Summary

INTO THE WILD is the story of a domestic cat, a kittypet named Rusty, who joins a community of feral cats known as ThunderClan. ThunderClan is one of several feral communities occupying adjoining territories; Rusty is drafted to train as a warrior to help protect the traditional borders of ThunderClan territory as other clans threaten to overrun them. This was an engrossing read, with believable characters and situations. My original fears that it would fall into cutesy-poo language -- talking cats, after all! -- and situations were unfounded. In fact I admire the author''s ability to create immediately understandable terms used by the cats -- sunhigh for noon, for example. INTO THE WILD is the first in the author''s Warriors series, and is followed by FIRE AND ICE, FOREST OF SECRETS, RISING STORM, A DANGEROUS PATH, and THE DARKEST HOUR. The series has also led to a sister series, Warriors: The New Prophecy, with three books to date: MIDNIGHT, MOONRISE, and DAWN.