Sunrise (novel) facts for kids
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| Author | Erin Hunter |
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| Cover artist | Wayne McLoughlin |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Warriors: Power of Three |
| Genre | Children's literature Fantasy novel |
| Published | 21 April 2009 HarperCollins |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 352 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H916625 Ou 2008 |
| Preceded by | Long Shadows |
| Followed by | The Fourth Apprentice |
Sunrise is the sixth and final book in the Warriors: Power of Three series by Erin Hunter. This exciting fantasy novel for children was published by HarperCollins on April 21, 2009. The story follows three young cats: Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze. They are on a quest to find out who truly killed Ashfur. The book was almost called "Cruel Season," but the publisher thought that name sounded too dark.
Contents
Plot Summary
Sunrise begins with Leafpool performing a special ceremony. She is sending Ashfur's spirit to StarClan, the ancestors of the warrior cats. During this ritual, Leafpool finds a small tuft of fur in Ashfur's claws. She immediately knows who it belongs to, but she keeps this secret to herself.
Investigating Ashfur's Death
The cats of ThunderClan talk about Ashfur's death. Many believe a WindClan cat killed him because his body was found near their border. To investigate, Firestar, the leader of ThunderClan, sends a patrol to WindClan. However, Onestar, the WindClan leader, says none of his cats were involved.
As the ThunderClan patrol leaves, Ashfoot from WindClan tells them something important. She saw a mysterious cat named Sol near where Ashfur's body was found. This news makes many cats think that Sol might be the killer.
Finding Sol
Firestar sends a new patrol to find Sol. This group includes Birchfall, Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Hazeltail, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze. They travel to the "sun-drown-place," which is the ocean. They find Sol in a Twolegplace (a human town) where Purdy lives. Purdy is an old friend of ThunderClan.
Brambleclaw convinces Purdy to come live with the Clan as an elder. Both Sol and Purdy agree to return to ThunderClan. When they arrive back at camp, Sol denies killing Ashfur. He is kept under guard in the camp while the mystery continues.
Jayfeather's Discovery
Jayfeather is one of the "Three" cats with special powers. He is very curious and wants to know who his real parents are. He starts asking questions around the camp. Mousefur, an elder, tells him something interesting. She remembers that Leafpool accidentally put a strange herb in Mousefur's medicine soon after Jayfeather was born.
Jayfeather searches through the medicine cat's den. He finds some herbs sticking to his fur. He then visits Mousefur, bringing her fresh-kill. Mousefur points out one of the herbs on his fur, saying it's the mystery herb. Jayfeather doesn't know what it is. To find out, he asks Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, at the Moonpool meeting. Littlecloud recognizes the herb as parsley. Parsley is used to stop a cat's milk if her kits die.
Jayfeather also remembers something from his journey to ThunderClan when he was a tiny kit. He recalls that another cat was with him besides Squirrelflight. He suddenly realizes that Leafpool was there, and she is his true mother, along with Hollyleaf and Lionblaze.
Hollyleaf's Confession
At the same time, Hollyleaf also learns the truth about her mother. She discovers that Leafpool returned to the camp on the very day Hollyleaf and her brothers were born. Faced with the truth, Leafpool finally reveals everything. She confesses that Hollyleaf was responsible for Ashfur's death. The tuft of fur found in Ashfur's paw belonged to Hollyleaf.
The Father's Identity
Jayfeather is still upset that StarClan kept the identity of his father a secret. In a dream, Yellowfang, a wise StarClan cat, visits him. She tells him, "The time for lies and secrets is over. The truth must come out. StarClan was wrong not to tell you who you were a long time ago." She leaves him a crow's feather. This feather is a clue, showing that their father is Crowfeather of WindClan.
The Gathering Revelation
At the next Clan Gathering, Hollyleaf decides to reveal the huge secret about her and her brothers' parents to everyone. She announces that Leafpool and Crowfeather are their true mother and father. Crowfeather immediately denies having any kits other than Breezepelt, his son with Nightcloud. He even says that Leafpool and their kits mean nothing to him.
Breezepelt and Nightcloud are both very angry that they were never told this secret. Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight's mate, is heartbroken by her deception and breaks up with her, leaving Squirrelflight very upset. Hollyleaf is glad she finally told the truth, but Jayfeather and Lionblaze are confused and angry. Seeing how everyone reacts, Hollyleaf runs away.
Jayfeather and Lionblaze chase her to the tunnels that connect ThunderClan and WindClan territories. Hollyleaf runs into one of the tunnels. Before anyone can follow, the tunnel collapses on top of her. Everyone believes she is dead.
Jayfeather then realizes that only he and Lionblaze are part of the prophecy's "Three." However, he watches Whitewing's kits playing in the clearing. He suddenly understands that one of these kits will be the third cat in the prophecy. This is because the kit is the granddaughter of Cloudtail, who is Firestar's nephew.
