SkyClan's Destiny
Encyclopedia
SkyClan's Destiny is a children's fantasy novel, the third super edition in the Warriors series. It was written by Cherith Baldry
under the pen name
of Erin Hunter
. Victoria Holmes
revealed in an Author Tracker e-mail that they had developed the general idea for the book quickly, but took a while to find the right ending. The book follows SkyClan six months after Firestar and Sandstorm left the gorge. The Clan experiences internal conflict regarding house cats who train in SkyClan during the day, but leave at night to return to their human owners. Later, four loners, Stick, Cora, Coal and Shorty, cats that Firestar met on his quest also become a topic of debate in the Clan. The major themes in the book are rebellion and the fact that SkyClan has to figure its destiny without the help of other Clans or their warriors ancestors.
In present day SkyClan it has been six moons (months) since Firestar went to the gorge and reformed SkyClan. The new SkyClan has added new loners, rogues and former kittypets to the Clan. There are also kittypets that help the Clan in the day, but return to their Twolegs at night. They are called daylight warriors. Leafstar invited them into the Clan to help patrol and hunt for the Clan. However, it is clear that not everyone respects the daylight warriors. Many cats such as Sharpclaw call them "kitty warriors" feeling they are not loyal to the Clan by leaving at night. The daylight warriors are Billystorm, Ebonyclaw, Frecklepaw, Snookpaw, Harveymoon and Macgyver. Leafstar tries to keep the tensions low between the daylight warriors and regular warriors, but many regular warriors still make fun of the daylight warriors behind their backs.
One day, Leafstar receives a dream from Spottedleaf, an old medicine cat of ThunderClan that helped SkyClan when Firestar first formed the Clan. She sees cats and they say, "This is the leaf-bare of my Clan. Greenleaf will come, but it will bring even greater storms than these. SkyClan will need deeper roots if it is to survive." The next day, Leafstar visits the Clan's medicine cat Echosong and they realize they each had the same dream.
Later, Stick, Cora, Coal and Shorty, the four cats Firestar met on his quest arrive at the gorge. They stay with the Clan and learn battle moves, hunting techniques. In exchange, Stick teaches the Clan how to destroy a rat family that lives in a dump in the Clan's territory. After defeating the rats the four loners begin to lead patrols despite the fact that Sharpclaw still does not let the daylight warriors lead patrol and they have been around longer.
One day, Leafstar follows a group of SkyClan's cats visiting the nearby town. There she realizes that the loners came to recruit help to defeat a group of cats that steal prey in their town. In the end, Leafstar agrees to help though states that she will not kill anyone. The battle is fierce and ends in SkyClan's victory, but Stick's daughter Red is killed protecting her mate who Stick tried to kill since he thinks that Red's mate threatened her to join them. Stick becomes even more infuriated when Leafstar calls off her warriors from killing anyone, a policy he disproves of.
Returning to her Clan, Leafstar sets up rules for visiting cats in order to prevent any future conflicts. She makes it so that visiting cats must help hunt everyday, and the Clan shall not teach any fighting moves until they have spent a moon in the Clan and that SkyClan is "a proud, independent Clan with a code and honor of our own."
Throughout the book it becomes apparent the Billystorm and Leafstar have feelings for each other especially when at the end she talks about how even if she does have kits she has an excellent deputy and medicine cat.
felt that readers would be drawn in to the cat's fight for survival. The review also praised how well developed the characters are and the book has "a range of emotions and thoughts that draw readers into their dilemmas". The conclusion was praised as it ended "where the traits of maturity, compassion, loyalty, and strength are upheld as desirable".
Cherith Baldry
Cherith Baldry is a writer of fantasy fiction. She grew up on a farm and worked with house cats. For a while, she took up the job of teaching, but gave up in order to become a full time writer. She currently lives in Reigate, England. Baldry collaborates with Kate Cary, Tui T...
under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Erin Hunter
Erin Hunter
Erin Hunter is a pseudonym used by the authors Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland, along with editor Victoria Holmes. Under this pen name, they have written two series of books. They are best known for the Warriors series, but the authors have also created another similar series called...
. Victoria Holmes
Victoria Holmes
Victoria "Vicky" Holmes comes up with the ideas for the New York Times Bestselling Warriors books, consisting of four miniseries: Warriors, Warriors: The New Prophecy, Warriors: Power of Three, and Warriors: Omen of the Stars, written by Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and new addition Tui Sutherland...
revealed in an Author Tracker e-mail that they had developed the general idea for the book quickly, but took a while to find the right ending. The book follows SkyClan six months after Firestar and Sandstorm left the gorge. The Clan experiences internal conflict regarding house cats who train in SkyClan during the day, but leave at night to return to their human owners. Later, four loners, Stick, Cora, Coal and Shorty, cats that Firestar met on his quest also become a topic of debate in the Clan. The major themes in the book are rebellion and the fact that SkyClan has to figure its destiny without the help of other Clans or their warriors ancestors.
Concept and development
In an Author Tracker email, Erin Hunter says that she already knew what she wanted the theme of SkyClan's Destiny, but took a while to find what the Clan's "destiny" should be. She wrote that she's "discarded half a dozen endings, but I think I've found in that should please everyone". In another author tracker Holmes wrote that she and Cherith Baldry wanted to know how the Clan is doing six months after the end of Firestar's Quest. She also commented on how Firestar's Quest was one of the most fun and easiest story lines to write and hoped SkyClan's Destiny would be just as easy. However, Holmes "spent a long time thinking about various dramatic things that could happen next to the beleaguered modern Clan. Once I started thinking along the lines of a Civil War, with conflicting ideas that threaten to destroy the foundations of the new community, things started to fall into place. I hope we have succeeded in giving SkyClan a satisfying second chapter to their courageous modern history!"Plot
The prologue begins with the ancient SkyClan that were attacked by the rats. After another battle with the rats and the death of two of their warriors. Spiderstar, the leader decides to have the Clan disband. Some cats decide to become house cats at the nearby town while other stay in the gorge.In present day SkyClan it has been six moons (months) since Firestar went to the gorge and reformed SkyClan. The new SkyClan has added new loners, rogues and former kittypets to the Clan. There are also kittypets that help the Clan in the day, but return to their Twolegs at night. They are called daylight warriors. Leafstar invited them into the Clan to help patrol and hunt for the Clan. However, it is clear that not everyone respects the daylight warriors. Many cats such as Sharpclaw call them "kitty warriors" feeling they are not loyal to the Clan by leaving at night. The daylight warriors are Billystorm, Ebonyclaw, Frecklepaw, Snookpaw, Harveymoon and Macgyver. Leafstar tries to keep the tensions low between the daylight warriors and regular warriors, but many regular warriors still make fun of the daylight warriors behind their backs.
One day, Leafstar receives a dream from Spottedleaf, an old medicine cat of ThunderClan that helped SkyClan when Firestar first formed the Clan. She sees cats and they say, "This is the leaf-bare of my Clan. Greenleaf will come, but it will bring even greater storms than these. SkyClan will need deeper roots if it is to survive." The next day, Leafstar visits the Clan's medicine cat Echosong and they realize they each had the same dream.
Later, Stick, Cora, Coal and Shorty, the four cats Firestar met on his quest arrive at the gorge. They stay with the Clan and learn battle moves, hunting techniques. In exchange, Stick teaches the Clan how to destroy a rat family that lives in a dump in the Clan's territory. After defeating the rats the four loners begin to lead patrols despite the fact that Sharpclaw still does not let the daylight warriors lead patrol and they have been around longer.
One day, Leafstar follows a group of SkyClan's cats visiting the nearby town. There she realizes that the loners came to recruit help to defeat a group of cats that steal prey in their town. In the end, Leafstar agrees to help though states that she will not kill anyone. The battle is fierce and ends in SkyClan's victory, but Stick's daughter Red is killed protecting her mate who Stick tried to kill since he thinks that Red's mate threatened her to join them. Stick becomes even more infuriated when Leafstar calls off her warriors from killing anyone, a policy he disproves of.
Returning to her Clan, Leafstar sets up rules for visiting cats in order to prevent any future conflicts. She makes it so that visiting cats must help hunt everyday, and the Clan shall not teach any fighting moves until they have spent a moon in the Clan and that SkyClan is "a proud, independent Clan with a code and honor of our own."
Throughout the book it becomes apparent the Billystorm and Leafstar have feelings for each other especially when at the end she talks about how even if she does have kits she has an excellent deputy and medicine cat.
Themes
In the sixth author chat, Victoria Holmes has already stated that the main theme in SkyClan's Destiny is rebellion. She states "Leafstar struggles to find a way for her Clan to survive among pressures and challenges that aren't found in the forest". Holmes also said that another theme is a Clan so new and without any neighbors that has to be able to figure out their own future without any help from their warrior ancestors.Publication history
The book was first released in both e-book and hardcover format on August 3, 2010 in the US. SkyClan's Destiny was also released on August 3, 2010 in both Canada and the UK. HarperCollins gave the book a 150,000 first print.Critical reception
School Library JournalSchool Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
felt that readers would be drawn in to the cat's fight for survival. The review also praised how well developed the characters are and the book has "a range of emotions and thoughts that draw readers into their dilemmas". The conclusion was praised as it ended "where the traits of maturity, compassion, loyalty, and strength are upheld as desirable".