Forest of Secrets
Warriors series
By Erin Hunter

     The Warriors series explores the secret life of feral cats, a life filled with clans, cat mythology, battles, friendship, loyalty and ruthless ambition. In this book, the hero Fireheart must expose the villain, Tigerclaw, before he wreaks more destruction. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Tigerclaw is clearly evil, Fireheart seems to be the only cat bright enough to see it.

     I'll admit, I've never liked the "really evil villain whom only the hero can recognize" plot and so I found this one a bit slow in starting. But the fine writing and interesting feral cat society did keep me reading (albeit slowly) until the end. I found the side plots, about fitting in and loyalty interesting and well-motivated. The characterization was nicely drawn and this book did make me curious about the rest of the series. For young readers who love these animal warrior worlds, such as Redwall or Watership Down, this one would certainly pique their interest.