'Warriors' series for young readers takes on life's big issues with feline feistiness.
'Warriors
is always described as a feral cat fantasy and indeed it is, but I
personally don't like cats and I can't stand fantasy," says Victoria
Holmes, the mind behind one of the most popular middle-grade series for
children 9 and older. "When I was asked to write this fantasy, it was a
little like being asked to walk barefoot over broken glass."
This
is one of several paradoxes that gives the series power. Children
praise the books of Erin Hunter, but in truth there is no Erin Hunter.
Instead, three British authors have worked together on the more than
two dozen books. Originally, HarperCollins asked author-editor Holmes
to write a cat novel, "but halfway through one book, it turned into
three and then those turned into six," she said.
Holmes
sought help from Kate Cary and Cherith Baldry, both of whom write in a
style similar to her own and are "very much cat people." Holmes plots
the books, and Cary and Baldry write them, adding details filled with
cat behavior and movement. "We complement each other and are a very
united front," Holmes says.
Holmes
will be in Raleigh to speak about the 15th Warrior book, the third in
the Power of Three series, "Outcast" (HarperCollins, $16.99; ages 9 and
older). The three heroes are sibling cats, grandkittens of Firestar,
the most famous warrior cat of all the clans. Hollypaw is a feisty
female and brilliant hunter, called "my little thinker" by her father,
Brambleclaw. Holmes thinks of Hollypaw as "the politician of the
group." Hollypaw's brothers are Lionpaw, a male with innate fighting
skills, and Jaypaw, a blind healer cat with curious visions. Holmes
sees Jaypaw as "the plotter" and Lionpaw, "the action hero."
In
"Outcast," all three journey to rugged mountains where the Tribe of
Rushing Water has been attacked by a band of bullying cats. All three
heroes have a vision of what it means to travel to the mountains, but
Jaypaw alone knows that the three are part of a prophecy of power.
So
many middle-grade novels divide along gender lines, but Warriors
pleases both sexes. Holmes realizes that American children, especially
girls, love cats, but boys make up 40 percent of attendance at book
events. For them, "there's gore and violence." Holmes is "a complete
pacifist," but her books "confront hatred and jealousy and the
necessity of blood to settle an argument."
Though
she writes for young adults, Holmes doesn't "dumb down" or hide from
issues. "It feels odd to be categorized as writing for young people
because I put whatever I want in my books. The things that matter to me
are death, religion, gangs, spirituality, losing a parent, peer
pressure, love, respect, having people die. I never stop to wonder if
children are going to keep up. I pride myself on never having happy
endings because I think that never happens in life. We have to take the
raw materials we're given and run with them the best we can."
Her
characters ask children to look deeper. Take for example, Jaypaw's
blindness: "I wanted a cat that would appear to be disadvantaged and
yet could end up being more than all the cats put together," Holmes
says. "Like all of the cats, he's neither wholly good nor wholly bad.
Too often you can't speak ill of someone who has something wrong with
them. But we're condescending and discarding someone socially if we say
he's blind, so he must be a saint. Jaypaw is not a saint; he can be
horrid and arrogant. But he's got a lot to prove, and I really want to
get inside his head."
Holmes takes her cat heroes into emotional places, giving them strong feelings. She does the same for children.
"I'm
very mindful of the influence I have over young minds, and I take my
moral duties completely seriously. In Warriors when everything is
shades of gray, I encourage young readers to have confidence in their
judgment. We have to have faith that we can do the right thing, even if
it's not the easiest option. But if I'm going to explore issues like
bereavement and spirituality, then I walk every step of the way holding
my reader's hand. I won't expose them to anything that will leave them
in a moral quandary. The stories may not have happy endings, but I
never want them to question what would be the right action."
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Details
What: Victoria Holmes (Erin Hunter) reading, discussing and signing the Warrior books.
When
and where: 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Quail Ridge Books and Music, 3522
Wade Ave. in Raleigh; 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble, 760
S.E. Maynard Road, in Cary.
###
Warrior fans respond
Fifth-graders
Sarah Wygel and Rory Gahagan and sixth-grader Michelle West all attend
Resurrection Lutheran in Cary, and they are all Warrior fans. Last
August, they realized each was reading the Warrior books, and they
began to meet for monthly sleepovers where they discuss the books
they're reading, talk about their favorite characters and learn new
things about Warriors on the Web site (warriorcatclans2.wetpaint.com).
They call themselves Mistclan, and each girl has chosen a cat name:
Sarah is Spiderclaw, Rory is Flamestripe, Michelle is Amberstar.
All
the girls love cats and the books' adventure and suspense. Sarah's
favorite character is Firestar, who overcame his weak reputation to
become a leader. Rory admires Squirrelfight because she's so much fun,
and Michelle's favorite is Jaypaw because he doesn't let his blindness
keep him from succeeding.
