The Invasion (Animorphs, #1)

Jul 03, 2007 AJ Griffin rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who need to know about the Yeerks

Rather than go through the 23482398 of these that I read as a wee one, we'll commemorate the one that got it all started. If you're my age, a boy, and at least a little bit of a dork, you read these books. They had everything I wanted at that point: quick, dramatic chapters printed in this super-cool space age font, badass fucking aliens (you got your giant centipede things, your huge warriors with bodies made of blades, weird blue centaur-things with stalk eyes and scorpion tails, and nasty-ass...more Rather than go through the 23482398 of these that I read as a wee one, we'll commemorate the one that got it all started. If you're my age, a boy, and at least a little bit of a dork, you read these books. They had everything I wanted at that point: quick, dramatic chapters printed in this super-cool space age font, badass fucking aliens (you got your giant centipede things, your huge warriors with bodies made of blades, weird blue centaur-things with stalk eyes and scorpion tails, and nasty-ass slugs that crawl into your ear and control your brain), a core of main characters that had token, unfailing identities, and some great romantic tension between them.

Some might argue that the concept- a gaggle of 13ish year olds stumble upon a dying alien who grants them the power to morph into any animal so that they can fight the impending invasion of a species of brain-infesting slugs, accept this offer, actually avoid death in the first 5 minutes while still doing their homework- is a stretch. So is the Bible, dudes. Unlike Jesus and Co., however, the Animorphs actually interested me. I used to spend time playing around outside and somehow pretending I was part of the Animorphs (how do you adequately pretend you're morphing? Especially when you're like, 12 years old?), and I even did a couple book reports on them, despite the chagrin of my teachers. Shit, I actually tried to watch the Nickelodeon TV show- but that sucked even then.

If nothing else, you could always count on the Animorphs to be steadfast and true to character. You knew with every book that at some point they were going to be in a situation that seemed hopeless; Jake (the 'leader') would say something strong and inspirational; Marco (the smartass) would crack a joke to lighten the mood; Cassie (the giant pussy) would come up with some sort of emotional, spiritual bullshit; Rachel (the violent femme, so to speak); Tobias (the neglected, dweeby, generally-pitied kid who managed to get trapped in the form of a hawk in like, the second book) would just kind of grit his teeth and bear it; and of course Ax, the alien of the group who lacked any human personality, would comment on the time.

I don't know why I eventually stopped reading these books, but I never got to the conclusion and by the time I went back to find out, the Animorphs were nowhere to be found. I guess it's destiny. Someday I will find the final book, and a giant void will be filled.

In conclusion- A Few Subtle Ways To See if Someone is Cool:

A) Mention "Visser 3." Gauge the reaction.
B) Tell them you'd love to hang out, but you've got a meeting with The Sharing later. This should concern them.
C) Anytime something strange happens, attribute it to that dastardly Ellimist.
D) Each year, coordinate a Day of Mourning for the Gedds.

But most of all, anyone who read this gargantuan babbling of mine is awesome. In a kinda pathetic way.(less)

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Sep 21, 2011 Kay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: epic, heroes-flawed-n-great, sci-fi, all-time-favorites, war-and-conflict

Don't let the rating fool you; reading this book initiated the most significant literary experience of my life. It started in grade school and ended much too soon in high school. I read all of the books in the Animorphs universe, and after years of dragging my mom to the book store to buy me the latest Animorphs release, I finished the last book with a feeling of gratification, nostalgia, and love.

It seems silly and frankly impossible to describe to what extent this series has touched me. It's n...more Don't let the rating fool you; reading this book initiated the most significant literary experience of my life. It started in grade school and ended much too soon in high school. I read all of the books in the Animorphs universe, and after years of dragging my mom to the book store to buy me the latest Animorphs release, I finished the last book with a feeling of gratification, nostalgia, and love.

It seems silly and frankly impossible to describe to what extent this series has touched me. It's not been just an influence in my life--it is a part of my life. I can only start off by saying that I blame Animorphs for my interest sci-fi, physics, biology, genetics, ethics, animals, war tactics, and basically almost every aspect of my intellectual and emotional life. The books opened up galaxies, physics, technology, alternate universes and other fantastic ideas to my impressionable young mind. It made me believe that things like speed-of-light travel and paradigm-shifting catastrophies were possible, even if they don't exist (yet).

I also can't think of better characters with whom I could interact monthly. Each Animorph, and each protagonist and antagonist that they encounter, all had motives and desires and ambitions that made them so likable even when you hated them. K.A. Applegate was able to humanize the least human of aliens, from the all-powerful and godlike Ellimist to the hunger-driven monstrosities called Taxxons. My heart broke even for the seemingly sinister assistant vice principal when I discovered his role in the series. While exposing the flaws of each being, human or not, friend or foe, Animorphs showed us how to care for them, to sympathize with them as fellow creatures on this grand stage called life. More than anything, the capacity to care and to understand is what I walked away with, and I thank Ms. Applegate forever for that.

K.A. Applegate, with her humor and intellect, constructed one of the most encompassing YA series to this day. I've yet to read anything of the emotional depth and sympathy of Animorphs. And I'm not just talking about sympathy for another person, but for mankind, for alien species, for the enemy--and most of all, for people who are different from us. What we don't know, we fear, and while sometimes this is justified, Animorphs taught me that a second and third and fourth look is always merited. This was the first series that taught me that the world is a canvas painted with shades of gray, that nothing is fair, and that the good guys may not always win. But the series also taught me about the power of sacrifice, duty, and love. They were hard but valuable lessons.

The series might be too young for adults to pick up. Undoubtedly my affection for this series plays some part in my re-reading the books every now and then. Each individual book has its strengths and weaknesses, and some are better than others. Some books are scary, others humorous, and a few heartbreaking. But with Animorphs, it's the series that packs a powerful punch. If I could rate a series, I would give Animorphs 100 Big Gold Stars.
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May 19, 2011 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved these books as a kid, of course. The regular visit to the bookstore for new each installment was a big highlight of each month.

What's really amazing is the power these books have when you go back to them. There was a time when I was depressed, and in my angsty boredom I looked at the full Animorphs collection sitting on my bookshelf and grabbed one of them to read. At first, the large font and simple syntax were a bit jarring, and I didn't know how well these books would hold up. But almos...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Nemo (the Moonlight Library) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read, mine-mine-mine, series, shed-your-skin-yo-take-another-form, teens-rule-the-world-yo, spaceships-and-lasers-pew-pew-pew, aliens-yo-they-re-among-us, project-animorphs, children, physical, publisher-scholastic

Brought to you by The Moonlight Library!

I’ve been thinking about this review for a while. There’s two major difficulties: it’s often hard to write a great review of an amazing book, and how does one review a book one has read a billionty times since one was ten years old? (That was nearly twenty years ago. I SAY NEARLY I AM NOT THAT OLD.) This is an establishing review as well, so it will be longer than my other ones.

Let’s start from the beginning. I first saw this book when I was ten years old...more description

Brought to you by The Moonlight Library!

I’ve been thinking about this review for a while. There’s two major difficulties: it’s often hard to write a great review of an amazing book, and how does one review a book one has read a billionty times since one was ten years old? (That was nearly twenty years ago. I SAY NEARLY I AM NOT THAT OLD.) This is an establishing review as well, so it will be longer than my other ones.

Let’s start from the beginning. I first saw this book when I was ten years old in my school library. It sat alongside book #2. I seem to recall half of my class telling me about this book, because #2 had a girl turning into a cat and everyone knew I liked cats (as should be obvious from my blog header). I was tempted to read #2 first because as an eight year old I wasn’t aware that book series had this thing called ‘continuity’ – I’d read Goosebumps, the Babysitter’s Club, and the Saddle Club, each of which you could pull out a random book and enjoy a stand-alone story – especially Goosebumps, of which most of the books were unrelated. I was unprepared for the overarching story arc that encompassed all the books. This was especially relevant when I read #2: The Visitor, but we’ll get to that in the next review

In #1 The Invasion, Jake is our narrator. He’s an average guy – he’s got good grades, is good-looking, likes basketball and video games. His best friend is short, annoying Hispanic Marco. His crush is black farm girl Cassie. His cousin is blonde Amazon warrior Rachel. There’s also this weird, quiet kid Tobias. The five take a walk through a construction site, meet a dying alien who warns them of a silent invasion and gives them a power to fight back: the power to morph. That means they can turn into any animal they touch. Unfortunately, so can their greatest enemy: Visser Three. He’s the alien leading the invasion and wants nothing more than to destroy our trusty Animorphs. He’s also scary in a love-to-hate kind of way: psychotic, ambitious, and completely ruthless.

The book follows the kids’ first adventures: acquiring powerful ‘battle morphs’ and attacking the Yeerk pool, where the invading parasitic slugs have to return every three days. Not everything turns out OK, which is what I love about Applegate. She’s not afraid to give us an unhappy ending, even in her children’s fiction. Looking back, I can see that the prose is written with a breakneck pace. You don’t want to tear your eyes away from it. It’s so breathtaking that the non-essential parts are left out and your brain has to race to catch up. There are also a few mistakes that Applegate would later refer to as KASUs (Katherine Applegate Screws Up) such as Tobias in cat morph able to hear Jake’s thoughts, which was removed from the reprint.

The best thing about these novels, what made them so popular and what made Applegate want to write them in the first place is looking through the eyes of the human as they’re morphing and describing everything in vivid detail, even the gross parts, and looking at the world through the eyes of the animal filtered by our human narrator. Applegate really gets into the head of Jake’s dog, lizard, and tiger. It’s joyful, scary, comforting, amazing. And that’s what made these books so special.(less)

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Apr 01, 2011 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my face the entire time I was reading this: :-D

Really, I couldn't stop grinning. Because Animorphs defined my adolescence. From my first book, received Easter Sunday 1997, through the bitter end (when I was finishing my sophomore year of high school), Animorphs was with me. I met my best friends through these books (and I met three of the women who stood for me on my wedding day through our shared love of Animorphs). So when I heard these were being re-released, it was fabulous. And whe...more

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Jul 10, 2008 Alan Woodall rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have every single one of these books, from #1-54 of the regular series, the Ellimist/Andalite/Hork-Bajir Chronicles, Visser, all four Megamorphs, and the two Alternamorphs choose-your-own-adventure books. I have read most of these more than once.

While the books are very very formulaic and repetitive, particularly in action sequences and morphing descriptions ("He tucked back his wings and went into a dive..." "The feather pattern came up on my skin and burst into 3D..."), they have very lov...more

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Jun 06, 2007 Swankivy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favoritebooks

Started reading Animorphs 'cause I wanted to see if it was stupid. Boy was I ever wrong. Kids are fighting against mind-stealing aliens in this incredibly spooky and realistic-sounding character-oriented saga. In the first book they figure out what the circumstances of the invasion are and are given their morphing powers. I read the entire series. It is probably a lot different from what you think. I read these for the first time when I was in my mid-twenties, so that should tell you something....more Started reading Animorphs 'cause I wanted to see if it was stupid. Boy was I ever wrong. Kids are fighting against mind-stealing aliens in this incredibly spooky and realistic-sounding character-oriented saga. In the first book they figure out what the circumstances of the invasion are and are given their morphing powers. I read the entire series. It is probably a lot different from what you think. I read these for the first time when I was in my mid-twenties, so that should tell you something. . . .

Lots of people think Animorphs is stupid based on their (wrong) assumptions about the books or because they have seen the less-than-stellar television show. But the series is amazing. You can laugh, now shut up and get the first one. Basic premise: Five kids get the ability to morph into any animal they can touch (to acquire their DNA). A dying alien (an Andalite) gave them the power because there are other aliens, slug-like creatures called Yeerks, trying to take over the planet by squirming into people's ears and taking over their bodies. So it's a quiet invasion, people are being taken one by one and then made to act as though everything is cool . . . and of course, they become recruiters for getting more people to infest.

The Animorphs--Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias (and later, an Andalite kid named Aximili, Ax for short)--are all that stands between the rest of the world and total slavery; they're trying to hold off the Yeerks until the backup Andalite fleet gets there. They use their morphing technology to spy on the Yeerks and to destroy their facilities and whatnot.

But what makes these books so amazing is that these are kids, having to pretend they're normal kids so no one knows they're the "Andalite bandits," and they are fighting the enemy while living right out in the open, under their noses. Internal Andalite and Yeerk politics make the situations complicated, and through the fifty-four (and then some) book series it slowly escalates to an all-out war, with a child (Jake, leader of the Animorphs) as basically the president and general of the forces of Earth.

Thousands of humans and aliens die, sometimes in violent and horrible ways, and stunning moral crises present themselves all through the series. The Animorphs form alliances with other species and with each other; they have the beginnings of romantic relationships in some cases; they still have homework and family problems (in some cases, serious ones). These six kids put their personal problems aside as best they can and become warriors, completely losing their innocence and most of their humanity in the process. Though they're considered kids' books and the TV show was a bit lame, I have no doubt that if marketing had been different and the thin serialized books had combined into fourteen or fifteen thicker books, it probably could have been accepted by adults. But since it's an intermediate series, you probably think I'm kidding around about how good these are. But I'm serious. Ms. Applegate's books are not without flaws (there are occasional continuity errors and little speed bumps), but they are highly recommended.

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Jun 22, 2011 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, favourite-book-series

what a brilliant start to a brilliant series. K.A Applegate created an amazing series which was one of my favourite series to read when i was younger. I even liked the tv adaption of the books. I feel in love with these book, the story and the characters. Tobias was my faviourite. She started a new revolution with these novels as nothing had even been written similar to this, it was completly new and a fantastic read, i could imagine myself in their world and really see what was going on. The an...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Rommel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

The first book in the Animorphs series started quite light compared to the later ones. Although it includes kids as main characters (teens or even younger probably, but I don't recall them mentioning their ages), the story has quite a mature twist, in the sense that it puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of young people.

This book's story was told from the point of view of Jake, who turned out to be the leader of their small team. The first book introduces such a responsibility when an...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Tessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bien que ce soit une série très jeunesse de par son écriture, je trouve que le thème abordé est bien traité et pas franchement si jeune que ça.

Dès le début du premier tome nos héros font face à une invasion extraterrestre, à la mort et à une nouvelle vie. Vie qui sera complètement chamboulée. Chacun aborde le pouvoir et surtout la mission qu’on leur a donné de façon différente et même s’ils sont cinq, ils se distinguent les uns des autres: chef, peureux, orphelin, courage et passion (non ce ne s...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Whiskey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, tragic-backstory, stereotypes, sci-fi, plucky-young-heroes, crazy-technology, antihero

Read this review and more at Romancing the Laser Pistol.

This is the first of the Animorphs books, it introduces the main characters, their quirks, their aspirations, their tragic back-stories. They receive their powers and decide ultimately that they're going to attempt the save the world.

I don't know what to say about this book. I originally picked it up when I was twelve. Hanging out at the mall was a thing back then, that people did regularly. The arcade at the mall was always packed. This bo...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Brandi rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favourite childhood series. I doubt it holds up but I read every single one of them when I was 11 even through K.A. Applegate's multiple ghost writers in the later books. I think her letter to her fan's sums up what I liked most about the series, both as a child and now as an adult.

Dear Animorphs Readers:

Quite a number of people seem to be annoyed by the final chapter in the Animorphs story. There are a lot of complaints that I let Rachel die. That I let Visser Three/One live. That Cassie an...more My favourite childhood series. I doubt it holds up but I read every single one of them when I was 11 even through K.A. Applegate's multiple ghost writers in the later books. I think her letter to her fan's sums up what I liked most about the series, both as a child and now as an adult.

Dear Animorphs Readers:

Quite a number of people seem to be annoyed by the final chapter in the Animorphs story. There are a lot of complaints that I let Rachel die. That I let Visser Three/One live. That Cassie and Jake broke up. That Tobias seems to have been reduced to unexpressed grief. That there was no grand, final fight-to-end-all-fights. That there was no happy celebration. And everyone is mad about the cliffhanger ending.

So I thought I'd respond.

Animorphs was always a war story. Wars don't end happily. Not ever. Often relationships that were central during war, dissolve during peace. Some people who were brave and fearless in war are unable to handle peace, feel disconnected and confused. Other times people in war make the move to peace very easily. Always people die in wars. And always people are left shattered by the loss of loved ones.

That's what happens, so that's what I wrote. Jake and Cassie were in love during the war, and end up going their seperate ways afterward. Jake, who was so brave and capable during the war is adrift during the peace. Marco and Ax, on the other hand, move easily past the war and even manage to use their experience to good effect. Rachel dies, and Tobias will never get over it. That doesn't by any means cover everything that happens in a war, but it's a start.

Here's what doesn't happen in war: there are no wondrous, climactic battles that leave the good guys standing tall and the bad guys lying in the dirt. Life isn't a World Wrestling Federation Smackdown. Even the people who win a war, who survive and come out the other side with the conviction that they have done something brave and necessary, don't do a lot of celebrating. There's very little chanting of 'we're number one' among people who've personally experienced war.
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Feb 27, 2013 Harold Smithson rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of the better serials out there.

Katherine Applegate's 50+ serial, (Not including special issues) though not exactly a pop culture phenomenon, is fairly famous in its own right. As an elementary schooler, I once made it a goal to read all of the animorphs books, though for multiple reasons I never succeded. Firstly, the series was simply too long and, in my young opinion, not good enough to justify pouring in hour upon hour of effort to finish completely. Secondly, the series was just too dar...more One of the better serials out there.

Katherine Applegate's 50+ serial, (Not including special issues) though not exactly a pop culture phenomenon, is fairly famous in its own right. As an elementary schooler, I once made it a goal to read all of the animorphs books, though for multiple reasons I never succeded. Firstly, the series was simply too long and, in my young opinion, not good enough to justify pouring in hour upon hour of effort to finish completely. Secondly, the series was just too dark for me. But by virtue of hindsight, I see that as an odd plus to Animorphs.

The Animorphs series is dark, make no mistake. Far darker than warriors or Secrets of Droon, which were the other serials that I as a young child was familiar with. Of course one can simply splatter blood all over a childrens' book and deem it as more "respectful" of childrens' intelligence as well as a book aimed at a mature audience, but Animorphs isn't that kind of series. When I say the series is dark, I mean not only that the atmosphere is taut with menace, but also that the human aspect is darker.

What Droon lacked entirely and Warriors failed in was character development, (Warriors attempted character development, though the usage of the word "attempted" should cue you in on just how effective it was. A for effort, D- for results) which is something that I feel weighed both series down. Animorphs doesn't make the mistake. Initially the main characters resemble common tropes found in every work of children's literature from Harry Potter to... whatever. The difference is that, as the series progresses, those characters are developed and become, while not the Jean Valjeans of children's lit, reasonably interesting characters. The side characters are memorable as well. (One of my favorite moments in the series is when a nameless bad guys asks one of the heroes to "let him live" so that he can just quit the military and live out his life as a bird. The poor guy is let go and it remains unknown whether or not he dies) Visser 3 is pretty scary and the politics and moral dilemmas are believable.

It's not flawless and suffers from some of the same problems that most serials suffer from: Character development isn't always top-notch, some aspects are clearly meant to appeal to the younger audience for a cheap laugh,and the overall writing isn't the best. But Animorphs is weighed down by these problems far less than other serials. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Animorphs is good for what it is. Katherine Applegate attempted to write a good, exciting story that managed to be fun enough while also treating its audience with respect. If I went back and re-read the books, perhaps I'd have a different opinion. But I'll stand by what I initially said about how Animorphs is still a lot better than the other serials.

If you know a kid who is into Sci-Fi and isn't afraid of somewhat dark material, you can give him or her this.(less)

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Feb 15, 2013 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, library, would-recommend

I used to own a lot of these books as a kid, and I absolutely loved them. I just re-read the first in the series mostly to see if it was even a little bit as good as I remembered and a little bit because I've forgotten enough of the plot that it was going to seem like a mostly new-to-me book.

The verdict? Not the best sci fi I've ever read ever, which was basically the opinion I had when I was young (though I didn't even know what the genre was at the time). But still, Katherine Applegate is a v...more

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Feb 09, 2013 smalls rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: piper

Recommended to smalls by: jasmine

Another book my 8 year old asked me to read. We origionally got this book so we could get the book of the girl morphing into a Dolphin. My girl loves Dolphins. So we decided we should at least know what happens at first before we just pick by animals. She is currently reading the dolphin one now. I just finished this tonight. I never thought I would be reading fantasy and sci fi, but that is what my daughter has picked up recently. It is an interesting idea, and parts of it for her, mostly the b...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There are probably exceptions, but it feels like middle grade books can be roughly rated as "Before Harry Potter" and "After Harry Potter".

After Harry Potter, middle grade books became lengthier. Fantasy was more in depth. Adventures became more epic.

Before Harry Potter (in more recent decades, though. I exclude older books from this charge), there were many middle grade series that were published as piles and piles of slim volumes, consumed easily by weaker readers and way too quickly by strong...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Rebekah added it

Shelves: childrens-and-young-adult, series

When I was a kid, around 3rd or 4th grade age, my Christian parents wouldn't let me read the Harry Potter books because they'd heard from other Christian parents that Harry Potter was a series that taught witchcraft to children--utter wickedness! So, since I had not yet discovered the delights of Harry Potter (that would come later, when my parents finally relented and let me check out The Sorcerer's Stone), Animorphs was the first book series I ever took a serious interest in, and as far as I c...more

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Aug 10, 2012 MyTeenReads rated it 5 of 5 stars

To read the original review and others, go to: http://www.myteenreads.blogspot.com

Animorphs! What a blast from the past. These novels were seriously my 3rd grade life. I only got up to number 37 for some strange reason though. I don't know why I never got farther than that lol. A few days ago, my boyfriend mentioned a hawk. The mention of the hawk reminded me of Tobias, one of the Animorphs who was stuck in a red-tailed hawk form. And then as I was remembering all the characters and the battles...more To read the original review and others, go to: http://www.myteenreads.blogspot.com

Animorphs! What a blast from the past. These novels were seriously my 3rd grade life. I only got up to number 37 for some strange reason though. I don't know why I never got farther than that lol. A few days ago, my boyfriend mentioned a hawk. The mention of the hawk reminded me of Tobias, one of the Animorphs who was stuck in a red-tailed hawk form. And then as I was remembering all the characters and the battles and the covers and the aliens and everything I began to get very excited! So then I ran upstairs to retrieve the few Animorph books I had purchased at used book stores and such. And then I promptly began reliving my childhood and reading #13, which had Tobias on the cover. And I sat there, just reading my beloved Animorphs book while my boyfriend fell asleep. Lol.

I'm not sure why I had loved these books so much, considering they were science-fiction, the type of books that I didn't and still don't read. Maybe it was the appeal of the Yeerk invasion and how "real" it all seemed. Like, what if they were real?! And how they were just normal kids but they were given special powers and it's all just so amazing! Haha anyways the next day I took a trip to the library and went to the children's section and behold, there were the books that I had loved so much. I did some research on the Animorphs when I got home and found out that they were being re-released! The fangirl in me is very happy because these books were literally my life. I've read that they're making small changes to make them more timeless, because pop-culture has definitely changed since the 90s! Haha so anyways...

The Invasion is about 5 kids, about middle-school age, who walk through a construction place when they see a dying alien (an Andalite). He tells them about the Yeerks, an invading parasitic alien species that crawl into people's ears and control their mind and body. He gives them the ability to morph into other animals after they have absorbed their DNA. The only thing is that they have to morph back into their human form before 2 hours or they will be stuck that way forever. Until the Andalites can come to Earth and save everyone, it's up to the Animorphs to protect their planet.

This is really awesome series, and maybe I'm just biased because I'm living in nostalgia, but I recommend that you try out this series. And if you're too old for it, recommend it to someone in middle school. Or just read them anyways because they're amazing. 5 out of 5 stars.
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Aug 09, 2012 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fromchildhoodadolescence, childrens-lit, science-fiction

This is not the first time I’ve read the Animorphs series, though, I haven’t thought about it much since I read them as a kid. They recently began republishing the series, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to see how they stack up to a re-reading as an adult. I admit, I may like the first book more now. There was nothing to indicate that the story was out of touch in any way, I think kids would still react pretty similarly to it. Good aliens and kids must stand against the evil aliens...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 5 of 5 stars

I started reading the Animorphs shortly before the eleventh book was released. I was in third grade then, and too old for the series when the last book came out. But I was still following the series, because the Animorphs were my favorite. I drove my parents crazy whenever a new one came out. (I ordered most through Scholastic book clubs, but that wasn't always possible.)

Since I've been saving mine in a box to give to future generations of my family, the re-release couldn't have come at a better...more I started reading the Animorphs shortly before the eleventh book was released. I was in third grade then, and too old for the series when the last book came out. But I was still following the series, because the Animorphs were my favorite. I drove my parents crazy whenever a new one came out. (I ordered most through Scholastic book clubs, but that wasn't always possible.)

Since I've been saving mine in a box to give to future generations of my family, the re-release couldn't have come at a better time. My eldest baby cousin is just now old enough to read them and now she can buy her own copies. Based on THE INVASION, Scholastic has not updated the books. The characters are too young to have cell phones. Most references to video games are made-up, whereas most pop culture references are to enduring stuff like Star Wars or Star Trek. I can mostly think of future references that will have aged (Alanis Morisette, NIN), but will still be understandable. I hope Scholastic continues to leave the books as they were.

The story begins when Jake and his best friend Marco meet up with three other kids at the mall - his cousin Rachel, her friend and his crush Cassie, and odd-man-out Tobias. They decide to go home together (smartly) and to cut through a construction site (dumbly). There they meet a dying alien who gives them the power to morph into any animal they touch, for two hours at a time. But he gives them this power because Earth is being infiltrated by parasites that will enslave humanity. Five normal junior high schoolers are now the only ones with the ability to save the world. They can't trust that anyone isn't already infected - not their families, not their teachers, not the police.

What parents should know about the Animorphs is that it is a dark series. I remembered how dark the books got at the end, when the kids are suffering the effects of waging a long-term guerilla war, but forgotten that they were never light. It's easy to forget, since the books are extremely funny and full of absurd situations. In THE INVASION, a good person dies within the first three chapters. The main characters are constantly in mortal peril. In their first engagement with the evil Yeerks, the main characters fail in their objectives. Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and Tobias accomplish amazing things throughout the series, but they're always at least one step behind their enemies.

Reading THE INVASION reminded me of how awesome this series is. There's excellent character development and lots of adventure. Kids with non-nuclear home lives are affected by their circumstances, but never pitied or ridiculed. Animal lovers and budding sci-fi fans will be especially intrigued by the series.

Since the Animorphs have been previously published, fans on a budget can readily find the books at secondhand stores. (less)

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Jan 29, 2012 Epic YA Reads rated it 5 of 5 stars

First I'd like to tell you how we discovered this series...
Our family goes camping every year, and when we go camping we don't take a TV with us - Yeah, I know, rustic right? So when Sia, Nick and Maggie were younger, we'd take a book along with us (usually a Harry Potter book) and I'd read the book aloud for an hour or so every night before we went to bed. Well, one year there was no new Harry Potter book out, and I didn't bring a book to read, consequently causing a general air of discontent a...more First I'd like to tell you how we discovered this series...
Our family goes camping every year, and when we go camping we don't take a TV with us - Yeah, I know, rustic right? So when Sia, Nick and Maggie were younger, we'd take a book along with us (usually a Harry Potter book) and I'd read the book aloud for an hour or so every night before we went to bed. Well, one year there was no new Harry Potter book out, and I didn't bring a book to read, consequently causing a general air of discontent and grumbles among the campers. So, I went to a nearby used bookstore and found three Animorph books that looked like they might be interesting. I didn't know anything about the series, and the three books I found were not in sequence, but we started with the earliest number available, which was Book #5 - The Predator - and we were hooked! During the week we were camping, we finished two of the three books, and when we got home, Nick insisted that we visit the library to see if we could find more books in the series.

After doing a little research online, I discovered that there were 54 books in the series, with an additional 10 books that were about the same characters in the series, but are adventures outside the Animorph storyline. So, for the next six months, I worked diligently piecing together the entire series, bidding for the books on eBay, because at that time many of the books were out of print. But my hard work paid off and Nick received all 64 books for Christmas that year. And yes, we read every single book aloud, and we still have the entire collection.

Now, on to my review of The Invasion:

Each book of the series is narrated by one of the five main characters, which (IMHO) makes each book an exceptionally unique experience.

In this book Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias and Marco meet Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, an Andalite warrior, when he crash lands on Earth. The group of friends learn from the Prince that the Earth is being invaded by aliens called Yeerks, but no one knows about the Yeerks, because the aliens are parasitic and are hidden inside humans.

Prince Elfangor has been mortally wounded in a battle with the Yeerks, and the Yeerks are tracking his location, so there's little time for him to explain the situation to Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias and Marco and get them to understand the danger the Yeerks pose to the Earth. But he does make them understand that they must fight the Yeerks or all of humanity will be lost, and he gives them a piece of Andalite technology, which the Yeerks don't possess - The ability to Morph. This technology allows them to absorb the DNA from an animal and store it in their bodies, so that they can morph into any animal they've touched.

After the Prince gives the kids the ability to Morph, things start to move pretty fast, and it's like that in every single book. The stories are exciting and often times humorous. In one of the books (I won't tell you which one), the leader of the Yeerks (Visser Three, who is just about as evil as they come) is sprayed by a skunk, who is also one of the kids. I laughed so hard at that scene, tears were running down my face, and I had to stop reading so I could catch my breath.

Anyway, this is a wonderful series of books, I'd even go so far as to say they are Epic. If you're anything like us, when you find a good book, you wish it would just go on forever - I would highly recommend these books. They don't go on forever, but there are enough of them that it takes quite a span of time to get through them all. I'm going to give The Invasion a Five Star Rating.(less)

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Sep 30, 2011 Gene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

"Animorphs, The Invasion" is about five people, Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco. On one strange night, while going home from the mall, all five of them, they see a strange light in the sky. It was a flying saucer (UFO). There a dying alien was found in it. It gave them a power that every animal they touch, they can turn into it. You can only go two human hours to be in the morphed shape. or else... you get trapped in the animal body. Thsy got the power to defeat the controlers, the Yeerk...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-1990-1999, american-literature, pub-1990-1999, f-a, ya-kids

i LOVE these books. picked this first one up at a school book fair in 6th grade and was obsessed for years. they helped me get through some hard times. when i was angry and sad i would pick up these books and just escape into this wonderful world of kids that can morph into animals, andalites, and yeerks. there are real moral dilemmas and the fact that life can be pretty messed up really struck a chord with me. most kid books(or at least the ones i was reading at the time) just usually didn't di...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Freja rated it 5 of 5 stars

OKAY, Yes these books are for kids and pre-teens. Yes, I read them for the first time as an adult. Does that make me uncool? No, because these books are excellent! I just happened to stumble across the first one and once I read it, I downloaded every one to my ebook reader and read them straight through from first book to last. Seriously, they are fun for adults too! They balance the right amount of tension, suspense, emotion, action, character development, etc. The kids grow up over the course...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Jeffrey Long rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite

I was surprised with just how much of this book I actually remembered, despite having not really read it since the mid 90's. As a kid, there are some things that just stick with you for life, and for me this series was one of those things, and it was so great to re-visit it. Basically, it starts off with a couple friends hanging out at the mall, Jake and Marco, and eventually meet up with social outcast and loner Tobias, with whom Jake wants to make friends with, as well as Jake's cousin Rachel...more I was surprised with just how much of this book I actually remembered, despite having not really read it since the mid 90's. As a kid, there are some things that just stick with you for life, and for me this series was one of those things, and it was so great to re-visit it. Basically, it starts off with a couple friends hanging out at the mall, Jake and Marco, and eventually meet up with social outcast and loner Tobias, with whom Jake wants to make friends with, as well as Jake's cousin Rachel and her friend Cassie. They decide to leave the mall together and take a shortcut through an abandoned construction site late that night, and get caught up in the middle of an alien battle. They come across one of the aliens and before he dies, he tells them about the secret Yeerk invasion and gives them the power to morph into any animal they touch and obtain the DNA from, in order to fight back against the invading aliens. The rest of the book is a mixture of them discovering their new powers and the limitations that come with them, while trying to cope with school and home life, while also trying to decide if they should join this war or stay out of it, all the while the Yeerks are hunting for them (though not knowing exactly who they are).

It did take a bit of getting used to the basic writing style in this first book though, as I found it quite amateurish and author K.A. Applegate has a knack for glossing over some details while spending way too much time on others. Despite that though, it's a nice easy read for younger readers and right from the book's opening paragraphs it draws the reader in and does a good job at keeping the reader's attention for the most part. One of the few detractors to that however, is that there are some situations that didn't really seem all that realistic and came across as quite random, and made very little sense without really being explained (I.E. there is a scene where a couple of cops that are under Yeerk control randomly showing up at Cassie's family's farm to ask questions about an incident from the night before, without actually suspecting any of them as having been the people at the construction site. Why just go to random kid's houses to just randomly ask? Especially when you don't even know that the people involved in that situation had even been kids?). There were a few instances of total random coincidences like that, which brought me out of the book a bit and seemed added in solely for tension without bothering to care that it made no sense at all.

Those few instances aside, the storyline itself was really good, giving us a quick but serviceable introduction to multiple alien species that populates this series' universe. We have the invading Yeerk Empire which they themselves are just little slug-like creatures, but they have the ability to work their way into a host through the ear canal and take control of their brain. Due to that, they can be literally anyone and are invading the planet in secret by slowly taking over large groups of people and people of high stature. Alongside them, we also have their army of Hork-Bajir foot soldiers (a weird two-legged reptilian alien species completely enslaved by the Yeerks, covered from head to toe in long, sharp blades protruding from their bodies) and Taxxon foot soldiers (a large vicious cannibalistic alien centipede-like species that willingly serves the Yeerks), as well as the blue deer-like, sickle-tailed, Andalites who are at war with the Yeerk Empire and are portrayed as the Hero species in this whole thing. It also details how the main teen characters get their powers and their first main battle against the Yeerk Empire.

Each character gets their own good introduction and quickly establishes the role that each one plays - Jake is the leader, Marco is the comedic relief, and both love video games and competing against each other. Rachel is the tough-as-nails type that likes to just rush into battle without thinking it through first while in her downtime loves clothes shopping, is into gymnastics, and is often regarded by others as the stereotypical popular teen beauty queen. Cassie is the more calm and collective, and total opposite of Rachel ash she prefers to weigh all the options before rushing into battle and hates shopping and is much more shy. She also loves animals and helps her parents run an animal care center out of their farm. Tobias is...well...the social outcast loner just trying to fit in and upon receiving the power to morph and fight in an intergalactic war, finally finds a purpose for his life and a reason to matter. There's also a brief introduction to the future romantic subplots of Jake and Cassie liking each other, and Tobias and Rachel also liking each other. Despite the entire book being told from just one character's point of view, we get a really good handle on who the each of these characters are in their respective roles and each one gets at least two or three good memorable moments to shine, as well as some interesting animal morphs for them.

The scenes of them actually morphing from human to animal, and back again, are some of the best-written stuff in the book, doing a great job of putting a solid image in your head of the process, as well as the initial overpowering animal instincts that are prominent directly after a morph, making you really feel like you're reading a book (for those scenes anyway) from the point of view of an actual animal – it was quite interesting and very entertaining. At the risk of giving away too many spoilers, I'll also say that something happens to one of the characters at the end of this book that's a bit shocking and new readers won't see coming. You see, there are certain restrictions with these morphing powers and one character ends up having to pay the price for trying to beat those restrictions, and it's a bit heavy and dark for a Young Reader's series.

And that's one of the reasons why this series is so well-liked by both kids and adults alike; You can tell almost right off the bat that even though this is a kid's series, it's not 'kidified'. It deals with quite a few mature themes throughout the series. For example, in this book alone they have their first main battle against the invading aliens and in the end, they actually loose that battle and get their asses handed to them. Normally in an introductory book to a series like this one the main characters win their first battle and celebrate during the final chapter; not this one. Their first battle was a total failure that bit them on the ass and cost them a lot (the above-mentioned thing that happens to one character, another character loosing a family member to the control of the Yeerks, some humans they tried to rescue from the clutches of the Yeerks get killed, just to name a few consequences) and what damage did they end up doing to the Yeerks? They killed a couple Hork-Bajir and Taxxon foot soldiers. That's about it. And I loved that; it was unexpected and actually made the battle very suspenseful and had you invested in it – the stakes are high from the get-go and much like in real life, and with the main characters being teenagers at that, they initially suck at saving the world and totally get their asses handed to them with major repercussions to follow. Author K.A. Applegate lets you know right from the start that in this series anything goes, nobody is truly safe, and the bad guys may just end up winning after all.

It's a really good start to the series and an excellent introduction to the main players, although not without some minor easy-to-overlook faults. It feels so good to be back in this universe again after so long away. I'd even go out on a limb here and say that growing up, Animorphs was my favorite sci-fi related thing; forget Star Trek, forget Star Wars, give me my dose of Animorphs.(less)

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Jan 27, 2011 JY (Jennifer) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-books, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read this series when I was younger, but don't remember getting very far before I stopped, not because the books weren't good, but because the series was far from over and not even half-way through being published. I simply got to the last book that was available for sale, started waiting for the next one, and promptly forgot about it, as kids will do, by the time the new book came out. I recently decided to re-read all my old books, in alphabetical order, and The Animorphs were, of course, at...more I read this series when I was younger, but don't remember getting very far before I stopped, not because the books weren't good, but because the series was far from over and not even half-way through being published. I simply got to the last book that was available for sale, started waiting for the next one, and promptly forgot about it, as kids will do, by the time the new book came out. I recently decided to re-read all my old books, in alphabetical order, and The Animorphs were, of course, at the top of that list.

The writing style is more simplistic than I'm used to now, of course, but the plot is as complex as any novel out there, and the books certainly don't hold back on the emotional punches. In many ways, I feel more while reading these books now than I did before, because, when I was younger, I mostly focused on how cool it was for these kids to be able to transform into animals. Reading this book now, it's not the morphing that often strikes me, it is the honesty in what these kids feel as they are slowly transformed from innocents to soldiers. No matter how strange the plot of the book may be, no matter what wacky thing is happening, what I love best about these books now is that, at some point, there is always a moment that makes me stop for a moment to just take in the impact.

In this first book of the series, there are two moments that stand out. The first is when Jake and the Animorphs are at the beach bonfire with The Sharing, and Jake is talking to his brother Tom, who is suspected of being a Controller. That moment when Jake realizes that Tom is, in fact, a human-Controller, when Tom fights his Yeerk to warn his brother - that's truly a powerful moment. The second is after the Animorphs, still children at this point in time, come back from their headlong trip into the Yeerk pool. When Jake sits in his bedroom alone, knowing that he had failed to save his brother, when Tobias comes in and reveals that he is trapped in morph, there is a delicate balance between despair and a desperate hope that one doesn't expect from a children's series.(less)

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Mar 16, 2010 Bryan Murdock rated it 4 of 5 stars

My 9-year old son has been devouring these books, about one every two days. When I saw the cover and thickness of each I figured they were typical child-fare books about magical kids that could change into animals. In my mind I put them on par with, I don't know, Franny K. Stein maybe. Turns out they are much more intense and not just about kids who change into animals, they are about kids who change into animals in order to save the world from body-snatcher aliens called, Yeerks.

The Yeerks are...more

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Dec 28, 2009 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-and-ya, speculative-fiction

Animorphs! I remember being so obsessed with these books when I was about eleven or twelve. This first book scared me quite a bit, actually: I found it so creepy because of the little kinda authenticating details, the way the narrators of the books claim they're not able to tell you their real names, etc. It's a really creepy idea, the slow invisible takeover, the idea that without these five kids nothing would stop them (unless the Andalites arrive in time). I always meant to come back to these...more Animorphs! I remember being so obsessed with these books when I was about eleven or twelve. This first book scared me quite a bit, actually: I found it so creepy because of the little kinda authenticating details, the way the narrators of the books claim they're not able to tell you their real names, etc. It's a really creepy idea, the slow invisible takeover, the idea that without these five kids nothing would stop them (unless the Andalites arrive in time). I always meant to come back to these books and read them all, because I dropped out about book eighteen and never got to know how it ended.

The first book is narrated by Jake, who was not really my favourite character. I didn't like him or dislike him, I guess. I liked Rachel best, for her confidence and her conviction and all of that, but also because she was kind to Tobias, who I felt very sorry for. Marco was definitely my least favourite character -- his idea of humour got on my nerves, and he's so resistant to doing the right thing, wanting to bury his head in the sand. It's all very well to say you're protecting your father, that if something happens to you he'll kill himself, but if the alternative is you both eventually getting controlled by an evil alien...

I found it interesting the way the characters are quite varied. Cassie and Jake have happy homes, mostly, but Marco, Tobias and Rachel (if I remember rightly) are all in different ways from dysfunctional families: Marco because of the death of his mother (or assumed death, anyway), Tobias because of his lack of family, Rachel because of the divorce. It's interesting, just having read Famous Five (another blast from the past...) with the relatively functional, knowledgeable and in control parents. More realism comes in, I guess. I think that's probably partially because of the target audience (older than Famous Five, obviously) as well as the publishing date (considerably more recent). The wish fulfillment is still there (five kids take on the world), but it's less... safe. There are now real consequences, like being trapped in a body not your own, like being killed, like your own brother being one of the enemy...

One thing that bothered me, this time through, and I can't remember if it's ever addressed... the people/creatures they kill, they're innocent. The Yeerk in their heads is the problem, and what the Animorphs do doesn't actually (necessarily) do anything about that. They're killing real people, people who should have been saved. I'm sure it must come into it somewhere, because of Jake's brother -- it would be an odd blind spot to have -- and maybe it's more realistic that these kids don't think of it much (at least at first). They're inexperienced and they don't really know what they're up against or what they're really doing: realism, again.

(The rating reflects how I felt as a kid more than now, though even now they're still actually pretty fun in a trashy sort of way.)(less)

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Jun 28, 2009 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel

Wow, serasa seperti kembali menjadi anak kelas 3 SMP lagi saat melihat cover buku ini. Pertama kali saya memandanginya di rak kaca Gramedia untuk kategori "buku baru" (1998). Waktu itu saya tertarik sekali dengan desain sampulnya dan isu yang diangkat, "alien invasion" (yup, I'm an alien fan!). Tetapi harganya saat itu, Rp 8.000, cukup mahal untuk kantong seorang anak SMP :-(

Akhirnya saya berkesempatan meminjamnya dari seorang teman. Luar biasa! Katherine Applegate menulis cerita yang seru menge...more

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Apr 22, 2013 sh(e)reader rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-the-boys, library-physicalbook

My four star rating is more a parental "I think this would be a four star book for my 10 year old" than "I loved it" ... but actually, I really didn't mind the read myself. It is aimed at a younger audience than the YA fiction I usually read. I had not heard of this series before... my son read this one at school and requested the sequel. I'm always interested to know what he's reading and what appeals to him, so I picked it up for myself and read it (in a day).

My first thought was ... hmmmm, I...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Does anyone believe this is an adult book disguised as a kid's book?	12	37	Jul 26, 2012 11:35pm
any animorph readers?	31	51	Apr 22, 2012 11:58am
Animorph group	3	22	May 04, 2011 01:23pm

title link	preview: The Invasion
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The Invasion (Animorphs #1)

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