Crookedstar's Promise

Crookedstar's Promise  

Hardcover Edition
Author(s) Erin Hunter
Cover artist Wayne McLoughlin
Country United States
Language English
Series Warriors (novel series)
Genre(s) Children's literature
Fantasy novel
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date July 5, 2011[1]
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 491
ISBN 9780061980978
Preceded by SkyClan's Destiny

Crookedstar's Promise is a children's fantasy novel, the fourth super edition in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. The book itself is being written by Kate Cary. It was released on July 5, 2011.[2]

Development

At first, an Early Clan Super Edition was planned to be released in 2010[3] with Victoria Holmes saying "I’d love to do a Super Edition about the very early Clans so we can see how they started to take the shape that we recognize today".[4] However, because Erin Hunter has decided to instead do an entire arc dedicated to the early Clan days, the book was cancelled and Crookedstar's Promise was to be released in 2011 instead. In the seventh author chat, it was revealed that an evil female cat named Mapleshade, first mentioned in Night Whispers (who eventually ends up in the Dark Forest), will be featured in the book. Mapleshade is the first evil she-cat mentioned in this book series. Erin Hunter did not want readers to become upset because she only wrote evil toms. She also wants readers to compare Mapleshade to Tigerstar and Scourge to see which one of them is the most evil. Crookedstar loses his mate, his kits, his brother, his mother, his leader, and his father. Through these losses, he becomes stronger.[5]

Plot

In the prologue, the RiverClan camp is flooded. Duskwater, an elder, is washed away. Rainflower's kits are coming. Because the water was getting higher, she climbs up an oak tree to give birth. Brambleberry delivers her kits, and Rainflower names one Stormkit, after the storm they were born in, and the other Oakkit, after the tree that offered her protection from the water while she gave birth.

The book follows Crookedstar, first known as Stormkit. Stormkit is chased by the ThunderClan medicine cat, Goosefeather, at the Sunningrocks, where he breaks his jaw. His mother, Rainflower, however, feels no sympathy for Stormkit and asks the RiverClan leader, Hailstar, to rename Stormkit to Crookedkit, and Crookedkit is left distraught by this. Crookedkit is curious of what his destiny will be, and he attempts to travel to the Moonstone. However, he gets lost and ends up at a barn instead, where he stays for a while. Mapleshade, an evil ThunderClan she-cat, talks to Crookedkit in a dream, and asks him to make a promise to be loyal to RiverClan above all other things. Crookedkit did not understand what he was promising when he made his pledge.

References