Book two of the second arc. I wasn't super thrilled about the first, so I hope this one is better. Spoilers ahead!
Lusa, Kallik, Toklo and Yakone, guided by Ujurak's spirit, continue to travel home, in particular to the Melting Sea where Kallik was born and hopes to find her brother Taqqiq again. The bears do find him, but they don't at all like the antagonistic way in which he is acting. And the main trio also is slowly coming to a realization: with them all going home, their unusual little bear family will eventually fall apart.
I'd say that this is definitely a step up from the last. Still not fantastic, but this felt more up to par with the usual Seekers books from the first arc. The last book wasn't bad per se, just a bit mediocre. This one was solid.
I do have to say now, though, that I'm really getting sick of these books all being traveling books by now. People complain about the abundance of traveling books in Warriors, but usually we get at least some breaks of non-traveling books in between in said series. So far with Seekers, every book has been a traveling book. And it's just...getting exhausting. Constantly seeing these bears go from place to place and facing similar conflicts each time (humans, pollution, a lack of food, other bears who are usually racist) is just growing to feel very same-y.
Even if in this book it's executed better than the last and this time we have a more solid goal to travel towards (the titular Melting Sea), it doesn't change the fact that so far this series has remained largely the same. I want something new, something different. Even the main final conflict in this book is just recycled from book two of the first arc. It's Taqqiq and his band of food-stealing polar bears causing havoc again.
I will say that this book has some nice character development and writing, though. I do like the bond between Yakone and Kallik. Yakone makes it very clear that he's romantically interested in her, but Kallik isn't in him (yet) and he respects that, never really pushing her or anything. I also like how Kallik is very motherly-acting towards Lusa, the smallest and weakest of the group, because of her own trauma. It feels in-character for her and makes her flawed in a way, too. In turn, I also love Lusa for being a genuinely really good friend but also standing up for herself and making it know that she doesn't like being seen as weaker just because she's the smallest. She's just as capable as Kallik and Toklo, just maybe not in the exact same areas as them.
And finally: Taqqiq. He seems to at last have gotten a proper redemption. He did have a mini-redemption at the end of book two of the first arc, but even after that he was still a major asshole towards most bears (even Kallik) and him doing one good thing at Great Bear Lake didn't magically make him change his ways to be a better bear, as is especially illustrated now that we see him here, almost grown up and still terrorizing other bears to steal their food.
But he does genuinely come around and end up feeling sorry here. He makes up for his mistakes and faces his thieving friends, and genuinely apologizes and restores his bond with Kallik after she disowned him. I do hope that, if he appears again, he does at least retain some of his standoffish attitude. For him to do a complete 180 feels a bit forced, but I can definitely see him becoming a better bear after this wake up call. I just don't think he should be completely changed in the personality department and redeemed within one book.
Overall this book does have some good character writing going for it, but the repetitiveness of the Seekers books is really starting to harm the series by now. One arc full of traveling I can stomach, but we're almost halfway done with the second arc by now and there's still no sign of the journey being over. I'm not giving up on the series, I just wish the authors would throw some more unique and new concepts in there to mix things up a bit.
Rating: 3.5/5
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