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  • Well...this one isn't quite as boring as Starlight.

  • That's an improvement right?

  • But it's not exactly a great reading experience either, as we bounce back and forth between

  • two different romance plots: one filled with cruelty and frustration and the other filled

  • with melodrama and shallow, rushed relations.

  • Meanwhile the actual plot moves on at a snail's pace, with the majority of chapters in this

  • book doing nothing for either the plot of this book, or the plot of the latter half

  • of the arc.

  • Oh well...let's do this.

  • Twilight was released on August 22nd of 2006, about three and a half months after Starlight.

  • Once again this is a book written by Cherith Baldry, which is just about the only new thing

  • I can say following Starlight.

  • However, there is something I need to say about Victoria Holmes, who was, as always,

  • making the outline and deciding the plot beats for the book that Cherith was to flesh out.

  • Minor spoiler warning for what I will be telling you in just a couple minutes anyway, but this

  • is the book where Cinderpelt dies.

  • No, it's more than that.

  • This is the book where Cinderpelt is told from the beginning that she will die, and

  • then keeps this a secret for the remainder of the book until she dies, even while Leafpool

  • decides to run away with Crowfeather and leave Thunderclan without a medicine cat to replace

  • her.

  • This is probably the single most powerful element of the book, and whether or not it

  • works or makes sense on a technical level, there is an emotional resonance that I wouldn't

  • feel right skipping over.

  • Without getting into too many details, around the writing of this book, Vicky herself was

  • diagnosed with a terminal illness, and her experiences with that fueled the writing she

  • did for Cinderpelt, embedding in it deep levels of grief, resignation, and grace.

  • It only feels right to acknowledge and respect the meta explanation here.

  • I wish Victoria Holmes all the best, and I am so glad that she's had more time than

  • Cinderpelt ultimately got.

  • And now, I will jump straight into the changes and statistics, so we may quickly move into

  • discussion of the story.

  • In something that may or may not be a mistake, Graystripe is still listed as deputy, despite

  • not being here.

  • And in something that definitely is a mistake, Leafpool is still listed as Leafpaw under

  • Cinderpelt, and also as Leafpool in the apprentice category, somewhere she should no longer be

  • at all.

  • Mousefur has joined the elders' den but Squirrelflight and Spiderleg were promoted,

  • so Thunderclan now has 13 warriors, and Whitepaw is the only remaining apprentice.

  • Ferncloud remains the only queen and Goldenflower and Longtail have been joined by Mousefur

  • in the elders' den.

  • The top 10 characters this time have 76% of the lines, tying Midnight for the highest

  • percentage in this arc, and the 41% of she-cat characters have 62% of the lines, mostly due

  • to Leafpool and Squirrelflight being the two point-of-view characters for this book.

  • With that quickly out of the way, let's get into the plot...or, what plot there is.

  • The prologue gives us a scene in Starclan 

  • where Bluestar, TallstarNightstar, and Crookedstar

  • are consoling some cat over the news that their death is approaching, and there is nothing

  • Starclan do to stop it, or even know exactly when it will come.

  • The cat tells them that they have had a good and fulfilling life, even if it was too short,

  • and they are ready to face what is coming.

  • The Starclan cats promise that they will always be with the mystery cat, and with a solemn

  • heart, they awake beside the Moonpool.

  • We then cut to Squirrelflight and Leafpool discussing Hawkfrost unfavorably, though Leafpool

  • points out they don't have proof of his wrongdoing.

  • Squirrelflight backs off, but turns instead 

  • to complaining about  Brambleclaw taking Hawkfrost's

  • side on everything.

  • Ashfur cuts in to call Squirrelflight over

  • in the beginning of one of  the central relationships

  • to this book.

  • Brambleclaw steps up to lead a patrol to return those two nameless dead Shadowclan warriors

  • in place of Firestar, and then decides to lead the clan's battle training.

  • While Squirrelflight comments on how bossy he is, Ashfur defends him as a good warrior

  • who could be made deputy.

  • Ashfur is in favor of Brambleclaw.

  • Remember this.

  • Brambleclaw blows up at Squirrelflight for not trusting Hawkfrost for a reason she did

  • not bring up, and Ashfur steps in to say he isn't being fair, which he isn't.

  • Squirrelflight is worried that she and Brambleclaw will never be friends again, with him acting

  • like this.

  • Brambleclaw being self-righteous, pushy, and volatile and Squirrelflight being mad at this,

  • with Ashfur at her side is a continuing theme through the remainder of the book, along with

  • Windclan being generally upset by Thunderclan's prying, and the note that a badger family

  • seems to be making its home nearby.

  • But the BrambleSquirrelAsh team drive out the badgers, so I guess we'll never see

  • them again.

  • Leafpool meanwhile is spacing out and doing poorly in her duties since her thoughts are

  • consumed with Crowfeather, and fumbling her words as she learns Sorreltail is going to

  • have kits, with Brackenfur.

  • After more BrambleSquirrelAsh feuding, they get into a fox fight and promptly decide this

  • is a great time to march over to Windclan with their injuries to speak with Onestar.

  • The new Windclan leader is acting rather cold and distant, and gets upset with Firestar

  • for watching over him like a kit.

  • He declares that Windclan owes nothing to anyone and that they are just as strong as

  • the other clans before sending the Thunderclan cats, along with his old friend, out of his

  • territory.

  • Crowfeather and Leafpool each tried to get Squirrelflight to talk to the other about

  • them, but Squirrelflight remains oblivious to their connection.

  • At the gathering, the clans venture across the new tree bridge and onto the island for

  • the first time.

  • Every cat spends some time exploring the area first and Hawkfrost pulls Brambleclaw aside

  • to talk, while Mothwing and Leafpool chat 

  • happily with their tails  entwined and Squirrelflight

  • and Ashfur inspect the shoreline.

  • The clans definitively sort out their borders, and decide on a new rule that cats will be

  • able to walk across other territories within two fox-lengths of the lakeshore to get to

  • gatherings, the Moonpool, or simple visits when necessary.

  • Feathertail gives Leafpool a message for Mothwing, who Starclan cannot reach, and tells her she

  • is happy about her and Crowfeather's budding relationship.

  • Mothwing believes in Leafpool even if she doesn't believe in Starclan, and accepts

  • the warning.

  • Then there's...more, BrambleSquirrelAsh feuding, and Birchpaw is made Ashfur's apprentice.

  • The medicine cats, save for Mothwing and for some reason Leafpool, receive a vague set

  • of warning images from Starclan, and Leafpool and Crowfeather decide to meet up in secret

  • at some point.

  • Also, Daisy arrives!

  • She is asking to join Thunderclan with her kits, Berry, Mouse, and Hazel, since Floss's

  • kits were taken by the twolegs, and it seems like Thunderclan is a safe place.

  • But the decision about her has to wait, because a terrible and unexplained sickness is spreading

  • through Riverclan.

  • Leafpool goes to help Mothwing, calms her down, and is greeted by Reedwhisker, who has

  • to introduce himself since even the characters in the story can't remember who this guy is.

  • Also, it seems like Hawkfrost is still undermining and insulting Mistyfoot. Great.

  • Willowkit leads them to Beechpaw, and, when they find out something is stuck in his throat,

  • manages to skillfully remove the blockage with ease.

  • Seems like she wants to be a medicine cat, and she's pretty good at the job.

  • Unfortunately, her work with Riverclan made Leafpool miss a meeting she had planned with

  • Crowfeather.

  • Meanwhile, Shadowclan is having trouble with 

  • those two mean kittypetsso a patrol of Thunderclan

  • and Shadowclan cats fight them off and that's done.

  • A couple of side plots happen, one with Cloudtail spending a lot of time with Daisy and Brightheart

  • being jealous and the other with Brightheart spending a lot of time with Cinderpelt doing

  • medicine cat duties. and Leafpool being jealous.

  • Then Leafpool finds out that Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost are training with Tigerstar in their

  • dreams, and decides to do nothing about this.

  • Another gathering happenswith more Onestar-hostility 

  • and clans getting generally angry at each

  • other, and Crowfeather suggesting that he and Leafpool run away together.

  • Leafpool is hiding her relationship  from Squirrelflight...so 

  • I guess that sister telepathy thing is really

  • gone now, and they get in a fight about it, but when Brambleclaw nearly catches Leafpool

  • sneaking away, Squirrelflight covers for her immediately.

  • Even when there are tensions between them, Squirrelflight would clearly do a lot for

  • her sister.

  • Squirrelflight doesn't find out what's happening, but Cinderpelt does, and she is

  • very angry about it.

  • However, Spottedleaf almost immediately comes  to Leafpool in a dream, and tells her both that  

  • she should let Brightheart help Cinderpelt as  she has been doing, and that she should follow  

  • her heart when it comes to Crowfeather. Leafpool  specifically asks if this means she is allowed to  

  • run away with him, and Spottedleaf only answers by  fading away with a smile. Leafpool of course takes  

  • this to mean that she has Starclan's permissionand leaves. Cinderpelt is worried, and guilty,  

  • but more than anything she seems drainedSquirrelflight and Brambleclaw also learn about  

  • it and journey to Windclan, thinking that's where  Leafpool went to be with Crowfeather, but Windclan  

  • was under the impression that Crowfeather had gone  to Thunderclan, so despite Onestar's reservations,  

  • they ally to search for the pair togetherHowever, they don't find them. Brightheart gets  

  • frantic about driving Leafpool away by taking over  so many medicine cat duties, and Squirrelflight  

  • takes the moment to wonder if she would run away  for either Ashfur or Brambleclaw. She is fairly  

  • sure she wouldn't for Ashfur, but is entirely  unsure about Brambleclaw. Over with Leafpool,  

  • she and Crowfeather spend...I'll be generous  and day a day together before meeting Midnight,  

  • who tells them that the other badgers they drove  out are angry and will attack soon. Crowfeather  

  • briefly tries to convince Leafpool to let Midnight  warn them, but they quickly agree that they have  

  • to go back and help their clans. Various cats in  Thunderclan express their sorrow over Leafpool's  

  • disappearance, which is promptly cut off by  a badger attack, and also Sorreltail having  

  • kits...simultaneously. Everyone is quickly thrown  into chaotic fighting, Daisy and her kits escape,  

  • and Sootfur dies. Meanwhile, Leafpool tries to  give Crowfeather a tearful goodbye but he decides  

  • to come with her to Thunderclan first. They come  back to find the fighting already in progress and  

  • Cinderpelt dying, as she was injured while helping  Sorreltail with her kitting. Leafpool fights off  

  • the badger and promises her mentor that she won't  leave again. Cinderpelt explains that she knew  

  • she would die, and she wasn't going to force  Leafpool into any decisions even knowing that.  

  • Crowfeather tells her that he loves herbut her heart and place is with her clan,  

  • and they can wait to be together again until  they walk in the stars together. Midnight and  

  • Onestar show up with Windclan to help them win  the battle, and Midnight assures them that the  

  • badgers are too weak to consider fighting the  clans again. Sorreltail has also had four kits,  

  • who will soon be named Honeykit, PoppykitMolekit, and Cinderkit, after Cinderpelt,  

  • who died saving them. Crowfeather is accepted  back into Windclan, and in the cliffhanger of  

  • the century that everyone was waiting for,  *Stormfur and Brook* appear in Thunderclan's camp.

  • Who the cat in the prologue might be is kept as  something of a mystery, but between the clues  

  • about them being a medicine cat and being not old  but not young either, the pool is narrowed down  

  • substantially. It then becomes clear from hints in  her behavior throughout the middle and end section  

  • of the book that it was Cinderpelt, who keeps  secret but worries about her impending death.  

  • Her story is the best part of this  book, but not a central part of it.  

  • It is subtly developed in the background  until her death comes, and gives a great  

  • facet to her character. I have no complaints  on her end. But as for the rest of the book… 

  • Brambleclaw is a pushy, entitled, patronizing  nightmare for the whole book, to Squirrelflight  

  • especially but also every other member of the  clan save for Firestar. He calls Onestar by  

  • his warrior name, insults kittypets in front of  Cloudtail and Firestar, and treats every cat like  

  • they are bratty apprentices with no competenceNot only is he keeping up and going harder into  

  • his comradery with and trust in Hawkfrost, but  he also starts just insulting Squirrelflight,  

  • specifically and regularly, demeaning her  competence and intelligence with no provocation.  

  • Additionally, virtually any time that she tries to  spend some free time hanging out with or chatting  

  • with Ashfur, Brambleclaw butts in to accuse them  of lounging around when they should be working,  

  • with the authority of a deputy, which he is  not. And does he ever apologize for any of this?  

  • No. Every cat around him says sorry for the  tiniest slip-ups; Birchkit, Squirrelflight,  

  • and Ashfur all apologize to him over the book for  small mistakes that made him angry, and he doesn't  

  • even have the grace to accept these apologiesHe simply grimaces, growls, or repeats an order  

  • he doesn't have the authority to give in the  first place. Whether or not you like Brambleclaw,  

  • this book's portrayal of him is of a truly cruelpetty, condescending, and presumptuous cat who has  

  • no business even leading a patrol, let alone  trying to be deputy. And the fact that this is  

  • who he becomes as soon as we lose his point of  view is not reassuring. Antagonizing every cat  

  • in the clan who even looks at you funny is not  at all how any sort of leader should behave

  • Although Squirrelflight's other love interest  isn't much better, even now. Ashfur does defend  

  • Squirrelflight whenever Brambleclaw blows  up at her unnecessarily, but whenever the  

  • topic of Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost comes  up, or Brambleclaw's general character,  

  • Ashfur consistently assures Squirrelflight that  Brambleclaw is a good and loyal cat and his  

  • relationship with Hawkfrost is fine, because it  wouldn't ever cause him to betray his clanmates.  

  • This isn't the only issue with him, as, starting  very early in the book, Squirrelflight begins to  

  • get annoyed by how constantly he speaks for  her and coddles her, especially insofar as it  

  • surprises her mother. Squirrelflight is entirely  capable of and known for standing up for herself,  

  • so having to be defended so much and not using her  own voice is strange and a bit uncomfortable for  

  • her. Although I would say that she shouldn't  need this much defense from herself or anyone  

  • else in the first place. Ashfur's behavior isn't  something that Squirrelflight feels great about,  

  • and he doesn't stop even when Squirrelflight  expresses her feelings, which is definitely wrong.  

  • It is actually this aspect of his relationship  with Squirrelflight alone that Brambleclaw takes  

  • the time to praise, just for the sake of  putting Squirrelflight down even more. Oh  

  • and...well Ashfur also explicitly  insults kittypets, other clans,  

  • and half-clan relationships to Squirrelflight's  face when her family and friends cover all  

  • three of those categories. So not a great match. In our other perspective, we have Crowfeather and  

  • Leafpool, which I believe may be what this book  is known for, despite them only sharing a few  

  • passing conversations before the sudden decision  to leave together in the last five chapters,  

  • and the generously measured day they got to spend  together before returning and splitting up again.  

  • They don't have a *bad* relationship in the  way that Squirrelflight does with her suitors,  

  • but they barely have a relationship at all.  I have no idea what they see in each other,  

  • or what they would be like together if they  ever got more than five minutes to talk.  

  • All in all I suppose I'm pretty neutral on them. The last important element to cover is Onestar,  

  • otherwise known as the fallout  from Starlight. From the beginning,  

  • he is clearly acting differently than he ever  did before he was given his name and nine lives.  

  • He is notably more firm, cold, closed-off from the  other clans, and touchy about Windclan's strength.  

  • All of this is even stronger where Firestar and  Thunderclan are concerned, in a move that seems  

  • like he is turning his back on his old friend  and the clan that helped to save his life.  

  • However, his decision to bring his clan to help  Thunderclan with the badgers in the end, and the  

  • way his guard drops almost completely, shows that  it was more of an act than not. He does have to  

  • grow strong to be respected as Windclan's leaderand he even shows this strength at the end, but  

  • he isn't suddenly a different cat. He remembers  his friendship with Firestar, and his good will  

  • to help Thunderclan when they're in need. This  is a good direction to take with someone who was  

  • a fairly one-note side character before, and  I'm interested to see where they'll take it

  • As far as the plots of this book go, we have the  two romances, Onestar's new attitude, Cinderpelt's  

  • death, the badger attack, and somewhere in the  back, Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost's futures. The  

  • supposed main plot of the back half of this arc  is the last one, and no progression is made there  

  • at all save for Leafpool now being aware of itand doing nothing. At least the character stories  

  • promise to have ripples outside this book, even if  they are in some sense unnecessary, but the badger  

  • attack especially has no need to be a plot at allespecially one as large as it was for this book.  

  • Leafpool and Crowfeather could have come back for  a multitude of reasons, and Cinderpelt could have  

  • died due to a multitude of things. The badgers  were never mentioned before and will never be  

  • important again. Not to mention the other passing  side elements like the Riverclan sickness, the  

  • kittypet attack in Shadowclan, or the fox fight  in Thunderclan that don't even matter for much of  

  • this book. This plot as a whole, therefore, feels  like filler, especially in an arc where we've been  

  • promised an overarching conflict for two books  now and we have yet to see any progression of it.

  • Despite a couple good elements, I can't help  but come away from Twilight with a mixture of  

  • anger and annoyance more than anything elseat the chapters upon chapters of wasted time,  

  • the random side plots that have no  bearing anywhere else in the series,  

  • the aggravating relationships, and the cheesy  ones that were given no time to shine despite  

  • the wasted time everywhere else. Thankfully  though, there is only one New Prophecy book left,  

  • and I will be thrilled to send off the arc in  the next episode, of our trip through time.

Well...this one isn't quite as boring as Starlight.

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