Into the Woods

Into the Woods is the first book in the Tigerstar and Sasha arc. Sasha is the cat on the cover. In the background is a patrol led by Tigerstar.

The Blurb

 * Sasha has everything she wants: kind housefolk who take care of her during the day and the freedom to explore the woods beyond Twolegplace at night. But when Sasha is forced to leave her home, she must forge a solitary new life in the forest. Life on her own is exciting at first but quickly gets lonely. When Sasha meets Tigerstar, leader of ShadowClan, she begins to think that she may be better off joining the ranks of his Forest Clan. But Tigerstar has many secrets, and Sasha must decide whether she can trust him.

Detailed Plot Summary

 * The book begins with Sasha chasing after her housefolk's car, which then speeds off, leaving her, grief-stricken in the street. She then is filled with memories of her Twolegs, Ken and Jean, who took care of her. Everything was right until Jean got sick, and despite all they could do, she passed away. Ken, lamenting over Jean, then went with several other Twolegs and left the house. Sasha, having escaped from an open bathroom window, began chasing after him. Unsuccessful, she wanders into the forest after seeing her friend Shnuky for the last time.


 * Soon after, she finds an old den made of logs and bedded with leaves, and settles down there. The next day, while hunting prey she encounters a tom named Pine, who engages in conversation with Sasha. He warns her of the Clan cats living in the forest, in the process taking off her collar for her. Despite his warnings, she climbs a tree and stays there for a night, wanting to see the Clan cats. The next morning, a ShadowClan patrol consisting of Tigerstar, Rowanpaw, and Jaggedtooth comes along, and Sasha takes a particular interest in Tigerstar. After Rowanpaw scents traces of foxes, a frog appears, although he is unsuccessful at catching it. Before it can get away, though, Sasha drops on it and says that it slipped through their paws. Tigerstar, dismissing his two warriors back to the camp, questions Sasha about her motives, and she simply says that she was catching prey.


 * The next night, Sasha realizes that she has feelings for Tigerstar, and misses a rabbit while being caught up in her thoughts. Turning around she sees that Tigerstar had caught it for her, criticizes her hunting technique, and tells her she needs someone to show her how to hunt properly. When Sasha asks who would teach her, he says that he might. The training goes successfully until one night, a fox appears and Tigerstar single-handedly drives it away from them.


 * After a time of not seeing Tigerstar, Sasha returns to her den one evening, only to find Tigerstar already waiting for her. Asking him where he was, he comments on how nice her den was, and then stops and asks when she'll be seeing her Twolegs again, after seeing her collar hanging around a protruding branch on the logs. Sasha asks him why he was snooping around in her den, and he tells her that he cannot see her any more if she has the collar. She refuses to destroy it, and quarrels with Tigerstar about kittypets and how they aren't independent. Sad, she reminisces about her perfect life with Jean and Ken.


 * The next day, Sasha leaves a pigeon at the ShadowClan border to prove to Tigerstar that kittypets can hunt. After catching a rabbit, Sasha is attacked by two foxes. Before she can escape, though, Tigerstar comes and attacks the duo of animals, telling her to run. Scrambling up a tree, Sasha sees that the foxes have an advantage over him, and she jumps down to assist him. After defeating both foxes, Tigerstar stays in her den for the night and lets his wounds heal, and tells Sasha that he came to thank her for the pigeon, and that she is unlike any kittypet he's ever known.


 * One night Sasha brings Tigerstar to her old fence near Twolegplace. Upon sitting on it, he loses interest and Sasha takes offense, although he comments that if she wishes to be a rogue she would have to say goodbye to her old life.


 * Tigerstar shows her around ShadowClan camp the next day, and introduces her to Blackfoot. Sasha is offered to join a patrol, which she accepts. Along the way, she also sees Pine, who has gotten sick because leaf-bare is now coming on. Because Sasha does so well on the patrol, Tigerstar invites her to spend the night in the warriors den. Enjoying herself immensely, Sasha accepts.


 * Sasha decides she wants to join ShadowClan. Racing back to the camp, she looks down on the camp from a tree, suddenly stopped by the voices of Tigerstar and his Clanmates. Soon she becomes frightened after Tigerstar discusses his plans to rule the forest with his Clanmates, including hiring BloodClan and setting a pack of dogs on ThunderClan. Extremely scared and changing her mind, Sasha flees, but before she can get far she is approached by Tigerstar who asks if she will join ShadowClan.

Trivia

 * Throughout the book, Tigerstar calls Firestar by his leader name, and nearing the end of the book he says he has already allied with BloodClan. However, Erin Hunter then created an inconsistency, as he then says that he has a plan to kill ThunderClan with a pack of dogs sentences after he talked about BloodClan. Bluestar was killed by the pack of dogs; they didn't come after he had been appointed as leader. This does not pertain to the storyline as the pack of dogs had already been lured into the gorge before Firestar had become leader and BloodClan had forged an alliance with ShadowClan.
 * On the cover, Tigerstar has a pale brown coat with tabby markings, while he is really dark brown with tabby markings.
 * The German edition has all three books of Tigerstar and Sasha arc. published in one single book.

Publication List

 * Into the Woods (EN), HarperCollins (paperback), 2 September 2008
 * Tigerstern und Sasha (DE), Tokyopop (paperback), 13 January 2011
 * В поисках дома (RU), Tokyopop (paperback),25 June 2011