Dawn is the third book in the second Warrior Cats series, The New Prophecy.
Tropes appearing in this book:
- Both Sides Have a Point: This is the case for Brambleclaw's and Squirrelpaw's argument about rescuing Leafpaw from the Twolegs. Squirrelpaw wants to rescue her sister immediately, because of she had a dream from StarClan implying that time is short, but Brambleclaw refuses, insisting that they wait for Firestar (who is out on patrol) to return so they can ask for backup, because just two cats stand no chance against a group of Twolegs. In the end, both turn out to be right in some way; the Twolegs were putting the caged cats into a truck to be taken away, so Squirrelpaw was right that they needed to be rescued immediately. However, Brambleclaw was also right that they needed help to rescue the caged cats; in the end, it's only with the help of Graystripe, Thornclaw, Rainwhisker and Sorreltail, that they are able to rescue the trapped cats.
- But Now I Must Go: Cody stays with ThunderClan for a while, but leaves to return to her housefolk shortly before the Clans begin their journey to their new home since things seem to have calmed down with the construction around there.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: One of the rare inversions of this trope (well, aside from kits calling their mother "Mama" or similar) occurs in this book: Cats usually call their parents by their actual name, so when a tree falls on Firestar and Squirrelpaw yowls "Father!", it especially emphasizes their family bond.
- Cave Behind the Falls: The Tribe lives in one of these.
- Crying Critters: One of the Russian illustrations
depicts Ferncloud crying at her kit's death. - Darkest Hour: The Clans are facing potential extinction, as their forest home is destroyed and they're starving without prey.
- Death of a Child: Another of Ferncloud and Dustpelt's kits, Hollykit, dies from starvation.
- Death Seeker: Crowpaw is in such grief over Feathertail's death that he is cavalier about his own life, nearly getting run over by a monster while passing a Thunderpath.
- Disney Villain Death: Smokepaw falls to his death when a ledge breaks underneath him. This doesn't stop him from coming back in later books, though.
- Divided We Fall: In the time of their worst danger, the Clans are divided on how to handle it - ThunderClan wants for the Clans to all go together, especially since they are all waiting for the sign of the dying warrior, RiverClan insists on staying because their territory is much less damaged than the others, and WindClan and ShadowClan are desperate and want to leave now without waiting for RiverClan.
- Diving Save: Onewhisker's trying to save a ShadowClan kit when a tree falls toward him. Firestar runs forward and pushes them out of the way just in time, taking the hit himself and losing a life.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: When Squirrelpaw sympathetically says she's sorry for what WindClan's been going through, Crowpaw snarls that his Clan doesn't need her pity.
- Ensemble Cast: This book focuses on Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw's points of view.
- Gender Bender: In previous books, Rowanclaw was a she-cat. This is the first book where he became a tom.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Firestar loses one of his lives getting crushed by a tree knocked down by Twolegs, while rescuing Onewhisker. A downplayed example with Graystripe, who is captured by Twolegs while rescuing the other trapped cats.
- I Was Having Such a Nice Dream: Squirrelpaw is talking to a spirit-cat in her dream, and is about to be told how she can save her sister, when Shrewpaw wakes her up.
- Look Both Ways: Shrewpaw dies after he finds a rare fat prey animal in the midst of a famine, and is so distracted by chasing it that he runs into the Thunderpath and gets hit by a monster.
- Medical Monarch: The leader of the Tribe of Rushing Water is called the Tribe-Healer (or just Healer). They serve as leader, spiritual leader, and medic for the Tribe.
- The Migration: Most of the book is about the Clans moving from the doomed forest to a new home.
- Name That Unfolds Like Lotus Blossom: Tribe cats, although most of the time they use shortened versions of their names.
- The New Adventures: The New Prophecy.
- Not Afraid to Die: After Brambleclaw stops Crowpaw from needlessly risking his life, Crowpaw snarls that he's not afraid of joining StarClan at that at least Feathertail would be waiting for him.
- One-Word Title: Dawn.
- Prophecy Twist: The dying warrior is a shooting star rather than an actual dying cat.
- Put on a Bus: Stormfur chooses to stay in the Tribe and Graystripe is captured by Twolegs.
- Remember the New Guy?: In Moonrise, six Tribe cats were sent to deal with the mountain lion, Sharptooth. The Clan cats meet three of them: Talon, Bird, and Rock, who explain that the other three had been killed by Sharptooth. In the next book, the Clans return to the Tribe, and there's a fourth cat, Jag, listed as being one of the ones originally sent to fight Sharptooth, with no explanation as to why we didn't see him in the last book (though the characters do recognize him and say they'd met him before).
- Series Continuity Error:
- In Moonrise, Talon tells the traveling cats that he, Rock, and Bird were three of the cats chosen to attack Sharptooth (the other three had died.) In Dawn, a fourth outcast appears: Jagged Rock Where Heron Sits.
- Rock and Bird, two of the outcasts, told their names in Moonrise - Rock Where Snow Gathers and Bird Who Rides The Wind - and they were described as a black tom and a gray-brown she-cat, respectively. Their full names and appearances changed in Dawn: Rock is now Rock Beneath Still Water, a brown tom, and Bird is now Bird That Sings At Dusk, a gray tabby she-cat.
- In this book, Leafpaw says that only she, Firestar, Cinderpelt, and Graystripe knew about the "fire and tiger" prophecy. However, Sandstorm knew as well in Midnight.
- In one scene, Ravenpaw, Barley, and Firestar are discussing where the Clans can shelter. Then Ravenpaw mentions the broken Twoleg nest: "Where you sheltered with Bluestar after the rat attack." They did not shelter there at that time in Into the Wild; instead it was with WindClan when bringing them home in Fire and Ice.
- Shadepelt aged quickly: she became a warrior in A Dangerous Path, was suddenly an elder in Midnight, and in this book she's described as too old to travel.
- Sudden Name Change: Rock and Bird's sudden, likely accidental, name changes.
- Switching P.O.V.: Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw.
- Temporal Theme Naming: Most of the The New Prophecy books, including Dawn, are named after a time.
- Title Drop: "We will leave at dawn!"
- Uncertain Doom: The elders who stayed behind instead of going to their new home. Did they eke out a life in RiverClan territory, accept food from humans, or die from starvation or the humans' machines?
- Unexpectedly Abandoned: Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw finally return home from their journey, but the camp is entirely deserted, and they have no idea where the Clan is; there's no sign of a fight or anything. Their medicine cat, Cinderpelt, happens to come back to retrieve some herbs from her den, and she explains that the Clan has relocated to Sunningrocks because the humans' deforestation activities had come too close to the camp.
