i think this is the best Guardians of Gahoole book written so far.
its even better then book 1!





the story so far:
The pure ones were still suffering from defeat by the guardians of gahoole.but there luck changes when Nyroc, the son of Nyra and kludd is born.He is raised to be the supreme evil ruler of the pure ones. but when he realizes how evil the pure ones (and his own mother ) are, he and his friend (Phillips) tried to escape (and failed). Once captured, his mother (for no apparent reason) ripped out the gut of Phillips. she then went on to scratch her son face off. (what an abusive mother!)Nyroc then decides to leave the pure ones and try to find the guardians of gahoole.

tThe Hatchling is the seventh book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, in which a new era has begun. This is the first book in the series that has a central character besides Soren. The central character is the hatchling, Nyroc, who is the son of the evil Kludd and the equally evil Nyra.
tAs the story begun I thought I knew what to expect. Now that Metal Beak is dead, a new villain must rise up and lead the Pure Ones against the Guardians to continue the epic struggle between good and evil. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was not that story. From the beginning we see that Nyroc is much more resembles Soren than either of his parents.
tA serious question is answered in this book. It's a question that the author discussed in The Shattering about whether the offspring of Nyra and Kludd would be born evil. Would such an offspring have any chance at all of choosing good over evil. The author has answered resoundingly as Nyroc spurns his upbringing and his murderous mother and seeks a life of good.
tIt is interesting how Nyra is so upset with Nyroc for asking questions. It shows again that free-thinking, knowledge and learning are encouraged by good parents, leaders, and teachers, while being discouraged in evil circles.
tOne great point the author makes through the words of the Rogue Smith of Silverveil is that “Truth must be revealed and not simply told.” This lesson is eventually embraced by the other rogue smith, Gwyndor, as he tries to reveal some truth to Nyroc. This is shown when he tells Nyroc, “Belief is found in one's self...It has no power if it is simply ordered like a command.”
tAs Nyroc starts to question everything he's ever been told, he comes to some profound realization. He realizes how wrong it was for Phillip to be looked down upon just because he was not considered pure enough. Later he declares to his mother, “Everyone is worth something.” These statements have obvious overtones of the racism in the human world.
tAs time goes on Nyroc realizes he has his own free will. This is a great lesson aimed at the children who read this series. You don't have to be like your parents. You don't have to do drugs, drink, lie, cheat, steal, etc. just because your parents do. You have a choice. No matter how horrible is the situation in which you've been raised, you have the power in your own mind to choose the opposite. No matter how many people write you off because of what you look like or who your parents are, you can still choose good over evil. The human spirit has the power to overcome.
tThere's a final note in the last chapters where another owl is learning new things. Otulissa, a scientist who is all business, all facts, all science is starting to see that there is more to life than the physical realm. There is more to reality than what you can see, touch, and prove. While Nyroc goes against all he was raised to believe, Otulissa seems to be going against what she has always prided herself in. Will they end up with similar destinies?
tThe Hatchling was a good read that did all of that while giving the reader new things to wonder about. What about the dire wolves, the Ember of Hoole, the Beyond the Beyond, the first collier? And what about Ifghar? We are definitely set up for the next intriguing installment of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

There is a big change in the series at this point. Not only is this book primarily about a new character, Nyroc, son of the hated Kludd and Nyra, but the style of the story changes from adventure to more of a mystical fantasy quest. There are visions and dreams, magical talents and potential fulfillment of prophesy. But there is still the same wonderful storytelling with layers of subtle (and not so subtle) lessons that kids can learn a lot from. Nyra tries to teach her son to hate and he tries to learn to be his own owl, nature vs. nurture with a strong dose of free will.

As I'm sure every other reader felt as well, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy a book that primarily wasn't about Soren, the Band, or the Guardians. But I really fell in love with the story and with Nyroc. The book was hard to put down. The combination of Nyroc's journey of discover and the mystical elements made it a real page-turner. There were quite a few moments where I really thought deeply or was very moved. In some ways, this was my favorite book in the series.

It isn't critical, but it was a small disappointment was that the inside covers no longer have the beautiful pictures of the owls that were part of the previous books. I always looked forward to seeing the pictures of the new owls on the back cover and our original Band on the front.

I was wrong and the next book was about Nyroc!! Which is great bc I like him
Although I do think this will be my favorite part of his arc, honestly - I'll have to see about the rest of it as I reread!

Changing up the focus of the story was really fun! I love Nyroc lol

More action and adventure in the world of owls where the bad guys make plots aplenty and the good guys seem to hang on somehow. The idea of the bad guys calling themselves the pure ones is very Nazi style stuff and has a lot of allusions around that theme. This is now just shy of the half way mark in the series, one more in the books I loaned from the library and then I think I shall pause for a while from the owls and return later on.

3.5/5 stars

Although I enjoy the new direction the story is taking, Soren and the gang are sorely missed.

Great story!

REVIEW: The Hatchling (Guardians of Ga'Hoole, #7), Kathryn Lasky
RATING: 5/5 stars

I may be 20 years old, but this is my first time reading through the series per my friend's request! I have enjoyed all of the books in the series thus far, but I do think this is my favorite to date. The bridging work between Soren's tale and Nyroc's tale was - dare I say it - probably even better than Rick Riordan's in the original PJO series and HoO. Nobody was taken by Hera either, so that's a win. The steady references to Soren and the great tree propelled this story into a mix of new and unfamiliar territory. I also believe that the lessons from this novel are extremely pertinent. Influencing young children is very easy to do considering their impressionability. It's important for everyone to understand that they are not defined by familial action: that they have the free will to stand up to wrongdoings even in the face of twisted love. Honestly, props to my woman Ms. Lasky for crafting such a treasure. I'm looking forward to learning about some wolves that will probably tear the wings off of at least one owl.

I would recommend this book to just about anyone...except maybe Hamilton fans who couldn't handle Phillip's death in Act II. If you've read this novel, you know why. Let's all just be thankful that the founding fathers dueled instead of engaging in Tupsi.

So many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down.
*spoiler alert for the series*
Kludd has a child! He has these expectations of becoming much more powerful than his parents combined. He was about to complete his process but just needed one more trial. The trial of murder!
Nyroc has to choose between his destiny of his father���s legacy or another prophecy.

My favorite part was when Nyroc decided to leave his mother and the Pure Ones to try to find out the truth. My least favorite part was when Nyra killed Dustytuft/Phillip. I was surprised when the bunny had magical powers because I thought the owls were the only ones in their world with magical powers.

The book The Hatchling by Kathryn Lasky tells the story is a story of the battle between two owls family's the pure one and the guardians of Ga'Hoole which the guardians won. The egg finally hatches and everybody thought it was going to be evil but it found light in its heart . Overall, I thought the book was even better than the last one.