Warriors: Long Shadows
by Erin Hunter

Harper Collins, 2008, 316 pp., $16.99
ISBN 978-0-06-089214-2

Jaypaw is a blind Medicine cat isolated from society because he doesn't want pity from anyone. He only opens up to Hollyleaf his sister and Lionblaze his brother. He is different in a lot of ways but it is his ability to see in other cat's dreams that is very different. He conceals this ability from most of the world for fear of being outcast even further.

Hollyleaf is a strict follower of the warrior code, the cat laws laid down by StarClan long ago. She hates getting in trouble, something her brothers often do. She tried being a medicine cat but she couldn't remember the herbs names and often gave the wrong things to sick cats. Lionblaze is the strongest of the three. In his dreams, he visits his evil grandfather named Tigerstar who is dead. Tigerstar teaches Lionblaze how to fight better, but Tigerstar doesn't follow the warrior code and tries to get Lionblaze to turn his back on StarClan.

Warriors: Long Shadows by Erin Hunter, is the 5th book of the third Warriors series, "Power of Three."  Jaypaw, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze live in ThunderClan, part of a community of wild cats. "There will be three kin of your kin that will hold the power of the stars in their paws" StarClan the warrior's ancestors tells Firestar, the Leader of ThunderClan. When his daughter has three kittens they have special powers that help them save the clans from giving up hope in their ancestors. When finally things are back to normal, secrets are revealed and fear and rage drives one cat to murder. Will the life of the trio ever be the same again?

Long Shadows is one of the better books in the entire Warriors series. Erin Hunter uses cliffhangers and good details to explain the drama and action. At the end of every chapter is a cliffhanger which makes the reader want to read more. The story is told in third person from each of the three cats' viewpoints, and switches between each throughout the book.

I think that the whole Warriors series theme would be innocence and experience. But the theme of Long Shadows is deceit and betrayal.

I recommend this book for animal science fiction lovers. It is important to read the other books in the series first, otherwise Long Shadows won't make sense. Through the series, the relationship builds between the characters so knowing the history of the characters makes the story more exciting.

Erin Hunter has another series just like Warriors, but about three bear cubs. It is called “Seekers.”  In Seekers, they use three characters’ viewpoints and switch off between them in every new chapter.  I would also recommend other books similar to Warriors such as “Guardians of Ga’Hoole” or “Mistmantle Chronicles” which are similar in theme. they are similar because all the books are about animals who are different from their community. they are all about animals one about owls, squirrels, hedge hogs, moles, otters, and bears.

~ reviewed by Grace