The prologue opens with RiverClan fleeing the camp due to a flood. The deputy Shellheart's kits come, and his mate Rainflower gives birth to them on a low, wide branch of an oak tree above the floodwater. They are named Stormkit and Oakkit, for the storm that they were born in, and the oak tree that protected them.
One moon later, Oakkit and Stormkit are very adventurous, and their mother dotes on them. It is reported that ThunderClan has taken Sunningrocks. RiverClan decides not to fight immediately, but they let the ThunderClan cats know that they won't be so peaceful forever. Three moons after that, Oakkit and Stormkit sneak out of camp. They find Goosefeather, the ThunderClan medicine cat, gathering herbs at Sunningrocks. The two kits attack him, only to realize that they have bitten off more than they can chew, as he angrily chases them. They run back toward camp, and while crossing the stepping-stones, Stormkit misses his jump, breaking his jaw on the rock as he falls. He sees an orange-and-white cat, who he believes is a StarClan cat, who tells him that it's not his time to die.
Stormkit stays in the medicine den for a moon, recovering. During this time, Rainflower has not let the other kits visit - though she has visited him, and Shellheart has frequently as well. The medicine cat Brambleberry announces that he can move back into the nursery, and they go out into the camp. Stormkit is told that he won't become an apprentice for a while (after his brother), since he's quite small, having hardly eaten for a moon due to the pain in his jaw. He notices that the Clan seems to be behaving strangely, looking at him oddly. He finally looks at his face in a puddle, and realizes that his jaw is permanently disfigured. Oakkit is still very supportive of him, telling him that it's not his fault Rainflower's so upset about it. Stormkit tries eating but has trouble due to his lopsided jaw. When they go back to the nursery, Rainflower tells Stormkit that he has his own nest (so that he won't "fidget and disturb Oakkit", and besides, he's "used to sleeping alone"). Shellheart overhears and is furious, arguing with her, telling her how could she reject her kit and how could she be so heartless. He says that if she insists upon renaming Stormkit, they will no longer be mates, but she does insist. Stormkit is renamed Crookedkit in an official naming ceremony.
One moon later, he's still sleeping in his own nest, and has been unable to please his mother. Oakkit is apprenticed to Shellheart upon Rainflower's request (because "the strongest warrior should train the strongest kit"). Feeling that he isn't very useful to anyone, Crookedkit leaves camp in search of the Moonstone. He gets as far as the other side of the moors - he sees Fallowtail in WindClan territory with a WindClan tom on the way. He falls asleep in a barn and is visited by Mapleshade, who tells him to return to the Clan. The next day, Crookedkit is found by a kittypet named Fleck, who teaches him how to eat and hunt with a broken jaw. He meets Fleck's littermate and her kits, and stays with them for a moon. After saving one of the kits from a monster, he realizes he should be helping his Clan, and goes home. His Clan isn't sure how to welcome him - they're happy he's alive, not sure he'll always be loyal since he ran off. They do welcome him back in the end.
Crookedkit meets Mapleshade again in a dream. She offers to train him, as long as he keeps it secret, learns patience, and promises her one thing. She tells him that she can make him more than leader - she can give him everything he ever dreamed, power over all the Clans, as long as he promises to always be loyal to RiverClan. He promises.
Crookedkit still stays in the nursery for two more moons. Fallowtail has had her kits but not named the father. Crookedkit has been training with Mapleshade. He has also made himself useful around camp, and playing with Willowkit and Graykit. Out on the ice one day, Crookedkit saves Willowkit and Graykit from a heron, and is made an apprentice afterward, with Cedarpelt as a mentor, since the tom had mistrusted the young cat after he ran away and would therefore expect more from him.
One day, when collecting herbs for Brambleberry by the falls, Reedfeather, the WindClan deputy, meets Crookedpaw and asks to come to camp. He demands his kits back, shocking the Clan, and though most of RiverClan protests (except a couple cats who think the half-blood kits would be disloyal), Fallowtail says he can take them so that there's no blood shed.
During a training session, a patrol meets Cedarpelt and Crookedpaw, reporting that ThunderClan tried raiding WindClan and that only one ThunderClan warrior, Moonflower, died. Cedarpelt has Crookedpaw train against the newly-made warrior Beetlenose. Crookedpaw uses a move Mapleshade taught him, which the older warriors recognize as a ThunderClan move. When they get back to camp, a patrol reports that they met a dog, and Oakpaw saved their lives by attacking it, so he is made a warrior. Rainflower spoils the happy moment by telling Crookedpaw he won't be as good as his brother, making Shellheart defend his deformed son. When Crookedpaw mopes over his mother spoiling his brother's warrior ceremony, Oakheart reassures him to just ignore her.
That night, they go to the Gathering, where Crookedpaw meets Bluepaw of ThunderClan. There's some tensions between RiverClan and WindClan about Fallowtail's kits. Two days later, RiverClan and ThunderClan fight at Sunningrocks. Rainflower praises Crookedpaw afterward. Hailstar loses a life after the battle; he is now on his last.
Crookedpaw wakes one night to see RiverClan warriors fighting WindClan - they had gone to get Graykit and Willowkit back.
Two moons later, Willowkit and Graykit are apprenticed. Their first outing is to visit the Moonstone with Crookedpaw and their mentors. Oddly, Hailstar isn't with them, and THEY speak to StarClan. Crookedpaw meets Mapleshade in what the reader knows is the Dark Forest, and Crookedpaw recognizes Goosefeather, who asks "is this the newcomer".
A dog starts causing trouble for RiverClan. They try a plan Crookedpaw comes up with. Willowpaw nearly gets caught by the dog but Crookedpaw saves her; Oakheart later teases him about Willowpaw mooning over him. Crookedpaw receives his warrior name, Crookedjaw, even though he has not had six moons of training since he became an apprentice. There is a lot of chemistry between Crookedjaw and Willowpaw. During one of Crookedjaw's Mapleshade dreams, Mapleshade tells him he can't put his feelings for Willowpaw above the Clan, because he had promised that he would put the Clan first. Goosefeather appears and warns Mapleshade about the path she's on and says something like "at least my heart is true and not twisted with hunger for revenge like you."
Crookedjaw attends a Gathering, where everything's peaceful, except Pinestar randomly says "we're keeping an eye on our borders". RiverClan plans to re-mark their boundary, which they later do. Several queens have kits, one of them being Brightsky, Mudfur's mate. She was very ill and they were hoping her fever would break, but it doesn't by the time she starts kitting, and she and her first three kits die. The queens soon tell the Clan that there is a fourth kit, who survived; Mudfur names her Leopardkit for the strength she would need to live without her mother.
On a patrol, Mapleshade gets Twolegs to notice the RiverClanners, and Willowbreeze is captured. Crookedjaw and Graypool rescue her. Mapleshade says it was a test, that Crookedjaw is still putting himself and his desires before the Clan. She guilt-trips him, reminding him of his promise. Crookedjaw attends another Gathering. In a dream, Crookedjaw sees Shredtail training Thistleclaw in the Dark Forest, who mentions Snowfur's death, speaking callously about her even though he is, in fact, grieving her.
Ottersplash, Shimmerpelt, and Mudfur's kits are all apprenticed at once - they were born so close, Hailstar decided not to split them up. During their first session, there is a dog. It ends up crashing into Rainflower, knocking her into the water, where she hits her head. Faced with either helping his Clanmates or going to get Brambleberry, he hears Mapleshade's voice and helps his Clanmates fight the dog. When they get back to Rainflower, she is dead and Crookedjaw has to wonder whether she could have been saved if he'd gotten Brambleberry.
RiverClan decides to take back Sunningrocks from ThunderClan. Rather than a regular battle, Mudfur and Adderfang decide that it should be just the two of them. Mudfur wins. RiverClan is pleased that they won, but they decide that such a battle is against the warrior code and vow never to do it again. Mudfur decides that he's sick of battling and wants to help his Clanmates, possibly because he had felt so helpless when his mate died. Shellheart retires. Hailstar notices a piece of fresh-kill with a broken, twisted jaw, which was the squirrel Crookedjaw had caught. He takes it as an omen and makes Crookedjaw deputy. Brambleberry doesn't think it's from StarClan, but Hailstar doesn't care.
There is a Gathering where they announce his deputyship. On the way home, Brambleberry tells him that Shellheart has a lump in his belly and will eventually die from it; every cat that has ever had it has died. Mapleshade meets with him later in the Dark Forest, where a cat named Silverhawk is training Thistleclaw. When Thistleclaw is taught a killing bite, Crookedjaw is shocked that StarClan would do such a thing, and they tell him where he is. Mapleshade tells him that the squirrel was her doing. He decides he wants no more of it, but Mapleshade tells him he can't break free of her.
Three moons after that, ThunderClan comes into the camp, announcing that they're taking back Sunningrocks and warning that any blood spilled would be on Hailstar's paws.
Later on, after all their apprentices are warriors, Birdsong falls ill. They want dry bedding for her since everything's so damp, but there's no moss; she suggests they go to the barn to get hay. A patrol goes, is attacked by rats, and Hailstar dies.
On the way to his nine lives ceremony, Crookedjaw asks Brambleberry what she knows - she'd always seemed to be slightly suspicious. He tells her about Mapleshade, explaining that he thought she was a StarClan cat but that he's turned his back on her. He's not sure how StarClan will feel about that. Brambleberry tells him StarClan will judge him. They do give him his nine lives - Hailstar, Duskwater (a RiverClan elder that died the night he was born), Troutclaw (an elder of the Clan), a past cat named Mossleaf, a past cat named Lilyflower, a past cat named Lightningpaw, Brightsky, a past cat named Sparrowfeather, and finally Shellheart. Shellheart apologizes for letting Rainflower treat Crookedjaw the way she had. He tells Crookedjaw that Rainflower is present at the ceremony, she just does not have a life for Crookedjaw. She does not congratulate him. Mapleshade appears after the ceremony saying "we did it", but he tells her to leave him alone.
Some time later, Graypool has had her kits, who had died after less than a moon since they'd been sickly. One day she claims she has found two kits (Mistykit and Stonekit) on the border as if they'd been abandoned by their mother. A moon later, Mapleshade appears to Crookedstar and reveals that they are Oakheart's kits; Crookedstar confronts Oakheart.
Much later, when Mistykit and Stonekit are warriors, Willowbreeze tells Crookedstar she's expecting his kits. A couple moons later, the kits come. However, Willowbreeze had been starting to get sick earlier that day, and it turns out to be greencough. Crookedstar isn't allowed to visit them until later. Though Willowbreeze is exhausted and deathly ill, the two name their kits. They fall asleep, and Willowbreeze dies in her sleep. Willowkit and Minnowkit have greencough; Silverkit is taken to the elders' den with Sunfish so that she won't get sick. Crookedstar stays with his two ill daughters, but they die as well.
Crookedstar challenges Mapleshade, telling her to kill him since there's nothing left to live for. She says that no, letting him live would be better revenge. Then she explains what she means by revenge:Mapleshade was a ThunderClan warrior. She believes she should have been ThunderClan's leader, but was driven out of ThunderClan when she took a RiverClan mate. She fled to RiverClan, but her kits drowned on the way. Her mate blamed her and RiverClan rejected her, so she lived life as a loner. She says she made them pay, looking for revenge where she could, and earned her place in the DF. But the worst blow to her was that her RiverClan mate took on another mate within his Clan. They had a kit, who would grow up to give birth to Shellheart.So that's why she wanted to test him, to see if he would betray her too. And she reminds him that his promise means giving up everything: family, mate, kits.
Crookedstar tells Brambleberry about the promise. She says that it's not his fault that every cat close to him dies; StarClan cannot control everything, nor can the Dark Forest. Crookedstar avoids Silverkit for a while. Finally Oakheart confronts him about it, and it escalates into a fight. It stops only when he realizes he'd almost used the killing move Thistleclaw had been taught. Silverkit has been watching them fighting. He says they were only training. As he gazes at her, he realizes how much she is like Willowbreeze. It ends with him acknowledging that he's her father, and telling her that that means he will always keep his promises.
In the manga at the end, Crookedstar notices Silverstream sneaking out, and Crookedstar finds her with Graystripe. Afterward, he confronts her about it, and she tells him (calmly) that she knows he's worried, but that he has to let her make her own choices. One night he dreams and sees her in StarClan, and realizes that she must have died. Mapleshade comes along afterword and tells him "your punishment is complete" and that he has lost everything. He says no, he still has his Clan, and his family waiting in StarClan, and that she no longer has power over him. He wakes up to a RiverClanner telling him that Mistyfoot has some bad news (that Silverstream is dead). Moons later, he watches Stormkit and Featherkit playing, and Graystripe bringing them fresh-kill. Crookedstar hears a voice behind him - it's Brambleberry, and she leads him to StarClan. He sees all his friends and family, and Willowbreeze comes to him, and it ends with the two of them nuzzling each other.
Tropes that appear in this book:
- Abandon the Disabled: After Stormkit breaks his jaw, leaving him permanently disfigured and having difficulty eating, his mother Rainflower renames him Crookedkit and rejects him, making him The Unfavorite and leaving the nursery once his brother is apprenticed.
- Abusive Parents: Rainflower. She did the above during his kithood, and even as he grows she looks down on him constantly and arranges things so that Oakheart gets special treatment and Crookedstar feels alone.
- Action Dad: Shellheart is a Papa Cat, defending Crookedkit from his own mate. When she coldly tells him she blames her son for what happened to him, Shellheart is quick to defend him and breaks up with her.
- Action Prologue: The prologue focuses on the RiverClan camp being flooded and Rainflower giving birth during a storm.
- Arc Welding: This book introduces the Dark Forest to the past and shows it influencing the events of books as early as Fire and Ice through use of Crookedstar's story.
- Attack the Tail:
- Beetlenose attempts this when training with Crookedpaw. Crookedpaw uses a move Mapleshade had taught him to avoid it, and Cedarpelt comments that hiding the tail is a ThunderClan move.
- A rat does this to Leopardfur; she retaliates by biting its neck.
- Back Story: Serves as Crookedstar's backstory.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Crookedjaw's patrol does this during the battle against the rats until Petaldust returns with help.
- Berserk Button: Don't suggest to Crookedstar that he is like Rainflower.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition:
- In the prologue, a RiverClan elder goes missing and ends up dead on the same night that Crookedstar and Oakheart are born.
- Brightsky and three of her kits die, but the fourth kit survives its birth.
- Born During a Storm: Shellheart and Rainflower's kits are born during a storm that had flooded the RiverClan camp. They name them Stormkit and Oakkit after the storm and after the tree that sheltered them during it.
- Breakout Character: For a fairly minor character who died in the fifth book, Crookedstar seems like a surprising choice for a Super Edition. This is perhaps because of the 2008 Ultimate Clan Leader poll: a series of polls on the official site pitted together two of the main Clan leaders from each Clan to see who was the fan-favorite, and it was Crookedstar who ended up placing second overall to the series protagonist Firestar.
- Bring Help Back: During the battle against the rats, Petaldust wants to stay and help her Clanmates, but Crookedjaw orders her to run and get help.
- Child of Forbidden Love: Graypool and Willowbreeze are the kits of Reedfeather of WindClan and Fallowtail of RiverClan. They're brought to their father's Clan for a while.
- Combat by Champion: One of the battles for Sunningrocks is decided like this, with Mudfur representing RiverClan to fight against a ThunderClan champion.
- Combat Medic: Mudfur is a warrior for many moons before becoming a medicine cat.
- Cuteness Proximity: Toward the end of the book, the jerkass egomaniac Beetlenose comes flying out of the Nursery, squeeing about how cute Crookedstar's daughter Silverkit is. Keep in mind that he's a very nasty cat, and even he found her cute.
- A Day in the Limelight: Crookedstar's only POV book.
- Dead Guy Junior: Crookedstar names one of his and Willowbreeze's kits Willowkit after his dying mate. Sadly, the kit doesn't survive much longer than its mother.
- Death by Childbirth: Brightsky, already weak from sickness, dies at the birth of her kits.
- Death by Falling Over: During a battle, a dog accidentally runs into Rainflower; she falls and hits her head on a rock. She doesn't die instantly; Crookedjaw debates whether to first fetch the medicine cat or drive away the dog. He chooses to fight off the dog first, and in that amount of time, she dies, and he feels responsible for her death.
- Death of a Child: Several kits die, including most of Brightsky's and Willowbreeze's litters.
- Dies Wide Open:
- Happens to a rabbit that got hit on the Thunderpath. Even though it's prey, it still creeps out Crookedkit.
- This also happens to both Rainflower and Hailstar.
- Distracted from Death: Crookedjaw witnesses his mother getting knocked over by a dog and hitting her head on a rock. He grapples for a moment with fighting the dog or helping her, and ends up deciding that fighting the dog to protect his Clanmates is more urgent; when he returns to Rainflower, she's already dead, and he feels guilt as to whether she might have survived if he hadn't left her there.
- A Dog Named "Cat": Two of Mitzi's kits are named after birds: Piper and Magpie. There's also a RiverClan warrior named Sunfish, which is a category of fish that includes bluegills.
- Doomed by Canon: In the prequels, we never heard about several of the characters, and of course the leaders have to be replaced by the ones we know later, so they have to die.
- Dramatic Drop: Oakpaw is so shocked to see the WindClan deputy in the RiverClan camp that he drops the frog he's carrying. Amusingly, it's still alive and hops to safety while everyone is distracted.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: As a kit, Crookedstar was disowned and neglected by his mother for breaking his jaw on a rock, and had to deal with the injury for the rest of his life. He had to watch most of his family die as well: his mother, his father, even his mate and most of his kits. He does become leader, and his daughter Silverstream becomes a warrior. Oakheart and Silverstream, two of the only family members he has left, die. He then confronts Mapleshade, who caused his suffering, and realizes that he has family waiting for him while she has nothing. He then dies happily, forgiving his mother and being reunited with his family.
- Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher: Crookedjaw becomes a mentor shortly after becoming a warrior. His new apprentice is excited to have someone so young and cool as a mentor.
- Evil Matriarch: Mapleshade, a villain with an "evil mom" vibe. What drove her to evil was when, after she was exiled from ThunderClan for having a RiverClan mate, her kits drowned in the river when she was trying to bring them to RiverClan. Her mate blamed her for this, and she ends up getting rejected by RiverClan as well.
- Exact Words: Crookedstar promises to put his Clan above all else. Mapleshade later points out that this means before kits, before family, anything else.
- Forbidden Love: Reedfeather of WindClan and Fallowtail of RiverClan, since they're from different Clans.
- Foregone Conclusion: Since we never heard of Willowbreeze or Crookedstar's other kits, we can assume that something happened to them. And from other books we already know about Stormkit breaking his jaw and being held back from being an apprentice. And that he dies at the end.
- Gray Rain of Depression: After Brightsky and three of her kits die, it starts to rain. The narration even mentions that it's as if StarClan is mourning for them.
- Howl of Sorrow: After her kits die, Graypool in her grief spends time wandering and yowling her heartbreak out loud. One character comments that they think Graypool believes that her kits can hear her from StarClan.
- I Have No Son!: Rainflower renames her son Crookedkit and disowns him after he badly breaks his jaw, because she can't see past his disfigured face.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Several cats die of illness, including Leopardfur's siblings and mother.
- Innocent Inaccurate: As a kit, Crookedstar sees two warriors in the midst of a forbidden relationship, but assumes that they are on a secret mission.
- It's All My Fault: Birdsong blames herself for Hailstar's death, since she had suggested going to the barn to get hay.
- I Will Fight No More Forever: Mudfur loses his taste for battle and decides to become a medicine cat after his mate and all but one of his kits die the day they are born. He announces it after representing RiverClan in a Combat by Champion fight (and winning).
- Kid Hero: Crookedstar is a kit - the feline equivalent of a child - at the start of this book.
- Lonely at the Top: Mapleshade knows that Crookedstar will become Clan leader, so she aims to get his entire family killed and make his life this. Her plan fails when Crookedstar explains that once his time is over, everyone he cares about will be waiting for him in the afterlife.
- Love Is a Weakness: Crookedstar is afraid that having a loved one will make him soft. This is further pushed by his spirit mentor Mapleshade, who tries to convince him that his relationship will turn him weak, and push him away from his great destiny, and so this trope becomes one of the central conflicts for Crookedstar.
- Meaningful Name:
- Stormkit and Oakkit are named for the storm they were born in, and the tree that sheltered them.
- Leopardkit is named after LeopardClan; her father hoped it would give her the strength to survive without her mother.
- Meaningful Rename:
- Stormkit's mother Rainflower cruelly insists upon renaming him Crookedkit after he breaks his jaw.
- Several cats earn their warrior names:
- When Willowpaw and Graypaw earn their warrior names, they are given suffixes that suit their half-WindClan/half-RiverClan heritage: Willowbreeze and Graypool. The Battles of the Clans story The Lost Kits, about their rescue from WindClan, shows their mother requesting those names specifically for this reason.
- Reedpaw is mentioned as having a "long, reed-straight tail", and is eventually given the name Reedtail. Clearly his name came from his most notable feature.
- Mirror Reveal: While Stormkit is told that he's broken his jaw, he doesn't realize the extent of the injury until he notices that the entire Clan seems to be avoiding looking at his face, so he runs down to the water to look at his reflection. His face is damaged so badly that he doesn't even recognize himself at first, and his mother cruelly renames him Crookedkit.
- Mondegreen Gag: The barn cat Fleck mishears Crookedkit and thinks that the Moonstone (a place where warriors communicate with their ancestors) is the Foodstone. Prompts the hilarious line "Is there a Foodstone as well as a Moonstone?"
- Motor Mouth: Crookedstar's apprentice Sedgepaw. The narration even describes her as "chattering like a blackbird".Crookedjaw's head was spinning. "Slow down," he meowed.
"Sorry!" Sedgepaw flattened her ears. "I know I talk too much but I just want to be the best apprentice. I'm so glad you're my mentor. You're the strongest cat in RiverClan, except Rippleclaw, but he's old - not an elder or anything - but you're younger and you remember what it's like to be a 'paw. And I'm going to listen to everything you tell me..." - Named After the Injury: After he breaks his jaw, Rainflower renames Stormkit "Crookedkit" for his injury.
- Never Found the Body: A minor character - RiverClan elder Duskwater - got swept away in a flood in the prologue, and they never found her body.
- No Sense of Humor: Rainflower begins scolding Crookedjaw and Oakheart for telling friendly jokes about the queens, making a boring lecture about how the queens "enjoy helping their Clan". Crookedjaw and Oakheart just roll their eyes at this.
- Opposed Mentors: Crookedpaw is taught by his real mentor, Cedarpelt, but, unknown to other cats, he also is trained in his dreams by the deceased warrior Mapleshade. Mapleshade focuses more on combat skills, while Cedarpelt tries to explain that being a warrior is about more than just being a good fighter. Even their advice on battle moves differs, though that can be explained by the fact that Mapleshade came from another Clan.
- Origins Episode: This book serves as Crookedstar's.
- Papa Wolf: Shellheart is a Papa Cat, defending Crookedkit from his own mate. When she coldly tells him she blames her son for what happened to him, Shellheart is quick to defend him and breaks up with her. And when Rainflower tells Oakheart that Crookedstar would never be as good as him, Shellheart defends him with this:Shellheart: Can't you keep your thoughts to yourself, just once?
- Parental Favoritism: Crookedstar was the un-favorite of Rainflower, much to the dismay of him, his brother Oakheart, and their father Shellheart. All because he broke his jaw, thus "ruining his good looks." It takes a while for him to come to terms with it, but he eventually tells her that she would never make him ashamed of who he was.
- Parental Neglect: Rainflower neglects Crookedstar at a young age... all because he broke his jaw.
- Perspective Flip: Since Bluestar's Prophecy, Crookedstar's Promise, Yellowfang's Secret, and Tallstar's Revenge all take place during roughly the same time frame, there are several scenes seen from a different point of view in each book.
- Pitiful Worms: Mapleshade tells Crookedpaw that only RiverClan should concern him and that the other Clans are no more than dust and beetles.
- Playing Possum: Crookedkit does this to Fleck when they first meet; it's Oakpaw's favorite move.
- Prequel: Bluestar's Prophecy, Crookedstar's Promise, Yellowfang's Secret, and Tallstar's Revenge all take place about two generations before the original series.
- The Promise: Crookedstar's Promise centers around one. A mysterious spirit cat asks the main character, as a kit, to promise to be loyal to his Clan above all else, even his own desires. Naturally, he promises, since he can't imagine not being loyal. Turns out that she meant that he can't take a mate or anything of the sort, and she definitely didn't have his or the Clan's best intentions at heart.
- Rapid-Fire "Shut Up!": When Rippleclaw makes a scornful comment after Fallowtail gives up her kits to WindClan, Ottersplash snaps at him: "Shut up! Just shut up!"
- Rash Promise: Crookedkit agrees to promise Mapleshade that he will always put RiverClan first. As a kit, this just seemed like something obvious, and the issues with such a promise didn't become apparent until later... when his loyalty to RiverClan meant he'd lose everyone and everything he loved in the process.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: On the Russian cover
, the rats are depicted with red eyes. - Retcon:
- The allegiances of Bluestar's Prophecy list a she-cat named Lilystem as Crookedstar and Oakheart's mother. In this book, it is retconned that Rainflower is their mother instead, and that Lilystem is just another cat in the Clan (or perhaps was the original name for Rainflower - Lilystem appears separately in the Allegiances, but only has a single passing mention in the actual book.)
- Bluestar's Prophecy and Crookedstar's Promise were set in the same timeline. In one shared scene between the two books, in a Gathering, the cats' dialogue was retconned to reference an event in Crookedstar's Promise (which was the later released of the two).
- Revenge Reveal Story: At the end of Crookedstar's Promise, Mapleshade tells her story: her mate had cheated on her while she was pregnant with his kits, and then blamed her for their deaths when her Clan had exiled her and she tried to bring them across the river to him. She reveals that the reason she's been tormenting Crookedstar is because she wants revenge on her ex-mate and his bloodline, and Crookedstar is her mate's great-grandson by the other she-cat.
- Right Behind Me: Beetlepaw is complaining about having Ottersplash as his mentor when his littermates suddenly try to shush him. He's confused about why, until Ottersplash makes a comment from right behind him, and due to his lack of respect, assigns him to spend the afternoon cleaning the elders' den.
- The Runaway: Crookedstar was a runaway as a kit, but he didn't mean to stay away from his Clan for a long time. When he gets back, he becomes an apprentice at an age closer to when he'd normally be a warrior.
- Same-Sex Triplets: Crookedstar and Willowbreeze's kits - Willowkit, Minnowkit, and Silverkit - are all female (though only Silverkit survives the illness that kills her sisters and mother just after their birth).
- Secret Relationship: Reedfeather/Fallowtail.
- Secret Test of Character: Mapleshade says that her trying to get Willowbreeze captured by Twolegs was this, to see if Crookedjaw was truly loyal to his promise or if he cared more for his feelings for Willowbreeze.
- Series Continuity Error:
- In Tallstar's Revenge, it is leaf-bare when Stormkit is injured from his fall; the reason Talltail had gone to RiverClan was because WindClan didn't have herbs they could use due to it being the middle of winter. In Crookedstar's Promise, it is firmly newleaf when he gets hurt.
- In the prologue of Forest of Secrets, Graypool still had a living kit; she is mentioned to have other kits that have died. In this book, her entire litter died.
- It mentions in Cats of the Clans that Crookedstar knew instantly that Stonekit and Mistykit were Oakheart and Bluefur's kits. In Crookedstar's Promise, he only knew after Mapleshade gave him a hint.
- In Secrets of the Clans, Brambleberry is in StarClan when Mosskit dies. However, in Crookedstar's Promise, she's still alive when Stonefur and Mistyfoot are warriors. Possibly one of the many examples of Secrets' Canon Discontinuity.
- In the manga at the back, Silverstream's kits are apprentices while Graystripe is still living with RiverClan and Crookedstar is alive. However, they weren't apprenticed until after Crookedstar's death when Leopardfur became leader, and after Graystripe was banished from RiverClan; Mosspelt informs Graystripe of their apprenticeship at a Gathering in A Dangerous Path.
- Simultaneous Arcs: The four "prequel" Super Editions feature roughly the same timeframe from four different points of view. There are several direct scenes that the books share, sometimes featuring the characters talking to (or at least noticing) one of the others.
- Sins of Our Fathers: Mapleshade reveals at the end that she's using Crookedstar to take revenge on her former mate - his great-grandfather.
- The Social Darwinist: Crookedstar and Oakheart's mother Rainflower arranges for the latter to be mentored by their father Shellheart, even though it's uncommon for parents to mentor their children in the series. When questioned about it, she declares that only the strongest mentors could train the best apprentices. Right in front of Crookedstar.
- Sneaky Departure: Stormkit and Oakkit sneak out of camp through the dirtplace on the day Stormkit injures his jaw.
- Strong Family Resemblance:
- Soot looks exactly like her mother Mitzi.
- Skykit is mentioned as being the same brown color as her father Piketooth.
- Silverkit's markings look just like Willowbreeze's, and she also has some of Crookedstar's features like the shape of his ears and length of his tail.
- Tactical Withdrawal: Hailstar calls a retreat once ThunderClan gets backup at Sunningrocks and the RiverClan cats realize that they can't win.
- Third-Person Person: Goosefeather at one point says "You don't get away from Goosefeather that easily!"
- Together in Death: Mapleshade mocks Crookedstar, telling him that he has lost everything because all his loved ones died. Crookedstar tells her off, informing her that now all his loved ones wait for him in StarClan, so when he dies, he'll be with them again.
- Trophy Child: Implied with Rainflower, as after her favorite child Stormkit breaks his jaw, she begins to ignore and insult him based solely on his imperfect looks compared to his brother Oakkit (even going so far as to rename him Crookedkit). This was after she neglected Oakkit in favor of Stormkit, originally having seen him as the stronger and more attractive of the two. This attitude continues even after she dies, where she doesn't give him a life during his leader ceremony. However, Shellheart (his father) tells him that she did attend the ceremony, and still cared about him and loved him, but could not give him a life due to his closer relationship with Shellheart or giving him another was more than he was supposed to get.
- The Un-Favorite: Crookedstar suffered a childhood injury that left him with a permanently twisted jaw, which led his mother Rainflower to reject him and prefer his brother Oakheart. Unusually for this trope, Oakheart loves his brother and wants their mother to treat them the same. Their father Shellheart averts the trope by loving both his sons equally.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Crookedstar always wanted to earn Rainflower's approval and make her proud, despite the way she treated him.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: After Stormkit is injured, permanently disfiguring his jaw, Rainflower's decision to rename Stormkit to Crookedkit is met with dismay and anger by Stormkit's father and the rest of the Clan.
- You Dirty Rat!: Some RiverClan cats are attacked by rats.
- You're Insane!: Crookedstar calls Mapleshade insane after she explains how she tried to get revenge on him, while pretending to be his mentor, all along.
- You Should Have Died Instead: Thistleclaw says that Bluestar should have died instead of her recently deceased twin sister Snowfur, who was also his mate.
