Into the Wild

Into the Wild is the first book of six Warriors books in the Original Series. The cat on the cover is Rusty.

The Blurb
Fire Alone Can Save Our Clan...

For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying - and some deaths are more mysterious than others.

In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty... who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.

The Praise
"Action-packed adventure. Certain to please any reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat."
 * -Publishers Weekly

"A suspenseful animal adventure that will leave readers eyeing Puss a bit nervously."
 * -Kirkus Reviews

Detailed Plot Summary

 * In the prologue of this book, a Clan of wild cats named ThunderClan are battling against a rival Clan, RiverClan, at a place by the river called Sunningrocks. A cat named Redtail, ThunderClan's deputy, soon realizes that ThunderClan is badly outnumbered so they have to retreat. Redtail and the RiverClan deputy, Oakheart, are killed. Later, Spottedleaf, the medicine cat of ThunderClan, receives a prophecy from StarClan, stating to Bluestar, ThunderClan's leader, that "Fire alone can save our Clan."


 * Into the Wild takes place in the New Forest in England. It starts out with a kittypet named Rusty wandering off into the woods, when he is stumbled upon by a wild cat named Graypaw, who is a ThunderClan apprentice. Rusty had dreamed the night before about hunting out in the wild. Graypaw is impressed by the kittypet, and tells him about living in a Clan. Unbeknown to the two young cats, two warriors from ThunderClan watch them - Lionheart, a golden-brown tabby tom and Graypaw's mentor, and Bluestar, a bluish-gray she-cat who leads ThunderClan. After they watch Rusty and Graypaw fight, Bluestar offers Rusty a chance to join their Clan of feral cats and train as an apprentice. Rusty goes home to think it over, and Smudge, a black-and white kittypet (Rusty's friend), tells him that he shouldn't join, but Rusty wants to. He later meets Lionheart and another ThunderClan cat, named Whitestorm, in the woods. Rusty accepts Bluestar's offer and then travels to the ThunderClan camp (the cats' home) where he fights Longtail (a prejudiced young warrior of ThunderClan) in a battle of honor. Rusty splits Longtail's ear and Rusty's collar snaps off. This is taken as an omen from StarClan that Rusty belongs in their Clan. Rusty is then renamed in the traditional Clan way, Firepaw, because of the way his flame-colored coat shines in the sunlight. However, Firepaw soon learns that kittypets are thought to be soft and useless by most Clan-born cats, and Firepaw is a cat who has no "warrior blood". Despite being seen as inferior he is slowly able to adjust to his new life.


 * Firepaw grows up fast and trains hard to become a respected member of the Clan and hopes to earn full warrior status. On his first solo hunting assignment, Firepaw finds an ex-ShadowClan cat, Yellowfang whom he later becomes friends with after Firepaw is left to take care of her as a punishment for disobeying the warrior code. Firepaw disobeyed the warrior code because he gave Yellowfang the fresh-kill he caught, instead of bringing it to his Clan. Many cats in ThunderClan distrust Yellowfang both because of her former Clan, and also because of a warning given at a Gathering. This warning, given by Brokenstar, ShadowClan's leader, claims that they have driven a cat from ShadowClan and that no other Clan should take her in. He also warns that they should watch their kits closely, because he blamed her for killing two ShadowClan kits.


 * Firepaw's natural curiosity is aroused when he finds himself becoming suspicious of a senior warrior named Tigerclaw when he is appointed deputy of ThunderClan shortly after the original deputy, Redtail, had been killed in battle by Oakheart (the RiverClan deputy). Lionheart precedes Tigerclaw but is killed in battle leaving the position open for Tigerclaw to take his place. Ravenpaw, another ThunderClan apprentice and witness to the events at Sunningrocks, tells Firepaw that it was Tigerclaw, not Oakheart who killed Redtail. Tigerclaw suspects that his secret has been discovered and secures his position by making sure that no cats, not even his Clanmates, trust Ravenpaw. To protect his friend, Firepaw takes Ravenpaw to a new home with a loner named Barley, who lives in a barn outside of WindClan territory. When Ravenpaw asks what Firepaw would tell the Clan about him, Firepaw says that he would tell the Clan that he was dead, but later on, he tells Bluestar the truth.


 * In the midst of this, Spottedleaf is killed by a merciless death blow from Clawface of ShadowClan in an attack in which two ThunderClan kits are stolen. Firepaw is devastated, because although she was a medicine cat and therefore unable to take a mate, they both had developed a love for each other. Tigerclaw immediately blames Yellowfang for the disappearance of the kits, because she was taken into the Clan as a ShadowClan prisoner. Yellowfang is also not present when the kits are discovered missing, therefore making Tigerclaw and the rest of the Clan suspicious of her. Bluestar intervenes and says that there is no proof that Yellowfang is at fault and refuses to blame her for it without proof. Firepaw is determined to prove Yellowfang innocent of the accusation that she had been stealing kits, and rescue the missing kits. Firepaw and Graypaw are sent to find the missing kits and rescue them from ShadowClan. With help from Yellowfang - who is found attempting to rescue them herself - and a ThunderClan patrol, led by Whitestorm, they drive the real kit snatcher, Brokenstar, from his position as ShadowClan leader. Brokenstar had intended to train the tiny kits early so he could have more warriors for his Clan, but this is prevented. They then drive off Brokenstar. After their adventure, Firepaw and Graypaw are promoted to ThunderClan warriors, and receive warrior names - Fireheart and Graystripe. Just before his vigil is supposed to start, Fireheart tries to tell Bluestar about Tigerclaw, but she silences him with reminding him about his vigil. The story ends as the two new warriors begin their vigil until dawn.