaps you could offer your services to the winning bidder? (I'd bid on someone to help me unclutter my house!) You can specify in your donation description that you will only provide the service within a certain geographic area.

The auction will be launched on September 20, at a special Warriors day in Russellville, Arkansas. Victoria Holmes herself will be the guest of honor at the Warriors day, and we expect this to be a high profile event. If you would like to donate something to the auction, please email me at sruth@wandsandworlds.com

If you don't have anything to donate to the auction, you could also donate new or gently used books to be given out to children at the Warriors day. Lynn Wiman and Emmy's family hope to encourage literacy by giving a book to every child who attends the Warriors day. This is a great opportunity to clear out any extra books you have, or you could buy a new book to donate. Books donated to be given out at Warriors day can be sent to:

Vintage Books
602 E Parkway
Russellville, AR 72801

Finally, I wanted to add a personal note to say how much this means to me. When I first read about Emmy, I cried buckets of tears. I've cried many more tears throughout this whole process, as I've been touched not only by Emmy's story, but by her family and friends, who are all, without exception, wonderful people. I hope that anyone reading this will consider donating something, small or large, to the auction to help literacy, animal organizations, and tornado relief, or sending books to be given out to the children at Warriors Day. Please email me at sruth@wandsandworlds.com with any donations for the auction.

I'd really appreciate it if any bloggers reading this would consider helping me spread the word.

For more information:

Brightspirit Relief Fund web site

My original tribute to Emmy, and the response from the fans

A message from Emmy's family, and one from Erin Hunter

A big thank you to everyone. I'm sorry that this message was so long.

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Book Review: Firestar's Quest

Firestar's Quest
Warriors Super Edition
by Erin Hunter

Several months have passed since the battle with BloodClan, and life in ThunderClan is settling back to normal. But then Firestar begins having visions of a strange gray cat with white patches, and of a group of terrified, fleeing cats. What does it mean? Then Firestar learns that there used to be a fifth clan, a clan that was driven out of the forest by the other clans, apparently with the consent of StarClan. Did StarClan lie when it said that there have always been four clans in the forest? Accompanied by Sandstorm, Firestar sets out on a quest to find and restore the lost clan. But can anything restore Firestar's faith in StarClan?

A standalone book set between the first and second Warriors series, Firestar's Quest is probably the best Warriors book so far. The quest format drives the story along, while the themes of faith and responsibility give it depth. It's quite satisfying watching Firestar and Sandstorm assemble a ragtag group of cats into a true clan. The fact that it's a story that's been done before—for example, in sports movies from The Bad News Bears to Major League—doesn't reduce its power as a story, and it's very well done here. It's also satisfying to finally see Firestar work out his relationship with Sandstorm, and work through his conflicted feelings about Spottedleaf. We were cheated on seeing that bit of his life, since The New Prophecy books start with the relationship pretty settled and Firestar a family man.

Firestar's Quest is a must read for fans of the series; longtime fans will especially appreciate the return to Firestar's point of view. Those new to the series should find that this book stands fairly well alone, although some time will be needed to acclimate to the Warriors culture and terminology.

By the way, it's hard to tell from the cover image, but the cover isn't yellow, it's a beautiful gold foil.

New Edge of the Forest!

A new issue of The Edge of the Forest online children's literature journal is up! Click here to read all the great content, including:

• My article about the Warriors series. I've been fortunate enough to be a part of this phenomenon, through hosting several Erin Hunter chats and through my interaction with the fans on my message boards. And yes, I've read all twelve books so far!
  
• An interesting article from Gary Elliott of Lifelongreader about using Mortal Engines as a novel study in teaching English at the International School in Dubai, UAE. The class even created a web site about the book.
  
• An article about the The Cybils, by Kelly Herold (Big A little a), Allie (Bildungsroman) and Anne Boles Levy (Book Buds).
  
• An interview with Carrie Jones, author of Tips on Having a Gay (ex)Boyfriend, conducted by Kelly Fineman. It's a great interview, and Carrie Jones is fascinating and funny. This is totally not the kind of book I would ever read (I'm not fond of teen books about high school) but by the time I finished the interview, I really wanted to read the book!)
  
• The Sounds From the Forest podcast interviews Rachna Gilmore, author of A Screaming Kind of Day and Lights for Gita.
  
• Pam Coughlan, aka MotherReader, interviews Grace Lin.
  
• Kim Winters, Kat's Eye Journal for Writers, interviews children's author Lauren Myracle.
  

All this and more, including great reviews, Best of the Blogs, Kids Picks, and In the Backpack, can be found here.