Moonrise

"Neither prophecy is right. And neither is wrong. Everything depends on how cats interpret the prophecy. And whether the prophecy is fulfilled depends on what they decide to do about it. It is up to us to choose the code we live by. Your faith and your courage will tell you what to do."

— Talon in Moonrise, page 238

Moonrise
General
Author:	Cherith Baldry
Cover artist:	Wayne McLoughlin, Owen Richardson
Jacket designer:	Karin Paprocki
Details
Publish date:	2 August 2005
Identification:	ISBN 0060744529
Editions:	Hardcover, Paperback, e-Book
Summary
As they journey home to warn their Clans of the coming destruction, the six cats, guided by StarClan's prophecy, meet an unfamiliar tribe of cats with their own set of beliefs - and their own mysterious prophecy.
Resources
Chapter subpages
Chronology
Preceded by:	Midnight
Followed by:	Dawn

Moonrise is the second book in the The New Prophecy arc. Feathertail is the cat depicted in the center of the original cover. Stormfur is the cat depicted on the reprinted cover.

The blurb

Darkness, air, water, and sky will come together. . . and shake the forest to its roots.

Moons have passed since six cats set out from the forest on a journey to save their Clans. Now they are traveling home again, but on their way through the mountains, they meet a tribe of wild cats with a secret... and their own mysterious prophecy to fulfill. Stormfur can't understand their strange fascination with him, but he knows the danger they face is real.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Firestar and Leafpaw watch ThunderClan's world crumbling around them. Will the questing cats make it back in time to save the Clans, or will they be too late?

The praise

"Action-packed. Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat."

-Publishers Weekly

"A suspenseful adventure story that urges readers onward."

-ALA Booklist

"This second entry in a cat adventure series has solid plotting and enhanced complexity but is marred by the same preciousness of its predecessor. Six cats are far from home, on a quest for information that may save their forest from destructive Twolegs (humans). Though the cats come from different Clans, they've bonded on the trip, so when they meet an unknown cat Tribe and new dangers, they work together. The strange Tribe has had a vision in which one of the Clan cats is their savior; does this give him a moral obligation to fulfill their prophecy? Meanwhile, back at home, cats desperately watch their forest bulldozed and their prey disappear. Hunter's writing is mundane, the cats' names blend (Leafpaw, Squirrelpaw, Brambleclaw), and the replacement of the verb "said" with "meowed" and "mewed" is repeatedly cloying. However, a small plot twist is refreshing and suspense builds steadily towards the final installment, the plot of which is nicely unpredictable. (name chart, maps) (Fantasy. 8-11)"

-Kirkus Reviews

Detailed plot description

A new group of cats is introduced, as they creep into a moonlit cave. Their leader, Stoneteller, tells them that he has received a prophecy from the Tribe of Endless Hunting, their ancestors, that a silver cat will come and save them from an unspecified threat that has them all living in fear.

The six cats who made the journey to the sun-drown place, Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt, Crowpaw, Stormfur, and Feathertail, say goodbye to Midnight, the badger StarClan sent them to find, and prepare to begin their journey back to the forest, but Midnight offers to accompany them to the edge of the nearby woods. There they are reunited with Purdy, the elderly loner who 'guided' them through Twolegplace, and they all stop to hunt in the woods while Tawnypelt rests her injured shoulder. Stormfur is irritated that Crowpaw asks Feathertail to hunt with him, and even more so when she agrees, knowing that their relationship will cause trouble when they return to the forest. Returning from their hunt the cats are ambushed by a pair of foxes, but Midnight drives them off by threatening them in their own language.    

They debate whether to travel through Twolegplace, or go through the snowy mountains in the distance. On Midnight's suggestion and from fear of the dangers that they encountered on their first journey, they decide to travel through the mountains to return home. Purdy starts to object to their choice but is silenced by Midnight, who seems to know the destinies of all six cats. The say goodbye to Midnight and Purdy and set off for the mountains. 

Back in the forest, Firestar decides to lead a delegation to ShadowClan to discuss the Twoleg destruction of the forest, and includes Cinderpelt and Leafpaw to show the patrol is not a threat. On ShadowClan territory, they are confronted and attacked by a patrol led by Russetfur, but Firestar stops the fight. They are taken to near the ShadowClan camp, where Blackstar confronts them with all his warriors. He refuses Firestar's offer to work together against the Twolegs, and a dejected Firestar leads his cats home.   

In the mountains, the six traveling cats narrowly escape an eagle attack before reaching the top of a cliff with a waterfall flowing down it. The river flash-floods from snowmelt and they are swept over the edge, landing in a pool at the foot of the cliff. Dazed, they are found by strange, mud-streaked cats, who show intense interest in Stormfur, and take them into their cave behind the waterfall, introducing themselves as the Tribe of Rushing Water. They offer the journeying cats shelter, and they decide to stay until Tawnypelt's shoulder heals. The Tribe cats take the others out on hunting patrols and show them how they catch eagles, and Stormfur becomes friendly with a female Tribe prey-hunter, Brook Where Small Fish Swim. Stoneteller uses his herb knowledge to heal Tawnypelt's shoulder, but when the Clan cats decide to leave, the Tribe objects. They are hustled into the Cave of Pointed Stones, where Stoneteller explains that the Tribe is being preyed upon by a mountain lion, Sharptooth, and that they believe Stormfur to be the silver cat prophesied to save them. Stormfur is taken prisoner and the others forced the leave the next morning. 

In the forest, Leafpaw receives fishing lessons from Mothwing, who doesn't seem to respect Clan boundaries as much as she should. She is taken on a patrol to confront WindClan over prey-theft, but ThunderClan are turned away by the obviously starving Clan. She and Sorreltail go on their own expedition and discover extensive Twoleg damage done to the moorland, but are chased off by a patrol led by Mudclaw onto RiverClan territory, where they are saved by Mothwing. Later, Leafpaw, guided by the spirit of Spottedleaf, helps save a RiverClan apprentice, Reedpaw, from drowning, while Mothwing panics and forgets her medicine cat training. Returning to the camp, she learns that Dappletail has died after eating rabbit poisoned by Twolegs, Larchkit has died of hunger, and Cloudtail and Brightheart have gone missing.

In the mountains, the traveling cats decide to sneak back to rescue Stormfur, but arrive just as Sharptooth attacks the Tribe. They free Stormfur amidst the confusion and escape, but witness a Tribe kit-mother, Star That Shines On Water, taken as prey. Wandering the mountains, they seek shelter for the night in a cave, and encounter three Tribe cats, Talon, Rock, and Bird, who were exiled after failing to kill Sharptooth. They decide to return and try and help the Tribe kill Sharptooth. Returning to the devastated Tribe, the Clan cats and exiles concoct a plan to lure Sharptooth into eating a rabbit stuffed with deathberries, but Sharptooth sees through the ruse and corners Crowpaw. Desperate to save him, Feathertail jumps from a ledge onto a stalactite, dislodging it so it falls and impales Sharptooth, killing him, but in the process, she dies from the fall. It is thus revealed that the silver cat of the prophecy was Feathertail, not Stormfur, her silver fur having been darkened by water when the Tribe first saw her. The Tribe mourns Feathertail along with the Clan cats, and she is buried beside the waterfall. The Tribe promise to honor her memory forever and, greatly saddened, the Clan cats leave.  

After a hostile encounter with Mothwing's brother, Hawkfrost, who pins down Sorreltail for accidentally crossing the border, Leafpaw learns from Mothwing that Tigerstar was Hawkfrost's and her father. She decides to tell Firestar where Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw have gone, but first she and Sorreltail go to look for Cloudtail and Brightheart. She enters a small cage near where the Twolegs have made a camp for destroying the forest and is trapped, with Sorreltail watching helpless as a Twoleg carries her away. 

In the epilogue, the five journeying cats spot Highstones in the distance and realize they are almost home.

Trivia

Mistakes

A compiled list of the errors present in Moonrise can be found here.

Publication history

• Moonrise (EN), HarperCollins (hardcover), 2 August 2005
• Восход луны (RU), OLMA Media Group (hardcover), 18 October 2005, translated by Veronica Maximova
• Moonrise (EN), HarperCollins (paperback), 25 July 2006
• Moonrise (EN), HarperCollins (e-book), 6 November 2007
• Clair de lune (FR), Pocket Jeunesse (paperback), 5 March 2009, translated by Aude Carlier
• 月明り (JP), Komine Shoten (unknown binding), 18 March 2009, translated by Yukako Takabayashi
• 新月危機 (CN), Morning Star (paperback), 1 April 2009, translated by Gao Mei
• Mondschein (DE), Verlagsgruppe Beltz (hardcover), 19 February 2011, translated by Friederike Levin
• Mondschein (DE), Verlagsgruppe Beltz (audiobook), 19 February 2011, translated by Friederike Levin and narrated by Marlen Diekhoff
• Maannacht (NL), Fantoom (Hardcover), 18 September 2012, translated by Huberte Vriesendorp
• Kuunnousu (FI), Art House (hardcover), 31 October 2012, translated by Nana Sironen
• Claro de luna (ES), Salamandra (paperback), 20 November 2014, translated by Begoña Hernández Sala
• Moonrise (EN), HarperCollins (paperback; reprint), 17 March 2015
• Kuunnousu (FI), Art House (paperpack), June 2016
• Prima luna (IT), Sonda (paperback), 4 November 2016, translated by M. T. Milano
• Mondschein (DE), Verlagsgruppe Beltz (abridged audiobook), 21 February 2017, translated by Friederike Levin and narrated by Marlen Diekhoff
• Mondschein (DE), Verlagsgruppe Beltz (paperback), 3 August 2017, translated by Friederike Levin
• Wschód Księżyca (PL), Zysk i S-ka (paperback), 1 January 2018

See also

• Allegiances
• Characters
• Chapter-by-Chapter Notes
• Book Cover Gallery
• Zondervan Browse Inside