Meanwhile, back in the forest, the Clans begin to experience the effects of the humans' intrusion into their territories, including lost and poisoned prey, destruction of the forest and cats being abducted. "Moonrise" is followed by "Dawn", which details the events following the questing cats' return to the forest, and their subsequent journey to find a new home. "Moonrise" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Sally Estes, writing for "Booklist", praised "Moonrise" for its "cliffhanger" ending "that will leave readers eager for the next installment", as well as the suspenseful possibility of the destruction of the forest. A reviewer for "Horn Book Review" gave a positive review, praising the plot, characters, and writing. The reviewer stated that "Hunter successfully weaves character, plot, and good writing into another readable story". Hilary Williamson, writing for "BookLoons", gave "Moonrise" a positive review, calling it "exciting" and a "gripping epic". A reviewer for "Kirkus Reviews" criticized the novel for mundane writing, easy-to-confuse names, and the use of the words "meowed" and "mewed" instead of "said". The reviewer thought that the plot was "marred by the same preciousness of its predecessor", but praised the plot for its "enhanced complexity" and suspenseful writing, saying that "a small plot twist is refreshing and suspense builds steadily towards the final installment". The novel has also been mentioned for containing "magic, fantasy, and heroic adventure", and was recommended to fans of "Harry Potter" as possible reading material after that series' end. "Moonrise" reached "The New York Times" bestseller list for children's chapter books, holding the number two spot for two weeks. It was also ranked 121st on "USA Today"'s bestseller list during the week of August 11, 2005. The work was also a success in Canada, reaching number seven on the "Leader-Post" children's bestseller list, and remaining in the top 15 for seven weeks. In a Fairfield, Greater Victoria store, "Moonrise" was reportedly more popular than "Harry Potter".