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  • As far as I am concerned, Dawn is the best book The New Prophecy has to offer.

  • This is of course my own biased opinion and you are free to disagree, but I do have reason

  • to say so.

  • The characters here all feel distinct and sympathetic to some degree, the relationships

  • between the cats feel real and intimate, and a lot of interesting drama, danger, and plot

  • progression takes place rather quickly, without the dragging filler that populates so much

  • of the rest of the arc.

  • Even the tribe manages to not be as bad, for the very short couple chapters where we see

  • them.

  • It still has its flaws, and perhaps being different from the other books in its arc

  • is itself a flaw, but it is still a great read.

  • Honestly, even if you ignore the rest of The New Prophecy, I would recommend reading this

  • book.

  • Dawn was released on December 27th of 2005, about five months after Moonrise came out.

  • This one was written by Kate Cary, something that is more evident when you look at the

  • quantity of dialogue as well as the slight shifting of relationships.

  • From reading Moonrise and Dawn back to back, we can get the sense that Kate and Cherith

  • have different views on certain characters' dynamics with each other, and some of these

  • differences are outright confirmed by author statements outside the books.

  • Most notably are Leafpaw and Mothwing having far less easy chemistry than before, Brambleclaw

  • and Stormfur not expressing their affections for Squirrelpaw nearly as much, Mothwing and

  • Hawkfrost seeming to be on better terms and Hawkfrost being slightly less aggressive,

  • and of course Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw no longer having their psychic connection power.

  • This is something that's difficult to tell from just a summary, so I figured I would

  • note it here ahead of time.

  • But now let's get into the specifics of what this book does do, starting with the

  • allegiance changes.

  • The only difference from Moonrise in Thunderclan is Dappletail being dead, leaving 3 elders

  • instead of 4.

  • In the other clans, a few warriors became queens, and a few more cats were pulled from

  • the ether to be warriors or even elders.

  • Otherwise, no major changes.

  • The tragedy pertinent for the clans right now is cats being kidnapped, not killed.

  • Over on the statistics side, we are continuing New Prophecy's trend of a significantly

  • lower top 10 percentage.

  • In Dawn, the top 10 characters have 72% of the lines, more than in the last book certainly

  • but still much less than one would get used to in the first arc.

  • In addition, since Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw each take a lion's share of those lines,

  • with Cinderpelt, Cody, Sorreltail, and Tawnypelt also in the mix, the she-cat's came out

  • really well this time.

  • It's still true that 46% of the characters are she-cats, but in this book they have 55%

  • of the lines, making this the first book in the series where the she-cats combined have

  • more lines than the toms.

  • And with that, it is time to dive into the plot.

  • It begins with a prologue where Firestar, Sandstorm, Graystripe, and Dustpelt all discuss

  • the recent disappearances, lumping Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw along in with them, and the

  • deaths as well, Dappletail and Dustpelt's kit, Larchkit.

  • They are planning to propose facing the twoleg threat together to the other clans at the

  • gathering, but before they can arrive, they see the monsters tearing down the great oaks

  • at Fourtrees.

  • Our traveling group then approaches the outskirts of Windclan territory, reminiscing about Feathertail

  • and Midnight before they begin to split up and go to their own clans.

  • Crowpaw is left in Windclan first, after Webfoot and Owlpaw let them know that Fourtrees has

  • been torn down.

  • Tawnypelt leaves next, promising as they all did to meet near Fourtrees the next morning,

  • hopefully with their leaders, to see the sign of the dying warrior.

  • Stormfur returns with Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw to camp so he can tell Graystripe about Feathertail.

  • We then cut to Leafpaw trapped in a twoleg cage along with a kittypet named Cody, who

  • knows Smudge and Princess and who helps Leafpaw learn more about their predicament.

  • Leafpaw soon comes across the other trapped clan cats along with a handful of rogues.

  • As it turns out, Thunderclan is no longer living in their camp, something they are able

  • to find out from Cinderpelt, who brings them to Sunningrocks, where they are hiding out.

  • The clan is upset with them at first, seeing how well fed they were on the journey.

  • Graystripe also gets...mad at Stormfur for *letting* Feathertail diebut when they

  • are able to explain themselves, Firestar and the clan understand.

  • The caged cats are then joined by Sasha, who was trying to find her kits, Mothwing and

  • Hawkfrost.

  • All the cats start trying to find a way to escape, but, at least for the moment, are

  • unsuccessful.

  • The next night at Fourtrees, the traveling cats, leaders, medicine cats, and also Mothwing

  • and Hawkfrost meet.

  • The traveling cats all admit they had poor receptions upon returning, with their clanmates,

  • even former friends treating them like strangers.

  • We find out that Hawkfrost has been made Riverclan's deputy in Mistyfoot's absence, Blackstar

  • and Tallstar want to leave the forest immediately, and Leopardstar is convinced her clan isn't

  • in any danger.

  • No sign appeared to them, so the clans break up.

  • Squirrelpaw gets a dream where Spottedleaf leads her to Leafpaw in the cage, something

  • she wasn't able to figure out herself because...I suppose Kate did not know about or remember

  • the psychic sisterly connection they are supposed to have.

  • Brambleclaw won't come with Squirrelpaw to save Leafpaw, but Sorreltail does.

  • They do find her, being put into a monster's belly, but are unable to save her and have

  • to flee.

  • With Graystripe, Thornclaw, Brambleclaw, and Rainwhisker behind them, they return and launch

  • a mass-rescue mission, saving all the trapped cats but getting Graystripe captured and taken

  • away in their place.

  • With heavy hearts, they return to tell Firestar and tell him his best friend is gone.

  • He is happy the rest of the cats escaped, but is clearly devastated to hear about Graystripe.

  • Still, he maintains the belief that his deputy will return, and does not appoint a new deputy.

  • And the mourning doesn't stop there, because before another moment passes, a second of

  • Dustpelt and Ferncloud's kits, Hollykit, is pronounced dead too, leaving Birchkit as

  • their only surviving kit.

  • Cody decides to stay and help, as she has some experience losing kits.

  • Sasha is invited into Riverclan, much to Firestar's worry, and allowed by Hawkfrost to stay as

  • long as she likes.

  • Shrewpaw was killed trying to chase a pheasant, the best prey the clan had seen in a moon,

  • and Thornclaw and Whitepaw are heartbroken.

  • Squirrelpaw remembers that the Riverclan warriors she saw were wading through rather than swimming

  • through the river, and realizes that the river must be dangerously low.

  • Riverclan isn't actually doing as perfectly as Leopardstar would have them believe.

  • After Squirrelpaw privately expresses her distrust of Hawkfrost, based not on his parentage

  • but on his behavior, Mothwing comes to Leafpaw and asks for help, because Mudfur is very

  • sick.

  • Cinderpelt comes too, but they are unable to help, and tell Mothwing to expect becoming

  • the only medicine cat soon.

  • The clans join together to help Shadowclan, whose camp is being destroyed by monsters.

  • Firestar loses a life, and several cats suffered injuries or close calls, but in the end everyone

  • came out all right.

  • Cody finally leaves after seeing how much every cat suffered from the battle and how

  • desperate their lives were.

  • She and Leafpaw say thanks and goodbye to each other and soon the clans decide to leave

  • together.

  • Mudfur is dying, and a few elders decide to stay behind with him to help him pass on peacefully,

  • something that quickly proves unnecessary when he dies before them.

  • The elders still decide to stay to mourn him and live out the remainders of their lives,

  • and just as they are leaving, Sasha appears to ask that Hawkfrost and Mothwing stay with

  • her.

  • However, both of them refuse and soon enough, the clans set out and leave the forest for

  • the last time.

  • They spend the night with Ravenpaw and Barley and give him the news of Graystripe so he

  • can send his friend on after them if he ever sees Graystripe again, and just as they are

  • leaving, they see a shooting star pointing them towards the mountains, the dying warrior

  • showing them the way to go.

  • With the traveler group leading them, the clans journey through an expedient version

  • of the first journey into the mountains.

  • Along the way, Smokepaw falls off a cliff and dies and Brackenfur saves Marshkit.

  • When they arrive at the tribe, Stoneteller welcomes them in, Leafpaw receives a dream

  • from Spottedleaf telling her that Starclan is still with them, Crowpaw becomes a warrior

  • and chooses the name Crowfeather in memory of Feathertail, and Stormfur decides to stay

  • with the tribe, and Brook.

  • With Silverstream, Feathertail, and Graystripe gone, he has no kin back in the clans and

  • never felt close to Riverclan.

  • He would rather stay in the mountains with the cat he has come to love and the spirit

  • of his sister.

  • The clans set off again, unsure of their destination, and rather quickly stumble upon a lake, where

  • Leafpaw feels they are home.

  • Aside from the first few chapters, this book has far less whiplash than Moonrise did, since

  • both point of view characters are in the same environment working on roughly the same problems.

  • Rather than swinging back and forth between two completely different stories, we see two

  • facets of the same story, bringing in different relevant characters in each point of view.

  • This ends up feeling like a far more seamless experience, and is one of the reasons that

  • this book is so much easier to read.

  • Speaking of those main characters though...

  • Squirrelpaw finally gets to have a point of view in this book, along with Leafpaw again.

  • Being able to see her thoughts and opinions makes it all the more clear just how clever,

  • compassionate, and driven she is, all without being taken seriously, particularly by the

  • two toms who claim to love her.

  • She is the one to take many of the big steps and put together the most important clues

  • in this book, and yet, aside from Leafpaw and sometimes Shrewpaw before he dies, every

  • cat treat her like a silly little child...and some of them treat her as a silly little child

  • that they are also in love with.

  • Actually, all of the traveling cats in this book are given great characterization and

  • chemistry with each other.

  • I'm sure when people look fondly back on the New Prophecy cast, it's these personalities

  • and relationships that they remember.

  • Tawnypelt is stern and sure of herself but insightful as well, Crowpaw is loyal but grumpy

  • and hides a fair bit of his pain, Stormfur is obsessed with duty and rarely steps off

  • the road expected of him, Brambleclaw is harsh but also caring of the cats he came to know

  • and protect, and Squirrelpaw is, as I mentioned, witty and brave.

  • They are all friends who care for each other and for Feathertail, their friend that passed,

  • and they come to each others' aid even when they disagree, and are easily the emotional

  • core that lets us see unity even when the clans are breaking apart, from each other

  • and from the group themselves.

  • The only real issue is with what came before: these cats are friends now, and great ones,

  • but we don't know how they got there.

  • They didn't earn this intimacy.

  • They just woke up in this book and boom, they're friends.

  • Additionally, the characterizations they were given in this book...aren't exactly consistent

  • across all of their stories, which is true for some more than others.

  • Leopardstar points out when trying to discredit the traveling cats' message that they are

  • all from Thunderclan.

  • Well this isn't true in Crowpaw's case but for every other cat on the journey, she

  • has a fair point.

  • The group could have and would have been much more impactful if all the cats were truly

  • bred to believe in their clan alone, and didn't already have connections outside, like Crowpaw.

  • Then when they came back united, it would show how any cat could choose to stand together.

  • Sasha shows herself to be a stubborn, sharp-tongued, independent, and fiercely loving she-cat.

  • She cares for her kits and wants a good life for them, free from the image of their father,

  • but also won't hesitate to stand up to other cats in the cages or even clan leaders across

  • the border who question her life or motives.

  • Brambleclaw finally discovers what Hawkfrost has known all along, that they are half-brothers

  • through Tigerstar.

  • He immediately and vehemently declares that it changes nothing, that he holds no loyalty

  • towards his new relative, and in fact that they are nothing alike.

  • Squirrelpaw agrees instantly that of course they aren't, and that he will always be

  • seen as a brave and loyal warrior because of his deeds.

  • This appears to be true, as well, since, after Graystripe's disappearance, many cats already

  • expect and want him to be deputy, and there isn't a single cat who seemed to think badly

  • of him because of his father or lumps him in with Hawkfrost.

  • Hawkfrost meanwhile is doing his best to simultaneously take as much power and order as many cats

  • around as he can while still staying in the clan's good graces by, for instance, giving

  • Mistyfoot her position when she comes back.

  • However he also shows on occasion his overt aggressiveness and tendency to go too far,

  • which has both Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw being suspicious of his intentions and future.

  • This book has a much better version of the tribe than the last, due in large part to

  • the fact that they are so small a part of it.

  • But while they are there, we see the repeated danger the mountains pose to the clans, so

  • it isn't just the tribe who looks weak.

  • Moreover, the tribe is actually the strong body of cats who have to take in the weak

  • and starving clans, and give permission for a clan warrior ceremony to be performed.

  • Even Stoneteller is being mostly respectful and even sharing some of his own herb knowledge

  • with Leafpaw.

  • They still have the issue of being too similar to the clans in the first place, but otherwise,

  • this book's Tribe is okay.

  • There's a running theme in this book of everyone beginning to doubt Starclan, due

  • to the lack of messages and intervention to stop the horrible circumstances they are going

  • through.

  • Not even our main characters are immune, with everyone from Brambleclaw to Tawnypelt to

  • Leafpaw and Squirrelpaw giving up at one time or another.

  • The only cats who always keep faith are Stormfur, who does it somewhat to spite Crowpaw and

  • believe that his sister died for a reason, and Firestar, who has always had a seemingly

  • endless supply of faith in Starclan, and who partially just wants to believe that his two

  • daughters and then Graystripe are okay and will return to him.

  • This combined with the consistent danger and significant losses the clans suffer not just

  • in their homes but in numerous cats being lost or killed makes the experience of reading

  • this book tense and dreary, but the levity returns when you see the way the cats bring

  • each other back up with their love and loyalty for each other.

  • Dawn is a really well done book, and I honestly wish we could retroactively use it as the

  • blueprint for the rest of The New Prophecy, based on its treatment of the main cast, the

  • pacing, the danger levels, and even the tribe.

  • It doesn't have precisely the same energy or interpretations of characters and their

  • relationships as the previous two books did, but when what we have here is so much better

  • than what came before, I really can't find it in my heart to hold the changes against

  • it.

  • I love Dawn, but it is definitely the high point of The New Prophecy.

  • The pre-planned story for the arc that was originally meant to be 3 books long is now

  • done, and there are still 3 books to go.

  • So we'll see how the clans like their new home and how the plot can progress from here

  • in the next book of our trip through time.

As far as I am concerned, Dawn is the best book The New Prophecy has to offer.

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