Not Null Book Review: Into the Wild

An action-packed story

Mar 22, 2025

Into the Wild by Erin Hunter is an action-packed story of survival and belonging. This book can be enjoyed by cat and nature lovers of all ages.

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Why did I read it?

I have a relative who is very into this book series. I wanted to read it to be able to talk with her about the story—and I was curious to know what might be so engrossing about the books.

What’s it about?

The story is told from the point of view of Rusty, a house cat—a “kittypet”—who leaves the comfort of his home to see if he has what it takes to train as a warrior for the ThunderClan. He gains hunting and survival skills, and becomes known as Firepaw. During his training, the ShadowClan tries to encroach on the ThunderClan’s hunting grounds, and Firepaw is forced to help protect his new family from external—and internal—threats.

What’s the longer review?

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Into the Wild, but I have to say I was impressed. At the beginning of the book is an outline of the allegiances: ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and cats who are outside of a clan. And I was grateful to have it because I did lose track a couple of times. There are so many cats!

After reading through the list of allegiances, I was not surprised at Hunter’s depth of worldbuilding. The cat societies were complex, but not so complicated that the target audience of pre-teens would lose interest. Quite the opposite. Thinking back to 12-year-old me, I would have loved getting lost in this world with the different characters, personalities, relationships, clans, and rivalries.

The plot deals with not only survival, but honor, loyalty, and friendship. This wasn’t just a story about “hey, you’re in our yard!” It went into why it was a big deal for a clan to hunt in another clan’s territory, and even had some deception and treachery going on.

And the cat behavior was what I expected it to be. Like having to hunt for mice and other small rodents to survive. Note that the hunting and eating are described really well, so skip those parts if you have a weak stomach. I can be squeamish, but found it still interesting to think about living life as a wild cat.

The story had a good balance between highlighting the reality of being a wild cat and keeping the plot going. If you know a pre-teen who is into reading and loves cats, Into the Wild is a good choice. And if they aren’t into reading? Still a good choice, because it might get them hooked on books.

Any additional information?

There are so many Warrior Cat books! There are a few different series and a graphic novel was released in 2024. Also, as of the writing of this review, Into the Wild is available on Kindle Unlimited.

What did you think?

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