Spirit Animals #2: Hunted by Maggie Stiefvater

Many people in Erdas are able to bond with spirit animals, but Conor, Rollan, Meilin, and Abeke have bonded with the legendary Great Beasts called the Fallen Four. The Conquerors are using force to take control of the people, and they want to collect talismans that will strengthen their power. Conor and his group set out to find the first talisman, the Iron Boar. They hear the prophecy of a boy bonding with a black wildcat in the North, and they discover the Conquerors are able to force bonds between children and beasts. The evil forces are spreading across Erdas, but the Great Beasts must learn to work as a team if they have any hope of stopping them.

I did not read the first book in the series before reading this one, so I didn't fully understand the background story. The conflict is easy to understand, as the good children are fighting an evil force. Abeke's character adds a twist to the group, since she worked with the enemy in the first book. Her leopard is constantly part of the cast, while the other spirit animals (a falcon and Giant Panda) tend to appear only when needed. Early in the book, I had some difficulty understanding a battle, since the Great Beasts and other spirit animals doubled the number of characters in the scene. There were a dozen humans and animals fighting, so it was hard to keep track of the characters. My confusion decreased as the book went on, and it might not have been an issue at all if I'd read the first book. The climax ended with a big battle, and a surprise from a main character to brought it to an exciting end.