Into the Wild (novel)
 First edition cover, featuring Firepaw in the center image.[1] | |
| Author | Erin Hunter (Pen name of Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry ) |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Warriors (novel series) |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | January 21, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0060000028 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Followed by | Fire and Ice |
Into the Wild is the first book in the Warriors series, written by Kate Cary and Victoria Holmes under the pen name of Erin Hunter. The plot is centered around a young pet cat who leaves his "Twolegs"(human owners) to join a clan of wild cats. Into the Wild was received well with critics and received third place in 2006 YRCA awards. The book was written because HarperCollins had asked Holmes to write a novel about cats. Factors influencing the novel include several locations, a physician, and others. The book was first published as a paperback in January 2003 in Canada, the USA, and the UK, and later in other formats and languages. Themes in the book range from family to loyalty.
Background
Into the Wild was intended to be a single volume, but later changed to be the first book in a series.[2] The reason for writing this book was that HarperCollins asked Victoria Holmes to write a story about wild cats, which she initially was not enthusiastic about.[3] Victoria Holmes decided to use human issues, like starting at a new school, falling in love when you shouldn't, being bullied by someone who you should look up to, and even knowing a deep secret that you only tell your friends. This helped her overlook the fact that it was a fantasy, and let the characters flow through.[1] Once Holmes had finished writing down her ideas, she sent them to Kate Cary, who actually wrote Into the Wild. Then Holmes did the editing for the novel.[4]
There are some factors that influenced the book. New Forest, a forest in southern England, became the base for the forest where the story took place.[5] Other influencing locations include Scottish Highlands and the Forest of Dean.[6] Nicholas Culpeper, a physician who used materials occurred in the natural world, has also had an influence on the Warriors series. His book, Culpeper's Herbal, is used as a source by the authors for the herbal remedies that the medicine cats use in the book.[3] Inspirations for the cat clans come from societies similar to the Clans such as Native Americans.[7]
Publication history
Into the Wild was first published as a hardcover on January 21, 2003 in the United States. HarperCollins was the publisher.[8] The United Kingdom received the novel in February of that year,[9] and Canada the earliest on January 9, 2003.[10] The novel has also been translated into Lithuanian, Czech,[6] Japanese,[11] Russian,[12] French, and Korean.[13] Into the Wild was released as a paperback on January 6, 2004.[14] By September 4, 2007, Into the Wild had been released as an eBook,[15] as well as Kindle.[16] The novel has also been put online to read as part of HarperCollins' Sneak Peek program.[6]
Plot summary
Rusty was an ordinary house cat that dreamed of living in the wild, catching his own prey and sleeping under the stars. One night he decided to explore the nearby forest but was warned by his friend, Smudge, that the forest was filled with wild cats. Rusty continued into the forest anyway and meets with the leader of the cats of ThunderClan, one of the four wild cat clans living in the wilderness nearby. He decides to accept her invitation to join them, and becomes Firepaw, an apprentice of ThunderClan. The other Clan cats are initially reluctant to accept Firepaw because of his kittypet (house cat) origins, but he quickly earns a place in the Clan as he is a natural fighter. There are some cats who continue to be hostile towards him but Bluestar, ThunderClan's leader, believes he is bound to perform great deeds, foretold by a prophecy - "Fire alone can save our Clan".
Firepaw quickly becomes best friends with the apprentices Graypaw and Ravenpaw, and falls in love with the Clan's medicine cat (a Clan healer with spiritual abilities who cannot have a mate) Spottedleaf. He continues his apprenticeship and learns to hunt, fight, survive in the wild and about Clan traditions. He finds another good friend in Yellowfang, an old, grumpy but very wise medicine cat who was exiled from ShadowClan and later accepted into ThunderClan and taken care of by Firepaw.
The cats have no natural enemies in the forest (although foxes and badgers are said to take kits sometimes), but the rival clans- Windclan, Shadowclan, and Riverclan- fight with each other to occupy hunting grounds, to settle dissensions, or even to drive each other out from their territories. In a battle to re-occupy a region known as Sunningrocks, the ThunderClan deputy (second in command) Redtail loses his life. Firepaw soon learns that the deputy was not killed by the enemy Clan but by Tigerclaw, a power-hungry ThunderClan warrior who is later appointed as deputy, and becomes the main antagonist of the series. However, he must keep the secret to himself as he can't prove his suspicions. Firepaw and Graypaw help Ravenpaw escape the forest to live on a farm as Tigerclaw wants to kill him for knowing about his secret.
After driving out WindClan for more hunting territory, ShadowClan tries to drive out ThunderClan attacks their camp. After this, Clawface of ShadowClan kills Spottedleaf (which infuriates Firepaw) and took kits to ShadowClan. Firepaw leads his clanmates to ShadowClan territory, where they meet Yellowfang. Together, with some help from within ShadowClan, they drive out Brokenstar and leave ShadowClan in peace. Yellowfang, having proved her loyalty, becomes ThunderClan's new medicine cat, while Firepaw and Graypaw are made warriors and receive their warrior names, Fireheart and Graystripe.
Critical reception
The critical reception of Into the Wild was generally positive. The book was called such things as "suspenseful" and "spine-tingling".[17] Barnes and Noble called the book, "A swift, graceful fantasy." Publishers Weekly said:[18]
"Certain to please any young reader who has ever wondered what dreams of grandeur may haunt the family cat."
Some reviews were not as positive. A reviewer from Children's Literature noted how the writing became dull quickly,[18] and School Library Journal gave a lukewarm review, saying, "This is not as elegantly written as Brian Jacques's Redwall series... but it's another option for fans of animal adventure/fantasy stories".[8] Despite these reviews, the book managed to claim third place in the 2006 YRCA awards.[6]
Themes
Human problems, like starting at a new school, being bullied by someone who you should look up to, and knowing a secret were some of the themes that the authors tried to present in Into the Wild.[1] Some other themes in the novel include family, loss, honor, bravery, death, loyalty, and following rules.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Warriors". www.warriorcats. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Erin Hunter Chat #3 Transcript - part 1". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ a b "Erin Hunter Chat #4 Transcript - January 19, 2008". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: Erin Hunter". Writers Unboxed. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Transcript Of Erin Hunter Chat". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ a b c d "Warriors". The Guttersnipe. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ a b "Transcript of the Second Erin Hunter Chat". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ a b "Into the Wild (Warriors, Book 1) (Hardcover)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Into the Wild (Warriors) (Hardcover) by Erin W. Hunter". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Warriors, Book 1: Into the Wild (Hardcover)". Amazon.ca. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "ウォーリアーズ〈1〉ファイヤポー、野生にかえる (単行本)". Amazon.co.ja. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Стань диким!". OZON.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Erin Hunter Chat #3 Transcript - part 2". Wands and Worlds. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Warriors #1: Into the Wild (Warriors) (Paperback)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Warriors #1: Into the Wild". Mobipocket eBook. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Warriors #1: Into the Wild (Kindle Edition)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ "Warriors Series: Into the Wild (Warriors #01)". Powell's Books. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ^ a b "Into the Wild (Warriors Series #1)". Barnes & Noble.com. Retrieved 2008-01-02.