Long Shadows

Wow.

Seeing that I had waited almost three months for this book, I was expecting something wonderful. Dramatic. Shocking. And I got what I wanted.

316 pages, Long Shadows is chock-full of mystery, lies, drama, adventure, and more secrets than you could have ever forseen. I was shaking as I read it- which just goes to show how exciting it was.

The only two things that I didn't like were:

1) Erin Hunter tried to squish too many events into 316 pages. Some events seemed unreal because they flew by so quickly.

2) The middle of the book was filled with Warrior/Tribe history and ancient clan/tribe lore. Necessary for the story, I suppose, but boring all the same.

Now that I have given my review, I feel compelled to spill out all the spoilers. So here goes.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING (spoilers in no particular order)

• Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather (he got his medicine cat name!) are not Squirrelflight's kits. But we still don't know the mother. Leafpool. most probably. (I think the parentage is going to be revealed in Sunrise, but still, we have to wait for another half-year!)
• Ashfur was the traitor who tried to kill Firestar. And he hates Squirrelflight. He knows about the kits-not-being-Squirrelflight's-thing.
• Squirrelflight murdered Ashfur.
• Millie almost dies, but she becomes healthy in the end. (Noooooo, Millie, why couldn't you have died???)
• Practically the whole of ThunderClan was infected with greencough (Firestar too!)
• To avoid everyone getting sick, Firestar (in his sickly condition) takes all the sick cats to the abandoned Twoleg nest to recuperate and stay away from the healthy cats.
• Firestar's AWESOME! (sorry, just my personal opinion)
• Firestar loses a life.
• Ah yes. Whitewing is going to have kits, and the lucky father is....Birchfall!!! (Who's about a million years younger than Whitewing *roll eyes*)
• Possible LeafpoolxAshfur shipping...or it could just be Jayfeather's unknowingness. (I keep thinking Jaypaw!)
• Since Sol took over ShadowClan, Blackstar wanted to be called Blackfoot. Tawnypelt and her three kits came to ThunderClan. However, the all-powerful Three went to ShadowClan, and with the help of two StarClan warriors, they got rid of Sol and ShadowClan went back to normal.
• Three new StarClan cats! Brightspirit, Braveheart, and Shiningheart. These cats appeared in honor of Jimmy, Dana, and Emmy Cherry, who all died in a tornado in Arkansas. The three StarClan cats help Jaypaw save his Clan from greencough.
• Heatherpaw becomes Heathertail. She HATES Lionblaze.

And Now, My Favorite Quotes (you knew this was coming!):

"'Did you see Firestar die?' Berrynose meowed, his eyes wide. 'What was it like?' Lionblaze glared at him, and didn't bother to answer. As he padded away, he heard Brambleclaw's voice raised scathingly. 'I might expect a question like that from a kit, Berrynose, but nor from a warrior, especially one that I mentored.'" (p.243)

"'Upset?' Ashfur echoed. 'I'm not upset. You have no idea how much pain I'm in. It's like being cut open every day, bleeding onto the stones. I can't understand how any of you failed to see the blood....'" (p.273)

"'Stay there!' Turning to face Squirreflight but keeping one paw on the branch, he hissed, 'I can't believe you didn't know how much you hurt me. You are the blind one, not Jayfeather. Who do you think sent Firestar the message to go down to the lake, where the fox trap was? I wanted him to die, to take your father away, so yo'd know the real meaning of pain.'" (p.274, said by Ashfur)

"Squirrelflight raised her head, her gaze locked on Ashfur's crazed eyes. 'Kill them, then,' she meowed. 'You won't hurt me that way.'" (p.275, referring to the Three)

"'If you really want to hurt me, you'll have to find a better way than that,' Squirrelflight snarled. 'They are not my kits.'" (p. 276)

"Wedged behind a rock just below her paws, the lifeless body of a cat floated in the swollen water, his fur dark and sodden. His tail streamed out into the current, waving as if he were still alive. Dustpelt was the first to speak. 'It's Ashfur.'" (p.305)

"Jayfeather knew they were all thinking of the scene on top of the cliff, when Squirrelflight's terrible secret had been shared in storm and fire. That, and that alone, had to be the reason for Ashfur's murder. Now, for their own sakes and the sake of their Clan, they must all conspire to keep the truth hidden forever." (p.316)

Mwa ha ha! Long Shadows was awesome!