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juushika"Which Animorphs review to keep outside a cut?" is a question usually answered by "which was my favorite" but there are so many great books at the end of the series! 49 is just so good tho.
Title: The Deception (Animorphs Book 46)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 305,370
Text Number: 1025
Read Because: reading the series
Review: A conflicted book, so close to good but not quite there. Ax is a difficult character, too often made into an awkward alien cliché for the sake of comic relief, so I appreciate books that emphasize his role within the Animorphs and his bond to humankind, his conflict with Andalites and his ethical struggles—especially at this ethical turning-point to the series; but this ghostwriter's choppy style, also present in The Reunion (Book 30) and The Weakness (Book 37), is obnoxious and undermines that depth. Thematically this is similarly divided: the scale is phenomenal and continues that beginning-of-the-end escalation and ethical compromise, but it would be more effective if the final dilemma of destroying the Yeerk pool hadn't just come up in The Test (Book 43)—it's insufficiently shocking.
Small side-note: Ax has been using thought-speak while in human morph since The Proposal (Book 35), and here even human Animorphs can use thought-speak even when in human morph (just not when unmorphed). This is absolutely a contradiction of previous worldbuilding that I'm too lazy to look up, but it does align with the gradual power creep occurring in in these final books.
Further thoughts on thought-speak: The Other (Book 40) establishes that Andalites with a sufficiently close bond (subtextually: lovers; textually: shorm, "best friends") can thought-speak over larger distances. "Unless we are on different planets, we can hear each other's thought-speak." This is absolutely a plot convenience, but when do Cassie/Jake or Rachel/Tobias get it? Or is it endemic to Andalites, rather than though-speak? Thusfar the rules governing thought-speak-via-morph seem to be the same as govern Andalite communicative abilities.
Title: The Resistance (Animorphs Book 47)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 305,530
Text Number: 1026
Read Because: reading the series
Review: To correlate Hork-Bajir with ex-slaves during the civil war is ... a choice. There's some logic in it, and it's not as egregiously handled as it could be, but like the WWII analogies in The Conspiracy (Book 31), it's too complex an issue with too many real and present effects for even this pretty complex MG series to handle. That aside: I love a good last stand story, appreciate exploring the agency of the Hork-Bajir (who need some, given their characterization is largely "a little dumb"), and both the strength and limits in Jake's leadership are interesting. But the alternating historical/modern PoV is underwhelming—this should be a ramp up towards the finale, not a historical cul-de-sac with a character we'll never see again, and the diary conceit is faintly ridiculous (especially the ending!).
Further adventures in power creep: "Then we walked toward the brightly colored tents. Thank God we could finally morph some halfway decent clothes, the result of a whole lot of experience. Boys in T-shirts and jeans generally look a lot saner than boys in spandex."
Title: The Ellimist Chronicles (Animorphs Chronicles Book 4 / Animorphs Book 47.5)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 210
Total Page Count: 305,740
Text Number: 1027
Read Because: reading the series
Review: The backstory of a godlike entity is an ambitious task, and this approaches it with relatively little hand-waving and a steady escalation of scale from coming of age to the death of a people and planet to the destruction of entire galaxies—it's wondrous, strange, and (even for a series which is consistently, surprisingly, grim) incredibly dark. As a stand-alone novel, it may be too cerebral; the series grounds it yet the two are also weirdly divorced, moreso than an average Chronicles novel—the only direct connection is a frame device and some context. But what an impressive piece of work. It reads like an adult science fiction novel (especially the concept of giant, amalgamated Father), with just enough science fantasy to make it MG-readable (like timeskipping building the spaceship-body).
I've already been spoiled for the death, but imagine how tense that foreshadowing would have been at this point, heading into series's final stretch!
Title: The Return (Animorphs Book 48)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 150
Total Page Count: 305,890+165
Text Number: 1028
Read Because: reading the series
Review: The framing and plotting here leaves something to be desired. Dream-like sequences are hard; these have a strong atmosphere, but their repetitive structure makes for a slow start. Crayak is too unambiguous an antagonist (and this clearly isn't the end of the series), so there's no real threat that Rachel will be won over. But the internal conflict, in Rachel's conscience and in her relationship with David, is phenomenal. It avoids retreading familiar ground by escalating its scale, as the series approaches its end and bloodlust becomes Rachel's defining character trait. This series has had some great endings, and this is one of the very best: all confrontation, no resolution, and so the burden is on the reader to internalize Rachel's mindset and determine what she probably did, and if we support her, and in what ways her decision matters.
It's a mirror image to the phenomenal Cassie book, The Departure (Book 19). Not as well constructed, but asking parallel ethical questions of radically different characters at two distinct points in their battle: now knowing what this will entail, can you continue? / now knowing how this has changed you, can you end it?
Title: The Diversion (Animorphs Book 49)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2001
Rating: 4 of 5 (my notes read: 4.9999 of 5)
Page Count: 165
Total Page Count: 306,055
Text Number: 1029
Read Because: reading the series
Review: This is inches from perfect, so it pains me that it mishandles the disability issue. Let disabled characters remain disabled! Cognitive impairments are still disabilities, but the general thrust here of the pious cripple who, when given the opportunity, would rather die in morph than return to a disabled body, is ... well, it's awful. Not the first or last look at disability in the series; it has good intentions, does some things right, but also feels in desperate need of a sensitivity reader.
The beginning is also a slow burn of boy-bird angst, despite some great Rachel/Tobias scenes.
But from the 25% mark onwards, this is captivating. (I read the bulk of this in the awkward position I assumed to read "just a few pages"—which morphed into the entire book.) It continues from The Revelation (Book 45), with further concrete, significant changes. Parents who have had minor bit parts before become significantly more real as they become part of the plot, again throwing into relief the bizarre, imbalanced, unfair position of the Animorph kids. Jake made me tear up, but his predicament is more frustrating than sentimental—it's a sympathetic rage, not a shallow tear-jerker. And I consistently love Tobias books despite that his angst, for all its complicated origins, is heavy-handed and familiar; this is somewhat more of the same, but rendered in precise, human detail (as he grows jealous while watching Loren pet her guide dog) that it feels fresh, and events here lead to significant character growth—Tobias is motivated and personally invested in a way we haven't seen before.
The emotional core is solid, an incredible amount happens, and even the huge action sequences are tempered by competence porn and justified by the ongoing escalation of scale as the war breaks out into the open. I love this—I just wish I could love it unreservedly.
Title: The Ultimate (Animorphs Book 50)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2001
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 307,130
Text Number: 1034
Read Because: reading the series
Review: This review is more loosely structured because my notes have grown longer as the end of the series approaches, and this is one of the longest. Cassie's ability to read people has become a double-edged weapon: she has a frank, heartbreaking view of the increasingly grim situation, and of Jake's compromised leadership in particular. The violence of imminent war is almost less devastating than the strife within the Animorphs team. It's a bold, productive choice to further compromise the status quo and, like other changes, almost feels like a betrayal.
Speaking of betrayal: The end is strong but so frustrating. I appreciate that Cassie's choice has lasting repercussions—the increasing serialization in these last few books is great. But given her opinion of morphing Hork-Bajir (see below), it strains belief that one of her longterm goals was to give Taxxons morphing power. And false dichotomy between killing Tom and letting him go with morphing cube is forced—why not knock him out him, or any other third option?
But what interests me most in this Cassie-classic ethics-heavy installment is the issue of disability. The series handled it inconsistently, the probable result of general good intentions but a dated and imperfect approach. Conscripting disabled recruits does better than usual, largely because Cassie's realization that marginalized peoples, particularly the disabled, have the ability to make informed consent while still being vulnerable to exploitation is nuanced, thoughtful, and true. But there's a lack of thought elsewhere: James is a great advocate and a strong foil to Jake, but it's gross that the leaders of the auxiliary Animorphs are all those healed of their disabilities. Not giving morphing powers to the Hork-Bajir specifically because of their low intelligence, disregarding that Toby exists to help them navigate the issue of informed consent and safe behavior, immediately after a scene where the Animorphs practice tactical defensive morphs ("Besides, the Hork-Bajir didn't really need morphing ability, like we did. Their bodies were well equipped for battle as any Earth creature they could morph." my ass) is transparent ableism as well as frankly bad writing. This is still a strong book—surprisingly strong: it's harsh, dynamic, clever; it's Cassie fundamentally changed but still so capable—but conflicting. There's an undercurrent of something wrong in everything it does right.
[Spoilery endgame thoughts re: Jake and Cassie excised from here, to be placed in final wrap up. But Jake's character arc is great and Cassie's ability to read it is devastating.
This shift towards "we all believe, but don't discuss, that Tobias did the hawk thing on purpose" is just. very good.
Nonlethal heroes is a perpetually flawed trope for numerous & overlapping reasons, namely "that's not how head trauma works" and "the dividing line between good/bad as no kill/yes kill is unproductively simplistic" & this series has been playing against that inconsistently. The trope exists partially to make narratives audience-friendly, and this is MG/YA. So on the one hand, we're supposed to float along on the premise that that is how head trauma works; and on the other hand (the one the Animorphs cut off every third human-Controller), Visser One/Edriss 562 picks up on the fact that the Animorphs weren't killing humans, ergo these are real events with real consequences. It's fantasy violence when it needs to be and a Cassie ethical meltdown when it needs to be, and it doesn't stand up to close analysis, but the fridge horror realization that all the disabled Controllers are probably now dead Controllers is still huge. It aligns with the shifting scale and morality of the ending, but its retroactive impact is just ... massive.
And, to some degree, unpardonable, or at least on par with looking the other way re: Rachel. To what degree are the Animorphs responsible for the other people's bad behavior when its prompted by their actions? When they let an injured enemy get eaten by Taxxons? When they let the Yeerks or Andalites or Rachel do the dirty work in a fight? The evolving issue of disability is gradual but treated with a sense of the inevitable; that they think to recruit disabled Animorphs indicates that they've been increasingly aware that the Yeerks abhor disability—indicates that they've become aware of the fate of the Controllers they leave disabled. But they've still taken a moral superiority in their "non-lethal" methods.
Title: The Deception (Animorphs Book 46)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 305,370
Text Number: 1025
Read Because: reading the series
Review: A conflicted book, so close to good but not quite there. Ax is a difficult character, too often made into an awkward alien cliché for the sake of comic relief, so I appreciate books that emphasize his role within the Animorphs and his bond to humankind, his conflict with Andalites and his ethical struggles—especially at this ethical turning-point to the series; but this ghostwriter's choppy style, also present in The Reunion (Book 30) and The Weakness (Book 37), is obnoxious and undermines that depth. Thematically this is similarly divided: the scale is phenomenal and continues that beginning-of-the-end escalation and ethical compromise, but it would be more effective if the final dilemma of destroying the Yeerk pool hadn't just come up in The Test (Book 43)—it's insufficiently shocking.
But I had made friends. We were our own family. And this was still our fight.
I was Andalite. And, in a way, I was human.
There was another heavy silence. I turned my main eyes toward Jake.
It is a huge responsibility for a young person, human or Andalite, to be a leader. Finally, Jake spoke. His eyes were dull but his voice was firm.
"Things are different," he said. "From now on, we take what we need. We do what we have to do. No matter what the consequences."
Small side-note: Ax has been using thought-speak while in human morph since The Proposal (Book 35), and here even human Animorphs can use thought-speak even when in human morph (just not when unmorphed). This is absolutely a contradiction of previous worldbuilding that I'm too lazy to look up, but it does align with the gradual power creep occurring in in these final books.
Further thoughts on thought-speak: The Other (Book 40) establishes that Andalites with a sufficiently close bond (subtextually: lovers; textually: shorm, "best friends") can thought-speak over larger distances. "Unless we are on different planets, we can hear each other's thought-speak." This is absolutely a plot convenience, but when do Cassie/Jake or Rachel/Tobias get it? Or is it endemic to Andalites, rather than though-speak? Thusfar the rules governing thought-speak-via-morph seem to be the same as govern Andalite communicative abilities.
Title: The Resistance (Animorphs Book 47)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 305,530
Text Number: 1026
Read Because: reading the series
Review: To correlate Hork-Bajir with ex-slaves during the civil war is ... a choice. There's some logic in it, and it's not as egregiously handled as it could be, but like the WWII analogies in The Conspiracy (Book 31), it's too complex an issue with too many real and present effects for even this pretty complex MG series to handle. That aside: I love a good last stand story, appreciate exploring the agency of the Hork-Bajir (who need some, given their characterization is largely "a little dumb"), and both the strength and limits in Jake's leadership are interesting. But the alternating historical/modern PoV is underwhelming—this should be a ramp up towards the finale, not a historical cul-de-sac with a character we'll never see again, and the diary conceit is faintly ridiculous (especially the ending!).
Ever since Ax acted alone in kidnapping Visser Two from the aircraft carrier, a desperate act he hoped would make the visser call off a captured American sub scheduled to release nuclear weapons against China, he hadn't looked me straight in the eyes. And to be honest, I was almost glad.
Yeah, Ax's gamble had worked. And in a strange way I was glad he'd relieved me of having to make the decision. Of having to choose death for thousands in order to save millions.
I was proud of Ax. Mad at him, too. I missed the times when our friendship was easier. Hoped it would get better. But for now, we both kind of pretended nothing major had gone down between us.
It's what we have to do.
Further adventures in power creep: "Then we walked toward the brightly colored tents. Thank God we could finally morph some halfway decent clothes, the result of a whole lot of experience. Boys in T-shirts and jeans generally look a lot saner than boys in spandex."
Title: The Ellimist Chronicles (Animorphs Chronicles Book 4 / Animorphs Book 47.5)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 210
Total Page Count: 305,740
Text Number: 1027
Read Because: reading the series
Review: The backstory of a godlike entity is an ambitious task, and this approaches it with relatively little hand-waving and a steady escalation of scale from coming of age to the death of a people and planet to the destruction of entire galaxies—it's wondrous, strange, and (even for a series which is consistently, surprisingly, grim) incredibly dark. As a stand-alone novel, it may be too cerebral; the series grounds it yet the two are also weirdly divorced, moreso than an average Chronicles novel—the only direct connection is a frame device and some context. But what an impressive piece of work. It reads like an adult science fiction novel (especially the concept of giant, amalgamated Father), with just enough science fantasy to make it MG-readable (like timeskipping building the spaceship-body).
I've already been spoiled for the death, but imagine how tense that foreshadowing would have been at this point, heading into series's final stretch!
Title: The Return (Animorphs Book 48)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 150
Total Page Count: 305,890+165
Text Number: 1028
Read Because: reading the series
Review: The framing and plotting here leaves something to be desired. Dream-like sequences are hard; these have a strong atmosphere, but their repetitive structure makes for a slow start. Crayak is too unambiguous an antagonist (and this clearly isn't the end of the series), so there's no real threat that Rachel will be won over. But the internal conflict, in Rachel's conscience and in her relationship with David, is phenomenal. It avoids retreading familiar ground by escalating its scale, as the series approaches its end and bloodlust becomes Rachel's defining character trait. This series has had some great endings, and this is one of the very best: all confrontation, no resolution, and so the burden is on the reader to internalize Rachel's mindset and determine what she probably did, and if we support her, and in what ways her decision matters.
It's a mirror image to the phenomenal Cassie book, The Departure (Book 19). Not as well constructed, but asking parallel ethical questions of radically different characters at two distinct points in their battle: now knowing what this will entail, can you continue? / now knowing how this has changed you, can you end it?
Title: The Diversion (Animorphs Book 49)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2001
Rating: 4 of 5 (my notes read: 4.9999 of 5)
Page Count: 165
Total Page Count: 306,055
Text Number: 1029
Read Because: reading the series
Review: This is inches from perfect, so it pains me that it mishandles the disability issue. Let disabled characters remain disabled! Cognitive impairments are still disabilities, but the general thrust here of the pious cripple who, when given the opportunity, would rather die in morph than return to a disabled body, is ... well, it's awful. Not the first or last look at disability in the series; it has good intentions, does some things right, but also feels in desperate need of a sensitivity reader.
The beginning is also a slow burn of boy-bird angst, despite some great Rachel/Tobias scenes.
But from the 25% mark onwards, this is captivating. (I read the bulk of this in the awkward position I assumed to read "just a few pages"—which morphed into the entire book.) It continues from The Revelation (Book 45), with further concrete, significant changes. Parents who have had minor bit parts before become significantly more real as they become part of the plot, again throwing into relief the bizarre, imbalanced, unfair position of the Animorph kids. Jake made me tear up, but his predicament is more frustrating than sentimental—it's a sympathetic rage, not a shallow tear-jerker. And I consistently love Tobias books despite that his angst, for all its complicated origins, is heavy-handed and familiar; this is somewhat more of the same, but rendered in precise, human detail (as he grows jealous while watching Loren pet her guide dog) that it feels fresh, and events here lead to significant character growth—Tobias is motivated and personally invested in a way we haven't seen before.
The emotional core is solid, an incredible amount happens, and even the huge action sequences are tempered by competence porn and justified by the ongoing escalation of scale as the war breaks out into the open. I love this—I just wish I could love it unreservedly.
Title: The Ultimate (Animorphs Book 50)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Published: Scholastic, 2001
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 307,130
Text Number: 1034
Read Because: reading the series
Review: This review is more loosely structured because my notes have grown longer as the end of the series approaches, and this is one of the longest. Cassie's ability to read people has become a double-edged weapon: she has a frank, heartbreaking view of the increasingly grim situation, and of Jake's compromised leadership in particular. The violence of imminent war is almost less devastating than the strife within the Animorphs team. It's a bold, productive choice to further compromise the status quo and, like other changes, almost feels like a betrayal.
Speaking of betrayal: The end is strong but so frustrating. I appreciate that Cassie's choice has lasting repercussions—the increasing serialization in these last few books is great. But given her opinion of morphing Hork-Bajir (see below), it strains belief that one of her longterm goals was to give Taxxons morphing power. And false dichotomy between killing Tom and letting him go with morphing cube is forced—why not knock him out him, or any other third option?
But what interests me most in this Cassie-classic ethics-heavy installment is the issue of disability. The series handled it inconsistently, the probable result of general good intentions but a dated and imperfect approach. Conscripting disabled recruits does better than usual, largely because Cassie's realization that marginalized peoples, particularly the disabled, have the ability to make informed consent while still being vulnerable to exploitation is nuanced, thoughtful, and true. But there's a lack of thought elsewhere: James is a great advocate and a strong foil to Jake, but it's gross that the leaders of the auxiliary Animorphs are all those healed of their disabilities. Not giving morphing powers to the Hork-Bajir specifically because of their low intelligence, disregarding that Toby exists to help them navigate the issue of informed consent and safe behavior, immediately after a scene where the Animorphs practice tactical defensive morphs ("Besides, the Hork-Bajir didn't really need morphing ability, like we did. Their bodies were well equipped for battle as any Earth creature they could morph." my ass) is transparent ableism as well as frankly bad writing. This is still a strong book—surprisingly strong: it's harsh, dynamic, clever; it's Cassie fundamentally changed but still so capable—but conflicting. There's an undercurrent of something wrong in everything it does right.
Jake nodded. But he didn't ask any more questions. Like how Toby planned to fix flooding pipes. And how long it would take. And could Taxxons dig up the pipes, concrete or no concrete.
That wasn't like Jake. Jake was usually way in front of any situation.
The truth was, and it hurt me to admit it, Jake just wasn't Jake anymore.
[Spoilery endgame thoughts re: Jake and Cassie excised from here, to be placed in final wrap up. But Jake's character arc is great and Cassie's ability to read it is devastating.
Tobias is a nothlit. Someone who stayed in morph beyond the two-hour time limit and got trapped in that morph.
None of us are one hundred percent sure it was an accident.
Sometimes we think Tobias is happier as a hawk. That he let himself be trapped, on purpose.
But none of us has come right out and asked him. At least, I haven't.
And none of us has asked if given the same situation he'd do it again. Assuming Tobias chose his fate and wasn't just a victim of a really bad circumstance.
This shift towards "we all believe, but don't discuss, that Tobias did the hawk thing on purpose" is just. very good.
"The Yeerks don't infest people like your mom was before she could morph," I said honestly. "The Yeerks don't want a blind Controller. They don't want a disabled Controller. Deaf people, people in wheelchairs, people with serious illnesses."
"She's right," Rachel said slowly. "I've never seen a Controller in a wheelchair. And I bet any human-Controller who gets cancer or loses a limb is killed. No joke."
Nonlethal heroes is a perpetually flawed trope for numerous & overlapping reasons, namely "that's not how head trauma works" and "the dividing line between good/bad as no kill/yes kill is unproductively simplistic" & this series has been playing against that inconsistently. The trope exists partially to make narratives audience-friendly, and this is MG/YA. So on the one hand, we're supposed to float along on the premise that that is how head trauma works; and on the other hand (the one the Animorphs cut off every third human-Controller), Visser One/Edriss 562 picks up on the fact that the Animorphs weren't killing humans, ergo these are real events with real consequences. It's fantasy violence when it needs to be and a Cassie ethical meltdown when it needs to be, and it doesn't stand up to close analysis, but the fridge horror realization that all the disabled Controllers are probably now dead Controllers is still huge. It aligns with the shifting scale and morality of the ending, but its retroactive impact is just ... massive.
And, to some degree, unpardonable, or at least on par with looking the other way re: Rachel. To what degree are the Animorphs responsible for the other people's bad behavior when its prompted by their actions? When they let an injured enemy get eaten by Taxxons? When they let the Yeerks or Andalites or Rachel do the dirty work in a fight? The evolving issue of disability is gradual but treated with a sense of the inevitable; that they think to recruit disabled Animorphs indicates that they've been increasingly aware that the Yeerks abhor disability—indicates that they've become aware of the fate of the Controllers they leave disabled. But they've still taken a moral superiority in their "non-lethal" methods.
