Warriors: Tigerstar & Sasha Volume 2: Escape from the Forest

Sasha’s adventure continues in this second volume of the Tigerstar & Sasha series.  She has chosen to go it alone, and not join Tigerstar’s clan.  She soon learns how difficult the life of Rogue can be.  Belonging nowhere, not with housefolk or with the Clans, Sasha must search to find a place where she fits in. Run-ins with Twolegs and the Blood Clan keep her on the move, all the while, she is haunted by the question, is the a kittypet at heart?  Or can she be something more?

Warriors: Tigerstar & Sasha Volume 2: Escape from the Forest
By Erin Hunter
Publisher: Tokyopop/Harper Collins
Genre: Action
Age Rating: 10+
Price: $6.99

This volume starts with Sasha trying to go back home, and finding her housefolk.  A search of her former home and the nearby city give her nothing but the stark reality that they are gone for good.  Chased away by Blood Clan enforcers, Sasha wanders aimlessly until she finds food and shelter on a boat.  The Captain, not wanting her at first, warms up to her as she attracts more business for his river cruise.  Cat and human relieve each others loneliness. Sasha stays with him, and slowly comes to the realization she is pregnant.  With the onset of winter, she parts with the Captain and Patch, a kitten she helps safe from the river.  She has decided that she wants her kittens to live and hunt in the forest.

This second volume is all about Sasha’s journey of self-discovery.  She has lost two homes now.  Tigerstar’s parting words, that she is and will always be nothing, leaves her shaken and unsure about herself and her future.  Returning to life with a housefolk, the Captain, reminds her what she used to have, and while she enjoys the attention, she isn’t fully satisfied by it.  Riding on the river though gives her time to think.  Her accidental arrival has helped the Captain, made him happy.  She can see that, and it helps her to validate her worth.  She comes to realize that Tigerstar was wrong, the it give her the strength she needs to move on.  She’s not a Kittypet, not of a Clan, she is Sasha.  She will live as she sees fit.

I enjoyed watching Sasha’s transformation.  She learns that it doesn’t matter what others think of her.  She is her own cat, and will make her own choices.  Some of them are hard, making her life difficult.  But by remaining true to herself, she has no regrets for the paths she has walked until now, and can face the future without fear.  This is a good message for Tweens and Teens, who are themselves on the same journey as Sasha. 

Again, there is very little for parents to find objectionable.  There is attempted arson, and an attempted kitten drowning, both of which Sasha disrupts.  The enforcers from Blood Clan that Sasha runs into threaten her, but once she is gone from their territory, they are not seen again.  The realization that Sasha is pregnant comes out slowly, with Sasha getting a little fatter, and her motherly instincts coming out for the kitten, Patch.  It’s never discussed in any detail, and no one but Sasha seems to realize her condition.

Escape from the Forest proves to be another entertaining volume.  As the middle volume of a trilogy, it is a little short on action and long on words, but it still has enough action scenes to keep the story moving.  Though, Sasha’s interal battle is far from boring.  This is another must for any Warriors and/or cat lover’s library.

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