Hunted: Spirit Animals Book 2

Stiefvater, M. (2014). Hunted: Spirit animals book 2. New York: Scholastic. In the second installment of the Spirit Animals series, Erdas is still in danger of being overtaken by the Devourer. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan must learn to strengthen their bonds with their spirit animals in order to defeat the evil forces trying to overtake Erdas. The Devourer has a special interest in the young heroes because they have summoned four of the Great Beasts: Briggan the Wolf, Jhi the giant panda, Essix the falcon, and Uraza the leopard who were responsible for capturing the Devourer long ago. Now the Devourer and his followers are creating secret bile that forces a bond between humans and spirit animals. This bond gives humans extra abilities that will strengthen his forces. The four heroes although they are merely children must risk their lives in order to collect the Great Beasts’ talismans in order to defeat the Devourer. Rumfuss the Boar proves to be an incredibly difficult beast to face in order to get his talisman, but the young heroes show strength and courage as they achieve what seems impossible. With the talisman in their possession Conor is torn between his quest and his family’s safety. This quick read will have students wanting to read more. The novel’s strength lies in the young heroes’ character traits and the cliff hanger ending. Readers who want to know what becomes of Meilin after her decision need to read Blood Ties: Spirit Animals Book 3.