Brambleclaw • Feathertail • Stormfur • Squirrelflight • Crowfeather • Tawnypelt • Leafpool • Hawkfrost • Mothwing It was my destiny to be here, just as it is your destiny to be beside the river. I must be the one to give you your last life, and with it, you will change the lives of so many others. Shadowstar: " We are prepared. But I have to tell you something. This is my last life. I want you to know that you are the right cat to lead this Clan." Clear Sky becomes mates with Star Flower after having previously fathered Thunder with another she-cat. (As we see in the other Dawn of the Clans books, Star Flower is actually his third love, after Bright Stream and then Thunder's mother Storm died.) River Ripple feels jealous that Clear Sky gets to start a second family when he never got to have kits with Flutter. This feels like a Fanfiction. There are moments when Riverstar seems like someone's OC and they put him in the already-existing story, you know what I mean? I feel like this should have been a novella and not a super edition. It would get boring at certain parts and I felt like I enjoyed the side characters more than Riverstar himself! I felt the trip to his old parkmates camp was pointless and the “development” of him and Finch was nonexistent. It seemed that Slash was gonna be a bigger threat but he's in two chapters then dies.

Kate has expressed an interest in writing more about Riverstar, saying "there's something mysterious and secretive and he's a lovely character." [blog 1] Slash is the worst Warriors villain and I hate that he was in this book, much less the main problem for the last third. Kind of girlboss of Finch to kill him though. It builds on that, then the 2nd half of the book has Riverstar just up and leaves his Clan without solving this to go help cats he has absolutely nothing at all to do with. Just him tho. And all so the writers can do wat they should have done in Dawn of the Clans. Kill Slash and give Riverstar a mate. You trained me to be a loyal RiverClan warrior. It's all I ever wanted to be. With this life, I give you empathy, because you always understood me.

Shoutbox

Parental Substitute: Riverstar explains that he didn't remember his parents and was simply found as a kit near the park entrance, and that Arc had raised him. Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Clear Sky starts to panic and grieve when he thinks that his friends have all betrayed him and left his mate to die. It takes Wind Runner raking her claws across his ears and telling him to sit up and stop acting like a kit to make him realize that they actually have a plan to save her. As River Ripple's narration says, Wind Runner isn't a cat to do things gently. I think that first half RR and last half RR feel like two different characters. First half feels so much more distinct and last half feels like just Some Guy. Dead Person Conversation: The spirits of the recently-deceased cats appear after the battle at The Four Trees, as well as in a dream to the leaders not long afterward. Solid four stars, I guess? This book was so weird. I can’t organize my thoughts, honestly. It was simultaneously extremely disappointing and actually really interesting at the same time. It feels like the book spends the entire time saying the clans are bad but also the clans are the best, perfect, ONLY way to live. . . The message, if there was any, about clan life was completely lost in my opinion. It feels like the writers wanted to explore the fact that clan life isn’t perfect in this book, but they ended up losing all the nuance of that argument along the way. To make it worse, River Ripple, or Riverstar, I guess, pretty much stopped being interesting and unique as soon as he got his nine lives. After his nine lives ceremony, his character and everything he’d learned was flung out the window. His relationship with Finch was SO rushed and written poorly, even by Warriors standards. Skystar’s development also completely disappeared at the end of the book, and almost all of the conflict was just conflict for conflict’s sake. . . Which Riverstar recognized until he just didn’t anymore. *sigh*

Near and Dear" Baby Naming: Arc Shadow is named after Riverstar's parental figure, Arc. It's also possible though not explicitly stated that Ripple Shine is named after Riverstar himself, since Finch had previously promised to name one after him. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, Riverstar was such an interesting character but the second half the book kind of lost me. In Secrets of the Clans, a 2007 field guide, River is the founder and the first leader of RiverClan, working with Thunder, Wind, and Shadow to develop the warrior code. He is the cat who created a mentoring program for training the apprentices. He is known to be generous and warm-hearted with his own Clan, but not interested in the other Clans' troubles, even skipping Gatherings when possible. [42] Shadowstar : " Whether I survive or not doesn't really matter anymore. I appreciate your loyalty, but you can't let that affect your ability to lead ShadowClan. You have to be ready to become leader if you must." No One Could Survive That!: Slash falls into the river and disappears under the surface. Riverstar assumes the current dragged him to the bottom, and Arc comments that there's no way Slash will survive that.

Riverstar’s personality is a complex one, at that. He, in my opinion, was more suited to be a medicine cat than a leader. He knew about StarClan, so why not use that as a medicine cat advantage? Well, that’s for another post. So, he knew about the “spirit cats” and helped the other leaders understand them more. He seemed not to be partial or impartial to any of the groups, which I find odd. The Lost Lenore: River Ripple loved Flutter but never got the chance to formally ask if she wanted to be his mate. She was captured by Twolegs in the Park, and as he learns later, was hit by a monster immediately afterward. He grieves for her through his whole time establishing a home by the river. Ending Slash for good felt satisfying. I loved reading his death and I loved Finch for epically killing him off for good. I also didn't mind Skystar being a secondary villain in this one. Into the Wild & Fire and Ice • Forest of Secrets & Rising Storm • A Dangerous Path & The Darkest Hour • Midnight & Moonrise • Dawn & Starlight • Twilight & Sunset

Blurb A thrilling standalone adventure in Erin Hunter's #1 nationally bestselling Warriors series! In this Super Edition, discover the origins of the first leader of RiverClan—a mysterious cat whose desire for peace would help shape the dawn of the warrior Clans. When a storm-tossed river sweeps Ripple away from the park he's always known, he commits himself to the life of a peaceful loner. Still, as his new island home starts to become a sanctuary for other rogues, he can't help but feel responsible for their safety, and for the community—and Clan—they are beginning to build. But when an old friend from the park resurfaces with terrible news just as the forest cats' fights begin to escalate into bloodshed, the cat now known as Riverstar will have to decide which home he is truly committed to protecting: his new Clan or his old family. Join the legion of fans who have discovered the epic adventures, fierce warrior cats, and the wild fantasy world of the mega-bestselling Warriors series. This stand-alone entry is perfect for new readers and dedicated fans alike. The praise "Feeding, feuding, and fan service: sure to please the felines’ legion of followers."

This book contains examples of the following:

The Apprentice's Quest • Thunder and Shadow • Shattered Sky • Darkest Night • River of Fire • The Raging Storm This book was honestly a slog to get through and, in my opinion, rather boring. The vast majority of chapters felt less like exciting material to experience and more like obstacles to endure before the book got good—and even then, it didn't stay good. All right that’s about it. Was rather disappointed in this one but it had its moments, and the meditation stuff was really cool. Maybe read if you’re a die hard Warriors fan or are super into RiverClan, but other than that you can give this one a pass. I also wasn’t a fan of how River Ripple was portrayed. They took my lovable quiet mysterious contemplative kind peaceful Ripple and made him not like that. He was so angry and flustered throughout the book, and was disappointed that he had only been near the clans for a few moons instead of living there for a long time and having a deep connection to the river.

The same goes with Riverstar's character itself: although I didn't quite dislike him, they stripped him of most of the characteristics that would have made him a fun character to read the POV of (and yeah, I voted for him in the polls. I don't regret it: I'm pretty sure any of the other options would've been worse) and just overall made him a lot less interesting than he was originally. Revenge by Proxy: Slash had threatened the park cats that he'd hurt one of their friends if any of them left. He does indeed hurt Dart after Arc goes to get Riverstar's help. As Gray Wing died, he renamed the groups "Clans". River Ripple likes the word, since it means "family" and what he's trying to build with the cats he lives with. Action Prologue: The prologue starts with the park getting destroyed by Twoleg monsters; Ripple tries to flee and falls into the river. also Windstar and Skystar's character development still magically disappears after the point of Gray Wing's death like it does in Moth Flight's vision)

Never Got to Say Goodbye: River Ripple never got to say goodbye to the cat he loved, Flutter, when she was captured by Twolegs. Whether you’re a fan of derby racing, animal games or pet horses, your exciting horse simulation journey begins with Rival Stars Horse Racing. Talking in Your Dreams: All of the leaders share a dream with each other to meet with the spirit-cats. Alderheart • Needletail • Twigbranch • Violetshine • Darktail • Tree • Rowanclaw • Tigerstar • Leafstar • Finleap