The warriors series is an awesome trilogy that every cat lover should read! If you like Seekers or Survivors, try this as well! The names are an awesome addition too! ( )

The story starts with the Clans at a Gathering. A drought that has dried the river and the stream running through Thunder Clan territory. Cats are starving and dying of thirst, and during the Gathering, Lion blaze notes that River Clan is especially unstable. During the Gathering, Leopard star accused the other Clans of stealing fish in the lake and insists that the lake belongs to River Clan, therefore announcing she will send out River Clan patrols to make sure other Clans do not fish. The other Clans are outraged by this plan, but Firestar allows them to patrol to keep from a battle. Dove kit and Ivy kit later become apprentices. Whenever a cat ranks up their name gets changed like for an example now that Dove kit is an apprentice her name will change into Dove paw. They both get mentors Dove paw gets a mentor named Lionbaze while Ivy paw gets a mentor named Cinder heart. They go on their first mission to get water from the Water clan. Since this is Dove paw’s first time outside of the clan territory, she wants to so that she would make a great warrior and shouts she sees and hears cats across the lake. Spider leg and Berry nose ended up getting stuck in the mud but are soon rescued by thorn claw. Who unwittingly, uses a branch which is Jay feather’s stick. So, Jay ether gets mad finding out that Thorn claw used it. Dove paw suggests that the stick is medicine cat stuff, and Ivy paw simply asks what would happen if the medicine cat got bees in his brain.

Afterward, Ivy kit sees a fish on the land and decides to examine it before she could a Rainstorm a Water clan cat comes charging at her. Since he believes she is going to eat the fish, so she sinks it into a dirty mud hole. The patrol rescues him and invites him into their camp to clean up and grow strong enough to return to his territory. Meanwhile, Dove paw receives a dream from Yellow fang, Thunder Clan’s old medicine cat, and is told of a prophecy: After the sharp-eyed Jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on dove's gentle wing. Dove paw, however, soon forgets this dream. Later, Dove paw speaks of seeing brown animals up the river building a dam out when she was in the forest, though no other cat believes her. Lion blaze and Jay feather speak to her, informing her that she is the third cat of the prophecy, although Dove paw does not take this fact well. Lion blazed decided to decide so that they could head to the ditch and wee what is happening. While there they run into another animal species the beavers. So, they planned an attack on them and that is where the first part of the books stops.

In my opinion, I would rate the story 4 out of five because the story just doesn't take place in one certain area it takes place in multiple locations. Like for example, the story talks about other clans instead of one. Meaning that there are multiple main characters. The story doesn't just focus on the main characters it also talks about side characters and brings them back in the story. Something I didn't like about the book was that the book ended in a cliffhanger meaning that I would have to get another book from the library.

Before one delves into the world of the warrior, one must know their ways, their religions, their territories, for indeed, these cats are quite the territorial bunch. Their code, which they hold in the highest esteem, consists of 15 laws. One needn't know all of them, unless they were a warrior cat. They, all, save Cloudtail, a Thunderclan warrior, believe in Starclan. This is where every warrior that was true to the code in life, and yet charitable to the other Clans, would go when they died. Those that were not so good, the liars, the traitors, the murderers. They go to the Dark Forest on the occasion of their death. A cat stays in Starclan until he or she is forgotten completely. This is also true for the Dark Forest. There are four Clans, Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan, and Windclan. Thunderclan lives in the deciduous forests on the edge of the lake. They share a border with Windclan, who live on the moors. Their border is marked by a small stream. Windclan's other border, the Horseplace, is shared with Riverclan. They are the most at home in the water of all the Clans. They share a border with Shadowclan, who takes residence in the dark pine forests. They share a border with Thunderclan, thus, the four Clans make a sort of ring around the lake. Every Clan has a leader, a medicine cat, and a deputy. The leader traditionally has 9 lives, and their name ends in the suffix 'star', i.e., Firestar, Bluestar,etc.
In the beginning of this book, the four Clans have traveled to the Island for the full moon gathering, where the Clans share the news of the past moon. Firestar, Thunderclan's leader, announced the making of two new warriors, Toadstep and Rosepetal. All the Clans welcomed them, save Riverclan. When it came to be Leopardstar's turn, she accused every Clan of being prey-stealers. Then, when Lionblaze looked around, it was clear that they were all starving. The drought that has been affecting the Clans for the last few moons has weakened them all. Then, about a half moon later, Dovepaw and Ivypaw became apprentices. On a hunting patrol, Dovepaw heard strange animals building a dam to block the river. When she told Thunderclan about it, no-one believed her except Lionblaze. She thought that the warriors were just pretending because apprentices weren't supposed to know about it. A moment later, Lionblaze told Dovepaw to come with him. He asked her what she could hear, as a test. When she told Lionblaze what she could hear, Lionblaze fetched Jayfeather and told him that he thought she was the One. Lionblaze had her tell Jayfeather about the animals blocking the stream, Jayfeather and Lionblaze speculate what her power could be. Lionblaze decided to test her, and then they decided Dovepaw was the last member of the Three. (There is a prophecy from many moons ago that Jayfeather found. It goes like this: "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws." The prophecy was originally given to Firestar, but Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Dovepaw are the Three. Jayfeather's powers to enter the thoughts and dreams of others, Lionblaze's power is to remain unscathed in a fight, and, as you probably have guessed, Dovepaw's power is to hear and see things far away.) They told Dovepaw, and she was horrified. Later, Lionblaze went to speak to Firestar. Firestar decided that he would announce at the Gathering the idea of a patrol of two cats from each Clan to investigate what is blocking the stream. It turned out that the patrol idea was a success. Lionblaze and Dovepaw went for Thunderclan, Toadfoot and Tigerheart represented Shadowclan, Whitetail and Sedgewhisker came as Windclan, and Rippletail and Petalfur represented Riverclan. Eventually, the patrol found what was blocking the stream. Beavers! They received help from a local loner named Woody and some kittypets. The warriors won the fight by ripping apart the dam while distracting the beavers, but there was a price. In the first sabotage attempt, Rippletail was killed by the beavers. He died at dawn. To get home, the warriors simply floated back to lake on logs from the dam. From there, they went their separate ways.
This was an excellent book. It contains action, and suspense. In the world of the warrior, you never know what will happen next. I particularly love this author's style because she alternates chapters between the point of view of many cats. This gives you an opportunity to empathize with multiple characters and see both sides of the story. This, I think, is an amazing work of art, and will be read for many years. I hope, if you decide to read this book that you will like it. ( )

I am a long-time fan of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, but it has been almost a year since I read one. Having short-term memory, I could not remember where I left off, but I knew it was sometime after the clans came to the lake territory. So, I picked up the first book in the Omen of the Stars collection. It was fantastic. Very well written and fast-paced, this book drew me into the tale of another journey made by several cats from all four clans. The ending promises an intense series and amazing sequels. Rating - 5 stars due to intense drama and the promise of an excellent second book ( )

Young Reader Reaction: This book not only sets the stage for events to come, but ties up the loose ends from the last Warriors series. Even though it might be a little slower because you're unfamiliar with some of the characters, there are so many new ones that you can read this book without reading any of the others.

I would recommend The Fourth Apprentice to kids from fourth to sixth grade or even for older kids as a light read. It is full of suspense, action, and adventure. Animal lovers, especially cat lovers, will adore this book as it leaves you feeling like a cat after reading the book. It will also leave you wondering if cats how cats actually behave.

Adult Reader Reaction: Review pending.

Pros: Lots of action and suspense and a spine-tingling ending will have you anxious to keep reading this series.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.