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Animorphs #19
The Departure
Cassie's had it. After the last mission, she realizes she's getting tired of missions. Tired of battles. Tired of being an Animorph. She decides that she just can't do it anymore. So she quits.
But that's not the worst that's happened. It seems a human-Controller named Karen followed Cassie after the last run-in with the Yeerks. And she knows Cassie is an Andalite . . . or human. Either way, if she exposes Cassie, it's all over. No more Cassie. No more Animorphs. No more planet Earth. . . .
But that's not the worst that's happened. It seems a human-Controller named Karen followed Cassie after the last run-in with the Yeerks. And she knows Cassie is an Andalite . . . or human. Either way, if she exposes Cassie, it's all over. No more Cassie. No more Animorphs. No more planet Earth. . . .
159 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1998
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951 people want to read
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K.A. Applegate
251 books488 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
October 26, 2015
You might as well subtitle this book Cassie Has the Worst Day Ever. Literally. Take a look at these totally not-at-all-made-up chapter titles to get an idea of how terrible Cassie’s day was:
Chapter 1: Cassie Quits the Animorphs
Chapter 2: Cassie Has the Most Awkward Exit Interview Ever
Chapter 3: Cassie Makes a Friend!
Chapter 4: Cassie’s Friend is Evil!
Chapter 5: Cassie and Friend Nearly Get Eaten by the Leopard
Chapter 6: Cassie and Friend Debate Moral Philosophies While Starving to Death in the Forest
Chapter 7: Cassie Allows Herself to be Infested by a Yeerk
Chapter 8: Cassie Agrees to be Trapped in Caterpillar Morph Forever
Chapter 9: Cassie Has to Explain Everything to Her Parents by Pretending to be a Minor Celebrity
Chapter 10: Cassie Goes Shopping!
(If you know Cassie, you know how terrible that last chapter must have been. She puts on a brave face, but I know that secretly, deep down inside, she was quaking.)
As before, I have to give Applegate credit for the intense philosophical discussions she puts into kids’ literature. Cassie and Controller!Karen basically stake out the human verus Yeerk sides of the debate. The whole character of Karen adds a huge dimension to the series. Until now, we’ve basically received a one-sided view of this story. Aside from the brief time that Jake played host to a Yeerk, we’ve had no exposure to the Yeerk mentality. Karen’s apology for Yeerk parasitism, and the way she talks about how Andalites meddle and make war, is a healthy criticism of the “good guys” in this series.
In this way, Applegate creates a narrative far more nuanced than you might see in some adult literature about war. She makes the Yeerk perspective sympathetic even though she doesn’t excuse their behaviour. The whole idea here is that in war it’s so easy to see the other side as evil and monstruous. And while I’d argue that what the Yeerks do is evil, Controller!Karen basically shows us that a Yeerk can acknowledge the harm it does.
But you can just imagine that if some poor Andalite scientist had a brain wave and invented a way for Yeerks to inhabit clone bodies or robot bodies or something, then Andalite high command would shut that down immediately. The Andalties are not about co-existing with the Yeerks, and a lot of what Karen says about them is spot on.
Oh, and Applegate just casually drops in a crash course on Yeerk reproduction in the middle of this conversation. So parents, make sure you talk to your kids about Yeerk sex before they read about it in books, OK?
Cassie has had crises of conscience before. The Departure is her big crisis, her supposed breaking point. I know it’s easy to minimize Cassie; her compassion and conscience always seem like downers when all you want to do is SMASH STUFF with your elephant/gorilla morph. I kind of feel like this book is in part Applegate’s attempt to blow that dynamic wide open, to explicitly acknowledge and deal with it and say, “Look guys, I know that it sucks that Cassie keeps raising valid points of order when all you want to read about is how the Animorphs are fighting baddies with their animal powers. But shut up and listen to another point of view.” It’s like she wants to build empathy or something. I know that’s not popular in the States these days; I guess that’s one reason the Animorphs relaunch didn’t do so well….
I also want to point out that this is the first time a regular book features multiple narrators, which should give you an idea of how special Applegate considers it.
The ending might seem like a huge cheat, but stop and think for a moment.
In addition to its commentary on war and growing up, Animorphs has always celebrated biodiversity. Applegate is at her best as a writer when describing the transformations in morphing and the sensations of being in a new morph. She understands and conveys this idea that being an animal is not just about being a different shape or being able to fly: animals see things in a different spectrum; they smell and hear things we aren’t aware of; they have alien ways of thinking.
Applegate reminds us how spectacular and wondrous it is that a creature like a caterpillar can, through natural means rather than a technology, transform into something as different from it as a butterfly. When we’re wrapped up with our ebooks and heated blankets and all that pumpkin spice stuff (hello, October) it’s easy to forget that there is wonder all around us.
The Departure also marks the end of the Second Age of Animorphs, which began in #9: The Secret. Next time, the Animorphs gain a new member … and it all goes horribly wrong.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs | #20: The Discovery →
Chapter 1: Cassie Quits the Animorphs
Chapter 2: Cassie Has the Most Awkward Exit Interview Ever
Chapter 3: Cassie Makes a Friend!
Chapter 4: Cassie’s Friend is Evil!
Chapter 5: Cassie and Friend Nearly Get Eaten by the Leopard
Chapter 6: Cassie and Friend Debate Moral Philosophies While Starving to Death in the Forest
Chapter 7: Cassie Allows Herself to be Infested by a Yeerk
Chapter 8: Cassie Agrees to be Trapped in Caterpillar Morph Forever
Chapter 9: Cassie Has to Explain Everything to Her Parents by Pretending to be a Minor Celebrity
Chapter 10: Cassie Goes Shopping!
(If you know Cassie, you know how terrible that last chapter must have been. She puts on a brave face, but I know that secretly, deep down inside, she was quaking.)
As before, I have to give Applegate credit for the intense philosophical discussions she puts into kids’ literature. Cassie and Controller!Karen basically stake out the human verus Yeerk sides of the debate. The whole character of Karen adds a huge dimension to the series. Until now, we’ve basically received a one-sided view of this story. Aside from the brief time that Jake played host to a Yeerk, we’ve had no exposure to the Yeerk mentality. Karen’s apology for Yeerk parasitism, and the way she talks about how Andalites meddle and make war, is a healthy criticism of the “good guys” in this series.
In this way, Applegate creates a narrative far more nuanced than you might see in some adult literature about war. She makes the Yeerk perspective sympathetic even though she doesn’t excuse their behaviour. The whole idea here is that in war it’s so easy to see the other side as evil and monstruous. And while I’d argue that what the Yeerks do is evil, Controller!Karen basically shows us that a Yeerk can acknowledge the harm it does.
But you can just imagine that if some poor Andalite scientist had a brain wave and invented a way for Yeerks to inhabit clone bodies or robot bodies or something, then Andalite high command would shut that down immediately. The Andalties are not about co-existing with the Yeerks, and a lot of what Karen says about them is spot on.
Oh, and Applegate just casually drops in a crash course on Yeerk reproduction in the middle of this conversation. So parents, make sure you talk to your kids about Yeerk sex before they read about it in books, OK?
Cassie has had crises of conscience before. The Departure is her big crisis, her supposed breaking point. I know it’s easy to minimize Cassie; her compassion and conscience always seem like downers when all you want to do is SMASH STUFF with your elephant/gorilla morph. I kind of feel like this book is in part Applegate’s attempt to blow that dynamic wide open, to explicitly acknowledge and deal with it and say, “Look guys, I know that it sucks that Cassie keeps raising valid points of order when all you want to read about is how the Animorphs are fighting baddies with their animal powers. But shut up and listen to another point of view.” It’s like she wants to build empathy or something. I know that’s not popular in the States these days; I guess that’s one reason the Animorphs relaunch didn’t do so well….
I also want to point out that this is the first time a regular book features multiple narrators, which should give you an idea of how special Applegate considers it.
The ending might seem like a huge cheat, but stop and think for a moment.
In addition to its commentary on war and growing up, Animorphs has always celebrated biodiversity. Applegate is at her best as a writer when describing the transformations in morphing and the sensations of being in a new morph. She understands and conveys this idea that being an animal is not just about being a different shape or being able to fly: animals see things in a different spectrum; they smell and hear things we aren’t aware of; they have alien ways of thinking.
Applegate reminds us how spectacular and wondrous it is that a creature like a caterpillar can, through natural means rather than a technology, transform into something as different from it as a butterfly. When we’re wrapped up with our ebooks and heated blankets and all that pumpkin spice stuff (hello, October) it’s easy to forget that there is wonder all around us.
The Departure also marks the end of the Second Age of Animorphs, which began in #9: The Secret. Next time, the Animorphs gain a new member … and it all goes horribly wrong.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs | #20: The Discovery →
May 26, 2013
Oh, Katherine Applegate, Michael Grant, what would I do without you?
Animorphs has always been an important series to me. It was the first series I read that wasn't an I-Can-Read book, the first one where not every word was analyzed in order to develop kids' vocabulary. I'd never seen anything like it; not just the action and the originality in the premise (sorta), but also, the revolving narration! The fact that I could actually feel sympathy for girls! But as important as Animorphs was, this book was always special; other than The Sickness, it was my very favorite. Cassie was always my favorite character (because she's exactly like me in every way possible), and so I loved her books. I re-read this one recently.
To say that I cried would be an understatement.
Reading this book was an enormously emotional experience, and not just because of the nostalgia. This is the best book of the series. Period. In terms of writing, in terms of plotting, in terms of characterization, this is the closest to perfection that the series has ever managed, and it's one of my very favorite books ever.
Here's the premise: Cassie has quit the Animorphs. She's sick of the battles, sick of the pressure, sick of the killing. Then, when she sees Karen, a little girl, getting chased by a bear, she tries to help. She ends up hitting her head and passing out in a river, being carried down for miles. She's lost in the woods with Karen. Turns out, Karen is a controller, and she's been following Cassie. She knows exactly who Cassie is, and Cassie has to kill her. Only... she doesn't.
Cassie's interactions with Karen are positively mesmerizing. Up until now in the series, we've been led to believe that it's exactly as you're likely to see in pretty much every other MG novel or TV show in existence: all the yeerks are evil, they're all irredeemable, and they all need to die. But for the first time, we see that it isn't like that, that it's actually so much more complicated. This is the first time we see that Karen's yeerk is a person too. Let me tell you, after 18 books of seeing the yeerks as evil, this was tough for me to wrap my mind around as a kid. But now, I couldn't be more grateful that Applegate decided to include it in the series. I personally think it's a horrible message to send to kids that an entire species can be pure evil; how does that bode for them when they get into a real war? How does it bode for them when they think it's good that the other side is dying in mass numbers, because they're all evil? This is the kind of attitudes that caused the Holocaust, people. But Applegrant is so much better that. The situation that the yeerks are in is completely explored, and poignantly as well; by the end of the book, we're not completely sure that the Animorphs are the good guys anymore.
This is exactly the kind of thing that kids need to read. Kids need to understand from an early age that morality isn't black and white, that there's no such thing as pure evil or pure good. Kids need to read thought-provoking things like this; that's what makes them smarter, what helps them learn how to think for themselves. How could you justify giving a book to kids that makes them think that the enemy is evil, and the enemy is always evil? That sends the message not only that pure good and evil exist, but that all evil needs to be vanquished (again, that's basically what the Holocaust was), and that the protagonist - and by extension the reader - is always good. It makes kids less likely to consider that they're wrong, and God knows, it's already hard enough. But Animorphs is the antithesis to all that; like a lot of series, it presents a complicated conflict, but unlike most, it actually explores what makes that conflict so complicated. For the first time, Cassie, (and by extension the reader) is forced to look at things through a yeerk's perspective, and once you do that, you can sort of see why they want to take over the world.
So now that I'm done with that academic essay, I'll actually talk about the book. Not only was all that moral ambiguity thought-provoking, it was also a bit touching; as I said, I found myself crying throughout several parts of the book. It helps that Cassie is such a well-developed character, complete with flaws, strengths, and personality. Aftran is, too, surprisingly enough, because I mean, villains with personality? Seriously, no kids' writers did that in the '90's. Or now. (Not that I have much familiarity with middle-grade now, because even though I'm young enough to have read a lot of it, I don't like any kids' books published after 2004, even though I was too young to read any of it when it came out. I'm a strange person, okay?) But it's also moving because of the ramifications it holds, or the ramifications it should hold, because everything we've seen here is brought up exactly once later in the series. You suddenly see a lot of pain that you didn't know was ever going on, and from the yeerks, no less. Applegrant is such a good writer(s) that the transition between villain and anti-villain for the yeerks was almost seamless, and I'm shocked by how fast I felt sympathy for them.
So basically, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant are amazing writers. Phenomenal ones. And this entire series is phenomenal, and it doesn't deserve to die. So, go ahead; the first book should be cheap from Amazon. I promise, you won't regret it.
Animorphs has always been an important series to me. It was the first series I read that wasn't an I-Can-Read book, the first one where not every word was analyzed in order to develop kids' vocabulary. I'd never seen anything like it; not just the action and the originality in the premise (sorta), but also, the revolving narration! The fact that I could actually feel sympathy for girls! But as important as Animorphs was, this book was always special; other than The Sickness, it was my very favorite. Cassie was always my favorite character (because she's exactly like me in every way possible), and so I loved her books. I re-read this one recently.
To say that I cried would be an understatement.
Reading this book was an enormously emotional experience, and not just because of the nostalgia. This is the best book of the series. Period. In terms of writing, in terms of plotting, in terms of characterization, this is the closest to perfection that the series has ever managed, and it's one of my very favorite books ever.
Here's the premise: Cassie has quit the Animorphs. She's sick of the battles, sick of the pressure, sick of the killing. Then, when she sees Karen, a little girl, getting chased by a bear, she tries to help. She ends up hitting her head and passing out in a river, being carried down for miles. She's lost in the woods with Karen. Turns out, Karen is a controller, and she's been following Cassie. She knows exactly who Cassie is, and Cassie has to kill her. Only... she doesn't.
Cassie's interactions with Karen are positively mesmerizing. Up until now in the series, we've been led to believe that it's exactly as you're likely to see in pretty much every other MG novel or TV show in existence: all the yeerks are evil, they're all irredeemable, and they all need to die. But for the first time, we see that it isn't like that, that it's actually so much more complicated. This is the first time we see that Karen's yeerk is a person too. Let me tell you, after 18 books of seeing the yeerks as evil, this was tough for me to wrap my mind around as a kid. But now, I couldn't be more grateful that Applegate decided to include it in the series. I personally think it's a horrible message to send to kids that an entire species can be pure evil; how does that bode for them when they get into a real war? How does it bode for them when they think it's good that the other side is dying in mass numbers, because they're all evil? This is the kind of attitudes that caused the Holocaust, people. But Applegrant is so much better that. The situation that the yeerks are in is completely explored, and poignantly as well; by the end of the book, we're not completely sure that the Animorphs are the good guys anymore.
This is exactly the kind of thing that kids need to read. Kids need to understand from an early age that morality isn't black and white, that there's no such thing as pure evil or pure good. Kids need to read thought-provoking things like this; that's what makes them smarter, what helps them learn how to think for themselves. How could you justify giving a book to kids that makes them think that the enemy is evil, and the enemy is always evil? That sends the message not only that pure good and evil exist, but that all evil needs to be vanquished (again, that's basically what the Holocaust was), and that the protagonist - and by extension the reader - is always good. It makes kids less likely to consider that they're wrong, and God knows, it's already hard enough. But Animorphs is the antithesis to all that; like a lot of series, it presents a complicated conflict, but unlike most, it actually explores what makes that conflict so complicated. For the first time, Cassie, (and by extension the reader) is forced to look at things through a yeerk's perspective, and once you do that, you can sort of see why they want to take over the world.
So now that I'm done with that academic essay, I'll actually talk about the book. Not only was all that moral ambiguity thought-provoking, it was also a bit touching; as I said, I found myself crying throughout several parts of the book. It helps that Cassie is such a well-developed character, complete with flaws, strengths, and personality. Aftran is, too, surprisingly enough, because I mean, villains with personality? Seriously, no kids' writers did that in the '90's. Or now. (Not that I have much familiarity with middle-grade now, because even though I'm young enough to have read a lot of it, I don't like any kids' books published after 2004, even though I was too young to read any of it when it came out. I'm a strange person, okay?) But it's also moving because of the ramifications it holds, or the ramifications it should hold, because everything we've seen here is brought up exactly once later in the series. You suddenly see a lot of pain that you didn't know was ever going on, and from the yeerks, no less. Applegrant is such a good writer(s) that the transition between villain and anti-villain for the yeerks was almost seamless, and I'm shocked by how fast I felt sympathy for them.
So basically, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant are amazing writers. Phenomenal ones. And this entire series is phenomenal, and it doesn't deserve to die. So, go ahead; the first book should be cheap from Amazon. I promise, you won't regret it.
June 14, 2020
FIRST REVIEW / MAR 30, 2015
Such conflicted feelings about this one!
Of course one of them would eventually break. It was inevitable, and I loved this book's revisiting of the most traumatising experiences they've had before, since it's a perfect little montage of likely what runs through their nightmares every night. What I love is that Cassie snaps not because she's devastated over becoming a killer: she's quitting because she's becoming desensitised and deadened to it, and isn't bothered by killing. Her feelings are shutting off more and more each day, as they would in such traumatising situations (gosh, the PTSD these kids must have), and she can feel herself slipping further and further off that precipice. It isn't just their usual strain this time, because I think this is one of the earliest explorations of what being, specifically, child soldiers is doing to them:
I also like the worldbuilding, our first strong implications that the Yeerks are not uniform -- because of course they can't be -- and that there can be sympathetic Yeerks as well. (Gosh, I really like Aftran.) I can even get behind the deal that Cassie cuts.
Where this book completely freakin' loses me, however, is when she voluntarily lets herself get infested, and conveniently "forgets" about the fact that a Yeerk can control the morphing power too. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING VISSER THREE, WHO MORPHS, AND THEY ONCE HELD OFF CONTROLLER-JAKE FOR THREE DAYS WHILE HE KEPT TRYING TO ESCAPE VIA MORPH. I'm trying not to blame Cassie's characterisation itself for this; I think the main problem is that KAA had a very particular idea for broadening our concept of Yeerks, planting the seeds of Yeerk rebels, but had to shoehorn Cassie into doing some real dumb shit in order to convey it.
That said, despite the fact that I'm more on the side of their ruthless practicality, one of my favourite lines is when the entire group is boggling over Cassie's moral/ethical conundrum, and Jake says that when they win this war, they better hope that there are still some Cassies left. And it was just such a perfect message. She probably is too soft for this war, yes, which means she's frustrating and doesn't operate by the same equations that they need to in order to win... but all of mankind can't become deadened like the Animorphs have to be. They have to preserve their humanity at the same time.
(But she LET HERSELF GET INFESTED UHGDFAUGHKDLJF)
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAY 13, 2020
I keep saying it, but the theme of this second reread is that I understand Cassie better and so have an increased appreciation for her books, and I even feel more forgiving about her infestation. Particularly with a fresher memory of The Ellimist Chronicles particularly, and how the ending of the series shakes out: the importance of hope has been here all along, and how the world needs, absolutely needs, people like Cassie in order to envision a better peace, a better way to do things, the potential for compromise.
The opening of this book is just a regular battle -- which means it's bloody and horrible and traumatising as always -- which then segues into Cassie's insight and perception into the rest of their team, and then this kick to the teeth which sets it all up:
There's just so much good stuff here, so I found myself highlighting so much. It's examining the toll of this war on all of them:
And so many other things: the fact that most of this book is just Cassie and Karen stuck in each others' company and debating the war, and trying to maneuver circles around each other, and that the narrative still stands strong carried just by those two. The Yeerk's incredibly valid arguments about the beauty of this earth, why the Yeerks infest others, the hypocrisy of parasites vs. predators. It's such a valuable and empathetic insight into the perspective of the enemy, and makes them less the Implacable Evil they've been up until now.
And then this is a small moment, but the fact that Jake gives Marco the order that the Yeerk can't leave the area alive, whether it's infested Cassie or Karen. Meaning he's just ordered Marco to kill their friend or a literal child. Both options are terrible!!
But after all the grueling things that happen, in the end it all boils down to this speech by Jake, which summarises the whole dang theme as the beating heart of this book and the rest of the series:
This is one of the most emotionally mature books in the series, imo, and it's just lovely and wrenching and gosh, I love it.
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
Such conflicted feelings about this one!
Of course one of them would eventually break. It was inevitable, and I loved this book's revisiting of the most traumatising experiences they've had before, since it's a perfect little montage of likely what runs through their nightmares every night. What I love is that Cassie snaps not because she's devastated over becoming a killer: she's quitting because she's becoming desensitised and deadened to it, and isn't bothered by killing. Her feelings are shutting off more and more each day, as they would in such traumatising situations (gosh, the PTSD these kids must have), and she can feel herself slipping further and further off that precipice. It isn't just their usual strain this time, because I think this is one of the earliest explorations of what being, specifically, child soldiers is doing to them:
"So you feel bad about it," Rachel said with a shrug.
"No. I feel bad because I felt nothing. I felt . . . nothing, Rachel. At that moment I felt like I was just doing my job, you know? And now they're shutting down the clinic, and my dad tells me and I feel . . . nothing. It's been going on for a long time. Each day, each battle, each mission, I just feel less and less."
I looked at Rachel. She looked away. I turned to Jake. He made the ghost of a smile and nodded his head. He understood. He knew. It was happening to him, too. But then he looked away as well.
I also like the worldbuilding, our first strong implications that the Yeerks are not uniform -- because of course they can't be -- and that there can be sympathetic Yeerks as well. (Gosh, I really like Aftran.) I can even get behind the deal that Cassie cuts.
Where this book completely freakin' loses me, however, is when she voluntarily lets herself get infested, and conveniently "forgets" about the fact that a Yeerk can control the morphing power too. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING VISSER THREE, WHO MORPHS, AND THEY ONCE HELD OFF CONTROLLER-JAKE FOR THREE DAYS WHILE HE KEPT TRYING TO ESCAPE VIA MORPH. I'm trying not to blame Cassie's characterisation itself for this; I think the main problem is that KAA had a very particular idea for broadening our concept of Yeerks, planting the seeds of Yeerk rebels, but had to shoehorn Cassie into doing some real dumb shit in order to convey it.
That said, despite the fact that I'm more on the side of their ruthless practicality, one of my favourite lines is when the entire group is boggling over Cassie's moral/ethical conundrum, and Jake says that when they win this war, they better hope that there are still some Cassies left. And it was just such a perfect message. She probably is too soft for this war, yes, which means she's frustrating and doesn't operate by the same equations that they need to in order to win... but all of mankind can't become deadened like the Animorphs have to be. They have to preserve their humanity at the same time.
(But she LET HERSELF GET INFESTED UHGDFAUGHKDLJF)
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAY 13, 2020
I keep saying it, but the theme of this second reread is that I understand Cassie better and so have an increased appreciation for her books, and I even feel more forgiving about her infestation. Particularly with a fresher memory of The Ellimist Chronicles particularly, and how the ending of the series shakes out: the importance of hope has been here all along, and how the world needs, absolutely needs, people like Cassie in order to envision a better peace, a better way to do things, the potential for compromise.
The opening of this book is just a regular battle -- which means it's bloody and horrible and traumatising as always -- which then segues into Cassie's insight and perception into the rest of their team, and then this kick to the teeth which sets it all up:
‹Okay, everyone, let's get outta here,› Jake said wearily. He's always depressed after a battle.
‹Seven of them, six of us, and we ruled!› Rachel said. She's usually up, almost giddy, after a battle.
Tobias was silent, as he usually is after a battle.
Marco looked for a joke. ‹You know, I was gnawing this Hork-Bajir's arm and I just kept thinking mustard. It would go so much better with mustard.›
Marco jokes after a battle. And before. But the jokes afterward are always kind of strained.
Ax calmly wiped his tail blade off on the grass as we walked.
And I said, ‹I'm never doing that again.›
‹Yeah, it was not a smart fight. But hey, we won,› Rachel said.
‹No. I mean I am never doing that again,› I said. ‹Never. I quit. I quit this stupid war. I quit the Animorphs.›
I turned and walked away from the others.
There's just so much good stuff here, so I found myself highlighting so much. It's examining the toll of this war on all of them:
Jake stood, arms crossed over his chest. He was trying to look calm and relaxed. He wasn't succeeding. Something has happened to Jake during the months we've been Animorphs. He used to be just a normal kid. Good-looking, but not the kind girls got all giggly over. He had always looked solid and reliable and decent. The kind of guy to whom you wouldn't even suggest doing something wrong.
But even though there had always been something "adult" about Jake, there was always still the kid underneath. That had changed. He had faced too many dangers. Worse, he had made too many life-and-death decisions.
That shows up in your face after a while. In your eyes. It showed up in the way Jake stood taller than before, and yet somehow a little worn-out. There was a ragged look to him.
[...]
[Rachel] is still the tall, blond, perfectly-accessorized girl she's always been. But inside, she, too, is changed. She'd always been bold. Now she was reckless. She'd always been aggressive. Now there were times when she scared me.
And so many other things: the fact that most of this book is just Cassie and Karen stuck in each others' company and debating the war, and trying to maneuver circles around each other, and that the narrative still stands strong carried just by those two. The Yeerk's incredibly valid arguments about the beauty of this earth, why the Yeerks infest others, the hypocrisy of parasites vs. predators. It's such a valuable and empathetic insight into the perspective of the enemy, and makes them less the Implacable Evil they've been up until now.
And then this is a small moment, but the fact that Jake gives Marco the order that the Yeerk can't leave the area alive, whether it's infested Cassie or Karen. Meaning he's just ordered Marco to kill their friend or a literal child. Both options are terrible!!
But after all the grueling things that happen, in the end it all boils down to this speech by Jake, which summarises the whole dang theme as the beating heart of this book and the rest of the series:
"I guess sometimes you have to choose between smart, sane, ruthlessness, and totally stupid, insane hope," I said, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. "You can't just pick one and stick with it, either. Each time it comes up, you have to try and make your best decision. Most of the time, I guess I have to go with being smart and sane. But I don't want to live in a world where people don't try the stupid, crazy, hopeful thing sometimes."
This is one of the most emotionally mature books in the series, imo, and it's just lovely and wrenching and gosh, I love it.
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
March 6, 2024
If Cassie don’t stfu. You telling me you have the audacity to quit being an animorph and fighting a war for all of humanity because you feel bad? Honestly piss off. Wish she had stayed as a fucking caterpillar
January 22, 2022
Come check out my 4 hour 35 minute deep dive into reading every single Animorphs book for the first time on YouTube. I recap and review all of the books from the main series: https://youtu.be/H8kUM2q3CIU
August 6, 2014
One of the thrilling, groundbreaking books of this series which shows how brave the author is to blur that line between good and evil. There is so much gray in this book it's hard to believe. I loved that Cassie, the series' most kind-hearted character, proves that mercy and compassion is NOT wasted on the enemy.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
The very weird beginning of this book--in which Cassie says Jake will take over telling her story when she can't anymore--suggests that Cassie already knows she will soon be unable to tell her own story, which is odd considering to know that she'd have to be past the point where she could tell her own story. This is probably a fault of the vague nature of the storytelling. The books aren't a journal or diary (but sometimes they act like it), and they aren't told as if the characters know what happens in the end (except sometimes they do hint at knowing the ending before the book starts), and it's unclear what exactly these books are supposed to BE since the characters recording them appear to be aware that they have readers (from whom they must hide certain details lest these important bits of information fall into the hands of their enemies, though other important secrets like the fact that the Animorphs are not Andalites is revealed freely). The books have a confused level of awareness of future events which is often inconsistent, and if a reader thinks about it too much it makes the story less enjoyable.
The Animorphs group members each having their own way of reacting to battle was summarized by Cassie in the beginning of the book. Jake is depressed after a battle; Rachel is energized; Marco makes strained jokes; Tobias is silent; and Cassie is remorseful. (She doesn't really explain Ax's perspective, except to say that he cleaned blood off his tail at the end.)
Aftran tells Cassie that being a parasite is not morally inferior to being a predator because humans kill plenty of inferior creatures to live. She points out that at least Yeerks don't chop their hosts into pieces and consume them. However, being in a human host, don't they then have to engage in the predatory behavior that keeps the human host alive? They're both parasite AND predator if they do that. So it makes little sense for Aftran to try to argue the "morality" of being a parasite if being one requires directing the host to engage in predatory behavior. (Considering the Yeerks do not make any kind of mass conversion to vegetarianism.)
It's odd that they don't drag Karen off to isolation for a couple more days so they can have the Yeerk close to Kandrona starvation before Cassie ends up putting herself in the insanely risky situations she did (by letting the Yeerk come inside her head). It seemed like Marco was threatening to kill Aftran (which meant killing the little girl) even though there was a much easier way to free her without murdering the human too. However, I guess Marco also thought Karen was a risk because of what she knew about the Animorphs, in case she ever ended up a Controller again.
Aftran is able to use Cassie's host body to morph an osprey. Like a couple previous books, it's unclear whether a Yeerk with a morph-capable host body should really be able to morph into a creature with a skull smaller than a Yeerk. Yeerks are about two inches long. Ospreys' heads (including the beak) are only about three inches long. It doesn't seem like a Yeerk would be able to fit in a space that small.
There's an error here--Cassie's narration as she sees Aftran's memories refers to Karen as Aftran's "human morph." Obviously Karen is not a morph; she's a host. A similar not-very-accurate phrase comes out when Jake refers to Ax being "halfway to Andalite morph." Since Andalite's not a morph for him, that's an inaccurate way to phrase it.
Another possible error is that Cassie was a wolf when Aftran started crawling into her ear, not wanting Marco to risk coming near them. It's only a moment before Aftran is in control of her brain, but there is no mention that she morphed back to human. After rifling through her memories, Aftran morphs her body into a bird, so she must have been a human while Aftran was reading her mind. This isn't explained.
An apparent error: a human-Controller is quoted as laughing and saying "I have you now!" (at which Jake wonders sarcastically whether this guy's the Joker), but the phrase is marked as thought-speak. The human-Controller can't be thought-speaking.
Another error was that at one point Cassie's narration referred to Aftran with a male pronoun--mentioned that the Yeerk could "call his superiors." But everywhere else, including from Karen who shared Aftran's thoughts for the longest time, Aftran is referred to as "she." It's not really clear at this point whether Yeerks have gender or sex, or whether their gender concepts are simply male and female, but so far there hasn't been a mismatch between Yeerk and host in how they're referred to in gender, so it's possible the Yeerk becomes feminine in the way it thinks of itself if it has a female host, and so on.
It seems a bit illogical that changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly would reset the morphing clock. It's not different DNA, and it's also not like Cassie only became a butterfly once she emerged. At what point did the clock start ticking? It seems like a very weak justification for letting her actually think she was making this sacrifice and then giving her a cheap cheat (though of course it's wonderful that she got to do it).
It seems odd that a Yeerk was planted strategically in the daughter of a powerful banker in order to watch him, and then when Aftran defected and decided to "set the girl free," no one seemed to worry that she would be missed. Wouldn't they wonder why Aftran never reported on Karen's father's activities, or why the little girl never reported to the Yeerk pool anymore? Seems odd that Aftran could just go back to the Yeerk pool unnoticed, even for a short time.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
The very weird beginning of this book--in which Cassie says Jake will take over telling her story when she can't anymore--suggests that Cassie already knows she will soon be unable to tell her own story, which is odd considering to know that she'd have to be past the point where she could tell her own story. This is probably a fault of the vague nature of the storytelling. The books aren't a journal or diary (but sometimes they act like it), and they aren't told as if the characters know what happens in the end (except sometimes they do hint at knowing the ending before the book starts), and it's unclear what exactly these books are supposed to BE since the characters recording them appear to be aware that they have readers (from whom they must hide certain details lest these important bits of information fall into the hands of their enemies, though other important secrets like the fact that the Animorphs are not Andalites is revealed freely). The books have a confused level of awareness of future events which is often inconsistent, and if a reader thinks about it too much it makes the story less enjoyable.
The Animorphs group members each having their own way of reacting to battle was summarized by Cassie in the beginning of the book. Jake is depressed after a battle; Rachel is energized; Marco makes strained jokes; Tobias is silent; and Cassie is remorseful. (She doesn't really explain Ax's perspective, except to say that he cleaned blood off his tail at the end.)
Aftran tells Cassie that being a parasite is not morally inferior to being a predator because humans kill plenty of inferior creatures to live. She points out that at least Yeerks don't chop their hosts into pieces and consume them. However, being in a human host, don't they then have to engage in the predatory behavior that keeps the human host alive? They're both parasite AND predator if they do that. So it makes little sense for Aftran to try to argue the "morality" of being a parasite if being one requires directing the host to engage in predatory behavior. (Considering the Yeerks do not make any kind of mass conversion to vegetarianism.)
It's odd that they don't drag Karen off to isolation for a couple more days so they can have the Yeerk close to Kandrona starvation before Cassie ends up putting herself in the insanely risky situations she did (by letting the Yeerk come inside her head). It seemed like Marco was threatening to kill Aftran (which meant killing the little girl) even though there was a much easier way to free her without murdering the human too. However, I guess Marco also thought Karen was a risk because of what she knew about the Animorphs, in case she ever ended up a Controller again.
Aftran is able to use Cassie's host body to morph an osprey. Like a couple previous books, it's unclear whether a Yeerk with a morph-capable host body should really be able to morph into a creature with a skull smaller than a Yeerk. Yeerks are about two inches long. Ospreys' heads (including the beak) are only about three inches long. It doesn't seem like a Yeerk would be able to fit in a space that small.
There's an error here--Cassie's narration as she sees Aftran's memories refers to Karen as Aftran's "human morph." Obviously Karen is not a morph; she's a host. A similar not-very-accurate phrase comes out when Jake refers to Ax being "halfway to Andalite morph." Since Andalite's not a morph for him, that's an inaccurate way to phrase it.
Another possible error is that Cassie was a wolf when Aftran started crawling into her ear, not wanting Marco to risk coming near them. It's only a moment before Aftran is in control of her brain, but there is no mention that she morphed back to human. After rifling through her memories, Aftran morphs her body into a bird, so she must have been a human while Aftran was reading her mind. This isn't explained.
An apparent error: a human-Controller is quoted as laughing and saying "I have you now!" (at which Jake wonders sarcastically whether this guy's the Joker), but the phrase is marked as thought-speak. The human-Controller can't be thought-speaking.
Another error was that at one point Cassie's narration referred to Aftran with a male pronoun--mentioned that the Yeerk could "call his superiors." But everywhere else, including from Karen who shared Aftran's thoughts for the longest time, Aftran is referred to as "she." It's not really clear at this point whether Yeerks have gender or sex, or whether their gender concepts are simply male and female, but so far there hasn't been a mismatch between Yeerk and host in how they're referred to in gender, so it's possible the Yeerk becomes feminine in the way it thinks of itself if it has a female host, and so on.
It seems a bit illogical that changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly would reset the morphing clock. It's not different DNA, and it's also not like Cassie only became a butterfly once she emerged. At what point did the clock start ticking? It seems like a very weak justification for letting her actually think she was making this sacrifice and then giving her a cheap cheat (though of course it's wonderful that she got to do it).
It seems odd that a Yeerk was planted strategically in the daughter of a powerful banker in order to watch him, and then when Aftran defected and decided to "set the girl free," no one seemed to worry that she would be missed. Wouldn't they wonder why Aftran never reported on Karen's father's activities, or why the little girl never reported to the Yeerk pool anymore? Seems odd that Aftran could just go back to the Yeerk pool unnoticed, even for a short time.
May 26, 2024
*** 3.67 ***
Cassie's book and her attempt at quitting the Animorphs... And a Yeerk who only wants to be alive and see ...
Cassie's book and her attempt at quitting the Animorphs... And a Yeerk who only wants to be alive and see ...
March 6, 2018
(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)
Plot: Oh man, the book I’ve been dreading: the one where Cassie quits the Animorphs. But, I will say, there were aspects of this story that I didn’t appreciate as a kid, especially the very in-depth conversations about war and morality, that I was much more on board for during this read. So, while Cassie was still infuriating, I did end up not hating it as much as I remember hating it. With that blazing intro, let’s dive in!
During a “spy on The Sharing” mission that goes bad and results in a battle with Hork Bajir, Cassie finds herself hitting the metaphorical wall of “had it” with the violence that is life as an Animorphs. It all comes to a head when she goes in for the kill on a Hork Bajir she was fighting, even after Jake calls for a retreat. To Cassie, this is evidence that she is losing her ability to care, becoming deadened to the fight, and that’s something she can’t stand. And she quits. Walks away.
That night Cassie learns from her parents that the wildlife rehab center they run in their barn has lost funding and will likely have to close. Plus, there’s a leopard loose in the woods, escaped from a local exotic collector. With all of these happy thoughts, Cassie goes to bed, only to be plagued by nightmares. She wakes up and wanders to her window where she thinks she glimpses a pair of eyes looking back up at her.
The next day, the group confronts her in the barn about her decision, mostly refusing to believe she was serious. As it becomes clear that, yes, yes she is serious, the group reacts with varying degrees of outrage. Marco, unsurprisingly, simply calls Cassie a coward, choosing to selfishly focus on her own needs rather than the sacrifices it takes to save the world. Rachel sees Cassie quitting as a condemnation of everything Rachel is, that Cassie would rather leave than be like her. Tobias simply flies away, and Jake tells her that she can’t use her morphing abilities at all, if she’s not part of the group.
Not in the best head space, Cassie decides to go for a ride in the woods. As she rides, she comes across a small girl being chased by a bear. Cassie jumps into action and manages to snag the girl, but as the horse panics, they both are knocked into a near by river. Cassie almost drowns, but wakes up later on the shore, with the girl standing near her. The girl’s name is Karen, and Cassie is immediately suspicious of her, noting that she doesn’t speak like a kid. She quickly figures out that Karen was the one spying on her, and Karen confronts Cassie, saying she knows what she is, and that Cassie killed her brother. Karen is a Controller, and the Yeerk’s brother was the one Controlling the Hork Bajir Cassie had killed the other day. After seeing her brother die, Karen tracked Cassie and saw her, as a wolf, disappear into a bush, and then re-emerge as a human girl. More worryingly, Karen says that there are some Yeerks who have suspected for a while now that the “Andalite bandits” might be humans instead.
Cassie goes above and beyond to play this off as not true and that Karen has “quite the imagination for a kid.” Besides, they’re both now lost in the woods with a leopard on the loose, so she tries to distract Karen with this fact. Internally, Cassie panics. The Yeerk in Karen knows the truth about them, but simply taking her out is impossible: Karen herself is just a little girl. Further, Karen’s leg has been injured along the way, so Cassie must choose to actively help her survive or leave her behind. Of course, she helps her.
As they walk, the two discuss the morality of what the Yeerks are doing (all while Cassie continues to act as if she is simply indulging Karen’s crazy theories). Karen, more and more enraged by Cassie’s continued pretending, rants about the Andalites as arrogant busy bodies. She says the Yeerks have a right to expand, and the Andalites are all terrible. Cassie points out that if she’s on the side of these all terrible Andalites, then why is she helping?
Night is falling, and the two come across a cave. While Cassie is exploring it for bears, Karen is attacked by the leopard. Cassie morphs wolf and scares it away, but this confirms everything Karen has been saying and puts an end to Cassie’s act.
The two hunker down in the cave. As they continue to talk, Cassie notes some strangeness in the way the Yeerk is talking. It seems the Yeerk may feel slightly bad about Controlling a child. Through these conversations, Cassie begins to think that there might be another way. The next day they continue these conversations, this time with Cassie specifically trying to lead the Yeerk through morality exercises, asking her how it feels to have the real Karen crying in her mind. Cassie also goes into her own qualms about participating in a war and the violence that entails. Karen confesses that there are similar Yeerks out there who think it is wrong to take unwilling hosts. Cassie’s hopes rise even more.
This is interrupted when the leopard attacks again. An osprey attacks it several times, but the leopard still manages to drag Karen away, crying Cassie’s help. Cassie quickly deduces that the osprey is Marco and rushes to morph a wolf and keep him away from Karen, knowing what he will do. But the leopard isn’t scared by her wolf morph this time, and Karen is only saved when Marco shows up as a gorilla.
Marco quickly figures out what is going on and insists that they do something about Karen. Cassie doesn’t know what to do, but decides they should hear from the little girl herself, without the Yeerk. So she presses her wolf ear to the girl’s and becomes Controlled herself. Marco calls her an idiot and rushes to morph a bird and fly away, quickly understanding that the Yeerk will now have morphing abilities, too (something Cassie somehow forgot to realize!)
Now Controlled, Cassie learns the Yeerk’s name is Aftran. Aftran sorts through Cassie’s memories, and we get quick flashes of scenes from prior books with Aftran’s commentary. She notes that the Vissers are more concerned with in-fighting than the war (referring to book #5), watches Cassie panic after killing the termite queen and is confused by her caring so much (book #9), and laughs at the Andalite toilet episode (book #14). Cassie realizes that she has put all of her friends at risk as now Aftran knows them all. Aftran morphs a bird and flies away. From the air Aftran/Cassie see two groups: the Animorphs flying around as birds, and a group of Controllers on the ground. Aftran warns the Controllers about the “Andalite bandits” as birds, and flies on. Cassie notes that she didn’t give away their secret.
Aftran flies back to Karen and re-takes her. Cassie sees her crying, and knows that it is the Yeerk in control, and the Yeerk who is crying. Aftran rants about how unfair it is, to be born as a species so limited by its own body, unable to see the world around them, and to understand what Cassie is asking her to do, to return to the Yeerk pool and stay there forever. She finds a caterpillar and proposes a deal: if Cassie morphs this caterpillar, and then lets herself get stuck in that morph, in a body similar to the Yeerk’s, then Aftran will return to the pool and let Karen go free. Aftran points out that she will keep her word, because if she didn’t mean to, letting Cassie get stuck in morph when she has a much-desired morph capable body, would be a complete waste. Cassie agrees, and once morphed, in despair and loneliness, retreats to the caterpillar’s mind.
The story switches to Jake’s perspective, and after a brief run in with the roaming Controllers, the group catches up with Karen and caterpillar!Cassie. Karen is crying and saying she can’t believe Cassie did it, that she tried to stop her in the end, but caterpillars can’t hear, so she didn’t know. Cassie is stuck as a caterpillar. Karen explains their deal, and Jake lets every Animoph decide on their own what to do about it. Eventually, they all walk away, unwilling to undo Cassie’s sacrifice.
A few days later, the group watch as Cassie emerges from her cocoon as a butterfly. Ax casually asks whether Cassie would prefer to be a butterfly to a human. The group are shocked, and it turns out that since the caterpillar essentially “morphed” to a butterfly, the time clock should be reset.
The book ends back with Cassie as a human. The rehab center gets funding from a bank president whose daughter insisted they do something for it (Aftran had been in Karen for the sole purpose of spying on said bank president). And Cassie runs into Karen in the mall; she’s free and Aftran held up her end of the deal. Cassie notes that as long as she can fight for things like this, for finding another way, that is enough.
Peace, Love, and Animals: This book is very different from other Animorphs books. For the majority of it, it’s just one Animorphs character and a Yeerk, discussing very complicated moral and philosophical quandaries. It’s clear that this book was important to Applegate, and that she had some clear points on war, violence, and right/wrong that she was trying to convey. And I really enjoyed much of this. Further, the character of Aftran is excellent.
But I still ran into many of the same struggles I’ve had with Cassie in the past (and that I know will recur in future books, especially towards the end of the series with one big decision she makes). So, I’ll try to lay it out as best as I can.
Much of this book illustrates why I can never fully get behind Cassie as a character. She is clearly a character that is given the privilege of making the “right” choices, because she’s in a work of fiction. Many, many choices she makes in this book are only “right” in hindsight. Morally? They’re probably right most of the time. But on the grand scale of things, Cassie is incredibly, foolishly, unforgivably reckless with the lives of not only her friends but an entire planet (as well as the freed Hork Bajir, and the Chee, to name a few others), by choosing to quit because she doesn’t want to pay the same price the others do, knowing that she’s leaving them to an even more uphill battle, paying that same price over and over again, and then later letting Aftran Control her.
And yes, I agree with Marco. It’s selfish and self-righteous. And the only reason we can close this book and feel good about what she’s done (which I’m not undermining, it’s incredibly important and impressive, managing to talk around a Yeerk, something no other Animorph could do) is because she’s been given a pass. Her character is allowed to make stupid decisions that always turn out for the best. And this just reads as false to me. It undermines the reality of the toughness behind the rest of the Animorphs’ decisions. Jake’s slow fall. Rachel’s reckless courage. Marco’s cold detachment. These characters suffer severe changes and make huge sacrifices of themselves, choices that impact them for the rest of their lives (which we see play out in the end) because they are forced to live a real war story. Cassie comes out the other side ok, but it’s because she’s been allowed to make reckless, selfish decisions, to keep her soul more intact, and not pay a price for it.
Again and again we see her making decisions based on her own ability to live with herself and feel good about herself, and letting other step in to suffer the more extreme consequences. In Jake’s book, #16, she wants to kill the Yeerk, but wants Jake to literally do the dirty work for her. In Megamorphs #2, she chooses to save the alien race, and is only spared from destroying humanity’s future by Tobias shouldering the harder decision. And those are just in the most recent books! Cassie’s character is the only one that is given the privilege of making decisions based purely on her own feelings, to not sacrifice massive pieces of herself in the war to save Earth, without having it blow up in her face.
As I’ve said, I think Cassie is an important character for the series. But I wish there had been some type of more realistic balance that was struck between Cassie’s unique view on the world and the realities that that view would need to confront in a war.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake gets a few chapters of his own in this book, which is the first time we’ve seen a change of narrator in a regular series book. I can’t remember if this happens again or not, but it further illustrates the importance of this book in Applegate’s eyes. Jake’s big moment is notably not making a decision about what to do with Karen/Aftran after they discover her with caterpillar!Cassie. He lets this be one where everyone must come to their own conclusion about what is right.
Xena, Warrior Princess: I’ll go into more of Rachel’s stuff in the “Couples Watch” section, since I think Rachel and Cassie’s friendship is the big relationship of this book. But Rachel’s moments with Cassie when they’re confronting her in the barn are big. Rachel, like Marco, can’t get behind the idea of not sacrificing oneself for the larger cause. But Rachel also clearly loves Cassie and respects her, unwilling to agree that she’s a coward. But as Cassie goes on to explain that she can’t stay in this fight because she’s going numb to the violence, Rachel walks away. Cassie tries to call after her that they can still be friends, but Rachel interrupts to say “No” and:
“See, you’ve just said the whole world can drop dead, so long as you, Cassie, don’t have to end up turning into me.”
It’s a brutal put-down, all the worse because Cassie can’t deny it.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias doesn’t do much in this book either. He silently leaves when they confront Cassie about quitting, never really saying much. But when they discover Cassie stuck as a caterpillar, he says he can respect her choice to not want to live in a vioent world, saying that he is forced to live with violence every day, and can’t blame someone for not wanting to live that way.
The Comic Relief: Marco is by far the most harsh on Cassie’s decision to quit.
Marco laughed a short, brutal laugh. “Fine. You have your morals and your fine feelings and all that. We’ll go off and risk our lives to save the world. You just sit here and feel righteous.”
But he’s also the one to come to her rescue as an osprey (it’s never made clear what exactly he was doing flying around over there anyways). And then, towards the end, the leopard attacks Karen/Aftran again after Cassie’s been stuck and the group has discovered them, and Marco takes it out as a gorilla, saving the Yeerk. In the end, he, too, wants to respect Cassie’s sacrifice.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax does practically nothing in this book, other than deliver what some may call the deux ex machina at the end, with the whole “naturally occurring morphing” loop hole of convenience. There a brief bit when, during Jake’s narration, we get a brief fight scene with the roaming Controllers, and Ax has to run off with a wounded eagle!Rachel. But…yeah, I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with stuff for him.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: There isn’t a lot of body horror in this one, other than the typical “morph to a bug” nastiness. However, I will note here how effective the threat of the leopard was through out the middle majority of this story. It kept popping in and out, and Cassie has a good mental dialogue moment going over how dangerous leopards are, especially because you never know they’re there. It adds a good level of tension to a book that is mostly made up of talking.
Couples Watch!: There’s practically nothing for our romantic couples in this one. Instead, I’d say that Rachel and Cassie’s friendship is the major player in this book. Throughout it all, Rachel is the most hurt by Cassie’s decision to quit, but also the most supportive of her the entire time. In the first confrontation in the barn, when Cassie agrees with Marco’s assessment that she’s a coward, Rachel, even while mad, says that that isn’t true.
And then, when Marco returns to tell them the craziness that Cassie is up to, letting herself get infested, we have this:
Marco said something he didn’t really mean about Cassie not being an Animorph anymore, so she wasn’t our problem. Rachel knocked him on his butt. Marco is my best friend, but there are times I admire Rachel’s directness. [Jake’s perspective]
And lastly, when the discover Cassie as a caterpillar, Rachel is the most enraged against Aftran, and the last to walk away. But when she does, she insists on carrying the leaf that caterpillar!Cassie is on, saying that she will look after her and keep her safe.
I love their friendship!
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: No Visser Three in this one! Other than the mini rant Aftran goes on while Controlling Cassie about all the in-fighting within the Visser political arena. I guess at least we know that isn’t only these two that are like petty children in the school yard.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: When Cassie morphs the caterpillar, the book does a very good job of highlighting just how awful this life will be. Cassie’s descriptions of her own despair and loneliness, and then choosing to simply retreat into the caterpillar’s simplistic mind as an escape, it’s pretty terrible. I do think that one aspect of Cassie and Aftran’s whole deal that was notably not discussed was comparable life spans. Given that Visser Three has been around for many decades, we can assume that Yeerks have at least similar life spans to humans. So even if Aftran returns to the Pool, she has an entire life before her. But she’s asking Cassie to morph a caterpillar that, yes, may have similar restrictions as a Yeerk, but is going to die very, very quickly! This isn’t an equal deal at all with this in mind.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Ummm….CASSIE LETTING HERSELF GET INFESTED AND SOMEHOW FORGETTING THAT THE YEERK WILL HAVE HER MORPHING ABILITIES! For all that I appreciated this book more reading it now as an adult, this part of the book is so incredibly infuriating. It’s such a bone-headed move in every way. First, the whole goal is to get the real Karen’s perspective, which, why. Obviously she doesn’t love being Controlled!!! Second, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen an Animorph be Controlled. Cassie was right there during Jake’s whole ordeal, so the fact that she somehow forgets this has to go down as one of the most idiotic things in the entire series. And third, morphing ability aside, Cassie is also shocked to remember/realize that this decision has now exposed all of her friends if Aftran so chooses. It’s so incredibly irresponsible and reckless, and again, not even for any good reason.
Favorite Quote:
This is from one of the chapters from Jake’s perspective, and I think it makes the most sense as a response to my earlier rant about Cassie.
“I guess sometimes you have to choose between smart, sane, ruthlessness, and totally stupid, insane hope,” I [Jake] said, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. “You can’t just pick one and stick with it, either. Each time it comes up, you have to try and make your best decision. Most of the time, I guess I have to go with being smart and sane. But I don’t want to live in a world where people don’t try the stupid, crazy, hopeful thing sometimes.”
My problem is that her stupid, crazy, hopeful choices ALWAYS work, and the rest are never allowed that saving grace or must bail her out from the stupid, crazy, hopeful choice that if it had went through really would have ruined it all.
Rating: I liked this book more than I did as a kid. But it also highlights my overall problems with Cassie as a character. I think that after this she’s much less wishy-washy about the war, which I will appreciate. But I know for a fact that her questionable (and conveniently lucky) bad decisions will continue, especially in a big way towards the end. Ugh.
Plot: Oh man, the book I’ve been dreading: the one where Cassie quits the Animorphs. But, I will say, there were aspects of this story that I didn’t appreciate as a kid, especially the very in-depth conversations about war and morality, that I was much more on board for during this read. So, while Cassie was still infuriating, I did end up not hating it as much as I remember hating it. With that blazing intro, let’s dive in!
During a “spy on The Sharing” mission that goes bad and results in a battle with Hork Bajir, Cassie finds herself hitting the metaphorical wall of “had it” with the violence that is life as an Animorphs. It all comes to a head when she goes in for the kill on a Hork Bajir she was fighting, even after Jake calls for a retreat. To Cassie, this is evidence that she is losing her ability to care, becoming deadened to the fight, and that’s something she can’t stand. And she quits. Walks away.
That night Cassie learns from her parents that the wildlife rehab center they run in their barn has lost funding and will likely have to close. Plus, there’s a leopard loose in the woods, escaped from a local exotic collector. With all of these happy thoughts, Cassie goes to bed, only to be plagued by nightmares. She wakes up and wanders to her window where she thinks she glimpses a pair of eyes looking back up at her.
The next day, the group confronts her in the barn about her decision, mostly refusing to believe she was serious. As it becomes clear that, yes, yes she is serious, the group reacts with varying degrees of outrage. Marco, unsurprisingly, simply calls Cassie a coward, choosing to selfishly focus on her own needs rather than the sacrifices it takes to save the world. Rachel sees Cassie quitting as a condemnation of everything Rachel is, that Cassie would rather leave than be like her. Tobias simply flies away, and Jake tells her that she can’t use her morphing abilities at all, if she’s not part of the group.
Not in the best head space, Cassie decides to go for a ride in the woods. As she rides, she comes across a small girl being chased by a bear. Cassie jumps into action and manages to snag the girl, but as the horse panics, they both are knocked into a near by river. Cassie almost drowns, but wakes up later on the shore, with the girl standing near her. The girl’s name is Karen, and Cassie is immediately suspicious of her, noting that she doesn’t speak like a kid. She quickly figures out that Karen was the one spying on her, and Karen confronts Cassie, saying she knows what she is, and that Cassie killed her brother. Karen is a Controller, and the Yeerk’s brother was the one Controlling the Hork Bajir Cassie had killed the other day. After seeing her brother die, Karen tracked Cassie and saw her, as a wolf, disappear into a bush, and then re-emerge as a human girl. More worryingly, Karen says that there are some Yeerks who have suspected for a while now that the “Andalite bandits” might be humans instead.
Cassie goes above and beyond to play this off as not true and that Karen has “quite the imagination for a kid.” Besides, they’re both now lost in the woods with a leopard on the loose, so she tries to distract Karen with this fact. Internally, Cassie panics. The Yeerk in Karen knows the truth about them, but simply taking her out is impossible: Karen herself is just a little girl. Further, Karen’s leg has been injured along the way, so Cassie must choose to actively help her survive or leave her behind. Of course, she helps her.
As they walk, the two discuss the morality of what the Yeerks are doing (all while Cassie continues to act as if she is simply indulging Karen’s crazy theories). Karen, more and more enraged by Cassie’s continued pretending, rants about the Andalites as arrogant busy bodies. She says the Yeerks have a right to expand, and the Andalites are all terrible. Cassie points out that if she’s on the side of these all terrible Andalites, then why is she helping?
Night is falling, and the two come across a cave. While Cassie is exploring it for bears, Karen is attacked by the leopard. Cassie morphs wolf and scares it away, but this confirms everything Karen has been saying and puts an end to Cassie’s act.
The two hunker down in the cave. As they continue to talk, Cassie notes some strangeness in the way the Yeerk is talking. It seems the Yeerk may feel slightly bad about Controlling a child. Through these conversations, Cassie begins to think that there might be another way. The next day they continue these conversations, this time with Cassie specifically trying to lead the Yeerk through morality exercises, asking her how it feels to have the real Karen crying in her mind. Cassie also goes into her own qualms about participating in a war and the violence that entails. Karen confesses that there are similar Yeerks out there who think it is wrong to take unwilling hosts. Cassie’s hopes rise even more.
This is interrupted when the leopard attacks again. An osprey attacks it several times, but the leopard still manages to drag Karen away, crying Cassie’s help. Cassie quickly deduces that the osprey is Marco and rushes to morph a wolf and keep him away from Karen, knowing what he will do. But the leopard isn’t scared by her wolf morph this time, and Karen is only saved when Marco shows up as a gorilla.
Marco quickly figures out what is going on and insists that they do something about Karen. Cassie doesn’t know what to do, but decides they should hear from the little girl herself, without the Yeerk. So she presses her wolf ear to the girl’s and becomes Controlled herself. Marco calls her an idiot and rushes to morph a bird and fly away, quickly understanding that the Yeerk will now have morphing abilities, too (something Cassie somehow forgot to realize!)
Now Controlled, Cassie learns the Yeerk’s name is Aftran. Aftran sorts through Cassie’s memories, and we get quick flashes of scenes from prior books with Aftran’s commentary. She notes that the Vissers are more concerned with in-fighting than the war (referring to book #5), watches Cassie panic after killing the termite queen and is confused by her caring so much (book #9), and laughs at the Andalite toilet episode (book #14). Cassie realizes that she has put all of her friends at risk as now Aftran knows them all. Aftran morphs a bird and flies away. From the air Aftran/Cassie see two groups: the Animorphs flying around as birds, and a group of Controllers on the ground. Aftran warns the Controllers about the “Andalite bandits” as birds, and flies on. Cassie notes that she didn’t give away their secret.
Aftran flies back to Karen and re-takes her. Cassie sees her crying, and knows that it is the Yeerk in control, and the Yeerk who is crying. Aftran rants about how unfair it is, to be born as a species so limited by its own body, unable to see the world around them, and to understand what Cassie is asking her to do, to return to the Yeerk pool and stay there forever. She finds a caterpillar and proposes a deal: if Cassie morphs this caterpillar, and then lets herself get stuck in that morph, in a body similar to the Yeerk’s, then Aftran will return to the pool and let Karen go free. Aftran points out that she will keep her word, because if she didn’t mean to, letting Cassie get stuck in morph when she has a much-desired morph capable body, would be a complete waste. Cassie agrees, and once morphed, in despair and loneliness, retreats to the caterpillar’s mind.
The story switches to Jake’s perspective, and after a brief run in with the roaming Controllers, the group catches up with Karen and caterpillar!Cassie. Karen is crying and saying she can’t believe Cassie did it, that she tried to stop her in the end, but caterpillars can’t hear, so she didn’t know. Cassie is stuck as a caterpillar. Karen explains their deal, and Jake lets every Animoph decide on their own what to do about it. Eventually, they all walk away, unwilling to undo Cassie’s sacrifice.
A few days later, the group watch as Cassie emerges from her cocoon as a butterfly. Ax casually asks whether Cassie would prefer to be a butterfly to a human. The group are shocked, and it turns out that since the caterpillar essentially “morphed” to a butterfly, the time clock should be reset.
The book ends back with Cassie as a human. The rehab center gets funding from a bank president whose daughter insisted they do something for it (Aftran had been in Karen for the sole purpose of spying on said bank president). And Cassie runs into Karen in the mall; she’s free and Aftran held up her end of the deal. Cassie notes that as long as she can fight for things like this, for finding another way, that is enough.
Peace, Love, and Animals: This book is very different from other Animorphs books. For the majority of it, it’s just one Animorphs character and a Yeerk, discussing very complicated moral and philosophical quandaries. It’s clear that this book was important to Applegate, and that she had some clear points on war, violence, and right/wrong that she was trying to convey. And I really enjoyed much of this. Further, the character of Aftran is excellent.
But I still ran into many of the same struggles I’ve had with Cassie in the past (and that I know will recur in future books, especially towards the end of the series with one big decision she makes). So, I’ll try to lay it out as best as I can.
Much of this book illustrates why I can never fully get behind Cassie as a character. She is clearly a character that is given the privilege of making the “right” choices, because she’s in a work of fiction. Many, many choices she makes in this book are only “right” in hindsight. Morally? They’re probably right most of the time. But on the grand scale of things, Cassie is incredibly, foolishly, unforgivably reckless with the lives of not only her friends but an entire planet (as well as the freed Hork Bajir, and the Chee, to name a few others), by choosing to quit because she doesn’t want to pay the same price the others do, knowing that she’s leaving them to an even more uphill battle, paying that same price over and over again, and then later letting Aftran Control her.
And yes, I agree with Marco. It’s selfish and self-righteous. And the only reason we can close this book and feel good about what she’s done (which I’m not undermining, it’s incredibly important and impressive, managing to talk around a Yeerk, something no other Animorph could do) is because she’s been given a pass. Her character is allowed to make stupid decisions that always turn out for the best. And this just reads as false to me. It undermines the reality of the toughness behind the rest of the Animorphs’ decisions. Jake’s slow fall. Rachel’s reckless courage. Marco’s cold detachment. These characters suffer severe changes and make huge sacrifices of themselves, choices that impact them for the rest of their lives (which we see play out in the end) because they are forced to live a real war story. Cassie comes out the other side ok, but it’s because she’s been allowed to make reckless, selfish decisions, to keep her soul more intact, and not pay a price for it.
Again and again we see her making decisions based on her own ability to live with herself and feel good about herself, and letting other step in to suffer the more extreme consequences. In Jake’s book, #16, she wants to kill the Yeerk, but wants Jake to literally do the dirty work for her. In Megamorphs #2, she chooses to save the alien race, and is only spared from destroying humanity’s future by Tobias shouldering the harder decision. And those are just in the most recent books! Cassie’s character is the only one that is given the privilege of making decisions based purely on her own feelings, to not sacrifice massive pieces of herself in the war to save Earth, without having it blow up in her face.
As I’ve said, I think Cassie is an important character for the series. But I wish there had been some type of more realistic balance that was struck between Cassie’s unique view on the world and the realities that that view would need to confront in a war.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake gets a few chapters of his own in this book, which is the first time we’ve seen a change of narrator in a regular series book. I can’t remember if this happens again or not, but it further illustrates the importance of this book in Applegate’s eyes. Jake’s big moment is notably not making a decision about what to do with Karen/Aftran after they discover her with caterpillar!Cassie. He lets this be one where everyone must come to their own conclusion about what is right.
Xena, Warrior Princess: I’ll go into more of Rachel’s stuff in the “Couples Watch” section, since I think Rachel and Cassie’s friendship is the big relationship of this book. But Rachel’s moments with Cassie when they’re confronting her in the barn are big. Rachel, like Marco, can’t get behind the idea of not sacrificing oneself for the larger cause. But Rachel also clearly loves Cassie and respects her, unwilling to agree that she’s a coward. But as Cassie goes on to explain that she can’t stay in this fight because she’s going numb to the violence, Rachel walks away. Cassie tries to call after her that they can still be friends, but Rachel interrupts to say “No” and:
“See, you’ve just said the whole world can drop dead, so long as you, Cassie, don’t have to end up turning into me.”
It’s a brutal put-down, all the worse because Cassie can’t deny it.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias doesn’t do much in this book either. He silently leaves when they confront Cassie about quitting, never really saying much. But when they discover Cassie stuck as a caterpillar, he says he can respect her choice to not want to live in a vioent world, saying that he is forced to live with violence every day, and can’t blame someone for not wanting to live that way.
The Comic Relief: Marco is by far the most harsh on Cassie’s decision to quit.
Marco laughed a short, brutal laugh. “Fine. You have your morals and your fine feelings and all that. We’ll go off and risk our lives to save the world. You just sit here and feel righteous.”
But he’s also the one to come to her rescue as an osprey (it’s never made clear what exactly he was doing flying around over there anyways). And then, towards the end, the leopard attacks Karen/Aftran again after Cassie’s been stuck and the group has discovered them, and Marco takes it out as a gorilla, saving the Yeerk. In the end, he, too, wants to respect Cassie’s sacrifice.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax does practically nothing in this book, other than deliver what some may call the deux ex machina at the end, with the whole “naturally occurring morphing” loop hole of convenience. There a brief bit when, during Jake’s narration, we get a brief fight scene with the roaming Controllers, and Ax has to run off with a wounded eagle!Rachel. But…yeah, I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with stuff for him.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: There isn’t a lot of body horror in this one, other than the typical “morph to a bug” nastiness. However, I will note here how effective the threat of the leopard was through out the middle majority of this story. It kept popping in and out, and Cassie has a good mental dialogue moment going over how dangerous leopards are, especially because you never know they’re there. It adds a good level of tension to a book that is mostly made up of talking.
Couples Watch!: There’s practically nothing for our romantic couples in this one. Instead, I’d say that Rachel and Cassie’s friendship is the major player in this book. Throughout it all, Rachel is the most hurt by Cassie’s decision to quit, but also the most supportive of her the entire time. In the first confrontation in the barn, when Cassie agrees with Marco’s assessment that she’s a coward, Rachel, even while mad, says that that isn’t true.
And then, when Marco returns to tell them the craziness that Cassie is up to, letting herself get infested, we have this:
Marco said something he didn’t really mean about Cassie not being an Animorph anymore, so she wasn’t our problem. Rachel knocked him on his butt. Marco is my best friend, but there are times I admire Rachel’s directness. [Jake’s perspective]
And lastly, when the discover Cassie as a caterpillar, Rachel is the most enraged against Aftran, and the last to walk away. But when she does, she insists on carrying the leaf that caterpillar!Cassie is on, saying that she will look after her and keep her safe.
I love their friendship!
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: No Visser Three in this one! Other than the mini rant Aftran goes on while Controlling Cassie about all the in-fighting within the Visser political arena. I guess at least we know that isn’t only these two that are like petty children in the school yard.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: When Cassie morphs the caterpillar, the book does a very good job of highlighting just how awful this life will be. Cassie’s descriptions of her own despair and loneliness, and then choosing to simply retreat into the caterpillar’s simplistic mind as an escape, it’s pretty terrible. I do think that one aspect of Cassie and Aftran’s whole deal that was notably not discussed was comparable life spans. Given that Visser Three has been around for many decades, we can assume that Yeerks have at least similar life spans to humans. So even if Aftran returns to the Pool, she has an entire life before her. But she’s asking Cassie to morph a caterpillar that, yes, may have similar restrictions as a Yeerk, but is going to die very, very quickly! This isn’t an equal deal at all with this in mind.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Ummm….CASSIE LETTING HERSELF GET INFESTED AND SOMEHOW FORGETTING THAT THE YEERK WILL HAVE HER MORPHING ABILITIES! For all that I appreciated this book more reading it now as an adult, this part of the book is so incredibly infuriating. It’s such a bone-headed move in every way. First, the whole goal is to get the real Karen’s perspective, which, why. Obviously she doesn’t love being Controlled!!! Second, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen an Animorph be Controlled. Cassie was right there during Jake’s whole ordeal, so the fact that she somehow forgets this has to go down as one of the most idiotic things in the entire series. And third, morphing ability aside, Cassie is also shocked to remember/realize that this decision has now exposed all of her friends if Aftran so chooses. It’s so incredibly irresponsible and reckless, and again, not even for any good reason.
Favorite Quote:
This is from one of the chapters from Jake’s perspective, and I think it makes the most sense as a response to my earlier rant about Cassie.
“I guess sometimes you have to choose between smart, sane, ruthlessness, and totally stupid, insane hope,” I [Jake] said, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. “You can’t just pick one and stick with it, either. Each time it comes up, you have to try and make your best decision. Most of the time, I guess I have to go with being smart and sane. But I don’t want to live in a world where people don’t try the stupid, crazy, hopeful thing sometimes.”
My problem is that her stupid, crazy, hopeful choices ALWAYS work, and the rest are never allowed that saving grace or must bail her out from the stupid, crazy, hopeful choice that if it had went through really would have ruined it all.
Rating: I liked this book more than I did as a kid. But it also highlights my overall problems with Cassie as a character. I think that after this she’s much less wishy-washy about the war, which I will appreciate. But I know for a fact that her questionable (and conveniently lucky) bad decisions will continue, especially in a big way towards the end. Ugh.
November 6, 2017
I have misremembered or forgotten entire books and plotlines from this series, something which I've discovered over and over again in this re-read of mine. But I did not forget this book. This book I remembered very clearly. It made a HUGE impression on me as a kid.
This is the one where Cassie quits the Animorphs because she's finding herself willing to do more and more horrible things in the name of defeating the Yeerks, and she doesn't want to become that person. She doesn't want to be the one who pays the price anymore. This understandably upsets the others, but she doesn't care. She walks away, promising Jake she won't use her powers if not for the cause.
And then she and a little girl, who is also a Controller, are trapped in the woods, and she knows Cassie can morph. And she's injured. And she can't understand why Cassie hasn't killed her yet, despite having every chance and motive to do so.
Most of the book acts like a sort of bottle episode. Just a conversation between the two of them that does more to grey things up than almost anything we've seen so far. Both of them, two people from opposite sides of a war, only become more confused and conflicted as time goes on, and they ask each other genuinely difficult questions. This book more than any of the rest of the series, to be honest, is what I think of every time I can't believe this is a children's series. It's rare enough for a war/adventure story to humanize the enemy so much, to show such sympathy for the "evil bad guys", rarer still in children's fiction, which in my experience is even more black and white. (I would have that same feeling of OH, WOW, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? years later when I watched the second season episode of Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded", in which the show repositions the Cylons as 'people' instead of enemies.)
I was almost tempted to give this five stars, not just for Cassie's reaction and her conversation with Karen/Aftran the Yeerk, but for Cassie's interactions with her fellow Animorphs, who have very different, very human, very angry reactions to her quitting the team. Rachel especially feels Cassie's actions condemn her, that Cassie is leaving because she doesn't want to become someone like Rachel. How can a friendship recover from that? Which is ultimately why I'm not giving it five stars. Because it almost seems like after Cassie's sacrifice is hand-waved away (though the image of ), all of the conflict from the first part of the story seems to evaporate and Cassie is suddenly back on the team and best friends with Rachel again. It was a disappointing, too simple ending to a fascinating, complicated story.
Next up, probably the most intense WTF story arc of the entire series.
This is the one where Cassie quits the Animorphs because she's finding herself willing to do more and more horrible things in the name of defeating the Yeerks, and she doesn't want to become that person. She doesn't want to be the one who pays the price anymore. This understandably upsets the others, but she doesn't care. She walks away, promising Jake she won't use her powers if not for the cause.
And then she and a little girl, who is also a Controller, are trapped in the woods, and she knows Cassie can morph. And she's injured. And she can't understand why Cassie hasn't killed her yet, despite having every chance and motive to do so.
Most of the book acts like a sort of bottle episode. Just a conversation between the two of them that does more to grey things up than almost anything we've seen so far. Both of them, two people from opposite sides of a war, only become more confused and conflicted as time goes on, and they ask each other genuinely difficult questions. This book more than any of the rest of the series, to be honest, is what I think of every time I can't believe this is a children's series. It's rare enough for a war/adventure story to humanize the enemy so much, to show such sympathy for the "evil bad guys", rarer still in children's fiction, which in my experience is even more black and white. (I would have that same feeling of OH, WOW, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? years later when I watched the second season episode of Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded", in which the show repositions the Cylons as 'people' instead of enemies.)
I was almost tempted to give this five stars, not just for Cassie's reaction and her conversation with Karen/Aftran the Yeerk, but for Cassie's interactions with her fellow Animorphs, who have very different, very human, very angry reactions to her quitting the team. Rachel especially feels Cassie's actions condemn her, that Cassie is leaving because she doesn't want to become someone like Rachel. How can a friendship recover from that? Which is ultimately why I'm not giving it five stars. Because it almost seems like after Cassie's sacrifice is hand-waved away (though the image of ), all of the conflict from the first part of the story seems to evaporate and Cassie is suddenly back on the team and best friends with Rachel again. It was a disappointing, too simple ending to a fascinating, complicated story.
Next up, probably the most intense WTF story arc of the entire series.
April 6, 2025
My biggest issue with his book is the lack of stakes. Firstly, there’s the meta level: they’re not going to kill a little kid in a middle grade book, especially not by having her mauled to death and eaten by a leopard. That’d be pushing it, even for the level of violence in these books. Secondly, there’s the fact that Cassie agrees to Aftran’s deal of a life without sight and sound, and then, somehow, when she undergoes metamorphosis and becomes a butterfly (in record time!), that resets her morph clock, and she she’s able to become human again, undoing her “deal” with no consequences. That kind of magical return to the status quo is exactly what I’d expect of this sort of series, but it cheapens the sacrifice and ultimately feels like a further “screw you” to the Yeerks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2024
The MC of this book being the only Black character in this series is both inspiring (especially because of when these books were first published), and a little sad because she's the most frustrating.
It is pretty well-known that Applegate's series is anti-war, which is great in itself, especially when considering that these are kids with some pretty great moral mentalities. But this MC is, in my opinion, the most self-aware character of the group. I think this because she is the one who is always reminding everyone that there are solutions that don't involve killing or hurting others. These are VERY important messages for readers--no matter the generation. My biggest complaint with this, however, is that sometimes all the moral questions and nay-saying can be over-the-top.
Which leads me to some of the questionable choices made in this book. Whenever a book is in this MC's POV, things can get either a bit frustrating, or just plain annoying. I'm sure many love her and the way she is, but I wish I could just fully explore why she does the things she does.
I just wish I could enjoy her POV more.
Happy reading!
It is pretty well-known that Applegate's series is anti-war, which is great in itself, especially when considering that these are kids with some pretty great moral mentalities. But this MC is, in my opinion, the most self-aware character of the group. I think this because she is the one who is always reminding everyone that there are solutions that don't involve killing or hurting others. These are VERY important messages for readers--no matter the generation. My biggest complaint with this, however, is that sometimes all the moral questions and nay-saying can be over-the-top.
Which leads me to some of the questionable choices made in this book. Whenever a book is in this MC's POV, things can get either a bit frustrating, or just plain annoying. I'm sure many love her and the way she is, but I wish I could just fully explore why she does the things she does.
I just wish I could enjoy her POV more.
Happy reading!
April 3, 2022
After a battle that ends in Cassie giving into wolf instincts and murdering a Hork-Bajir, she makes the claim that she no longer wishes to be a member of the Animorphs or participant in this war.
“It was battle," I whispered into the sheets drawn up under my chin. "It's a war.”
The guilt is eating her alive and the toll of all this violence is weighing on her heavily.
”Each day, each battle, each mission. I just feel less and less.”
This has to be one of my all-time favorite installments for the series. Not only do we witness an intense journey of self-reflection as Cassie battles with her sense of morality, but we also get a deeper understanding of the Yeerks in a way that genuinely moves them into a sympathetic light. It’s a story that demands introspection and calls on Cassie (and the reader) to ask ourselves what lengths we would go to and what sacrifices we would make in order to gain freedom.
This book had me legitimately crying, especially after understanding the cover. Cassie doesn’t have it in herself to hate. She’s simply not built for it, and that lack of ability to hate leads to an incredibly honest and complex struggle with doing what’s right.
This was so painful and fantastic.
CW: war, slavery, violence, murder, death, ableism + dated ableist language
“It was battle," I whispered into the sheets drawn up under my chin. "It's a war.”
The guilt is eating her alive and the toll of all this violence is weighing on her heavily.
”Each day, each battle, each mission. I just feel less and less.”
This has to be one of my all-time favorite installments for the series. Not only do we witness an intense journey of self-reflection as Cassie battles with her sense of morality, but we also get a deeper understanding of the Yeerks in a way that genuinely moves them into a sympathetic light. It’s a story that demands introspection and calls on Cassie (and the reader) to ask ourselves what lengths we would go to and what sacrifices we would make in order to gain freedom.
This book had me legitimately crying, especially after understanding the cover. Cassie doesn’t have it in herself to hate. She’s simply not built for it, and that lack of ability to hate leads to an incredibly honest and complex struggle with doing what’s right.
This was so painful and fantastic.
CW: war, slavery, violence, murder, death, ableism + dated ableist language
October 31, 2009
This is where serious questions begin to be raised about the true evilness of the Yeerks. It's thought-provoking, whether or not you're a fan of Cassie's books, and opens the series up for even more blurring of the line between right and wrong.
July 25, 2022
It’s an interesting concept, with Cassie crumbling under the pressure of the war. And it also manages to nuance the good Vs evil take on the war a little bit. But the plot with the Yeerk just didn’t really grab me and the ending in particular feels disappointing.
May 7, 2012
This just made me hate Cassie more. She is such a dumbass.
July 21, 2017
I gotta admit, not a Cassie fan.
November 4, 2025
2025: I still think as far as Cassie books go this is one of the better ones. Cassie is still my least favorite character but I feel like this go about getting in her head really helped flesh out her motivation. I don't think I was as wow-ed by it this read through as I was the first but I liked that the other Animorphs called her out for her opinions and attitude that she was somehow on higher moral ground than them.
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Original Review 2015: Wow...This was pretty deep for a kids book...Cassie once again loses control while in morph and decides to quit the Animorphs. This becomes a problem when a young-girl Controller stalks her and realizes what she is. Cassie has always been my least favorite narrator...her books always got the lowest ratings, 2-3 stars, and now we have this one. The highest I've rated an Animorph book yet. Normally Cassie's whining over morality grates on the nerves, but now we have the chance to hear the other side's thoughts. I am still stewing over the conversations Cassie had with the Yerk. They compare what both sides are looking for, arguing that not all Yeerks are bad just as not all Andalites are good. Cassie does make some stupid decisions in her haste to be good, but I think this is a major turning point for her. This book deals a lot with the grey matter of war. Should the Yeerks be punished for being who they are, a parasite? How is what the Animorphs are doing any different? As I said, it was really deep and thought-provoking, unlike Cassie's previous preachy books.
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Original Review 2015: Wow...This was pretty deep for a kids book...Cassie once again loses control while in morph and decides to quit the Animorphs. This becomes a problem when a young-girl Controller stalks her and realizes what she is. Cassie has always been my least favorite narrator...her books always got the lowest ratings, 2-3 stars, and now we have this one. The highest I've rated an Animorph book yet. Normally Cassie's whining over morality grates on the nerves, but now we have the chance to hear the other side's thoughts. I am still stewing over the conversations Cassie had with the Yerk. They compare what both sides are looking for, arguing that not all Yeerks are bad just as not all Andalites are good. Cassie does make some stupid decisions in her haste to be good, but I think this is a major turning point for her. This book deals a lot with the grey matter of war. Should the Yeerks be punished for being who they are, a parasite? How is what the Animorphs are doing any different? As I said, it was really deep and thought-provoking, unlike Cassie's previous preachy books.
July 22, 2014
Okay, I've been loving re-reading all of the Animorphs books, but this one was the absolute best one so far. I never read this one as a kid, which might be a blessing because I don't think I would have "gotten" it as much as I do now.
In this book, Cassie meets a Yeerk inside of a young girl named Karen and realizes that not all of the Yeerks are evil. This changed everything for me - now I wonder if the gang is really doing the right thing after all.
I had tears running down my face during the last few chapters. I'm a bit ashamed that a children's book made me cry, but this book was just so well done. Like I said, it's definitely the best Animorphs book I've read so far. I'm not sure anything could top it, to be honest.
In this book, Cassie meets a Yeerk inside of a young girl named Karen and realizes that not all of the Yeerks are evil. This changed everything for me - now I wonder if the gang is really doing the right thing after all.
I had tears running down my face during the last few chapters. I'm a bit ashamed that a children's book made me cry, but this book was just so well done. Like I said, it's definitely the best Animorphs book I've read so far. I'm not sure anything could top it, to be honest.
March 8, 2015
Wow.
What a beautiful, beautiful heartbreakingly good novella.
No seriously. Really!
Cassie has always been my favorite character but this book pretty much cements her sheer levels of empathy and raw power and devotion to her ideals and she's sort of dumb and idealistic but at the same time she's just so devoted to her cause and staying true to her own morality that it's sort of breath taking.
I think this book emphasizes the sheer level of PTSD the children must have by now, the fact that oh my goodness, these are just kIDS. That we actually get this story from the point of view of human children from the 90s. That Yeerks must have their own way of seeing things too. I love that Cassie when she gets possessed, focuses on the Yeerk's point of view, versus Jake focusing on "oh my god the Yeerk is going through my memories and Tom's."
Very cool. Very beautiful.
What a beautiful, beautiful heartbreakingly good novella.
No seriously. Really!
Cassie has always been my favorite character but this book pretty much cements her sheer levels of empathy and raw power and devotion to her ideals and she's sort of dumb and idealistic but at the same time she's just so devoted to her cause and staying true to her own morality that it's sort of breath taking.
I think this book emphasizes the sheer level of PTSD the children must have by now, the fact that oh my goodness, these are just kIDS. That we actually get this story from the point of view of human children from the 90s. That Yeerks must have their own way of seeing things too. I love that Cassie when she gets possessed, focuses on the Yeerk's point of view, versus Jake focusing on "oh my god the Yeerk is going through my memories and Tom's."
Very cool. Very beautiful.
December 20, 2019
This book was alright, but Cassie is a damned fool.
She risked everyone’s life on her team for a very small possible payoff. I’m still left wondering what she was thinking.
I also found it strange that she was missing for days with another person, both were found separately, and neither told anyone they were with the other person. No one thought it a strange coincidence that two kids went missing in the woods at the same time?
And what about that goddamned tiger? That thing just out there prowling about in the woods?
It was still a good addition to the series overall, but some loose ends in this one needed to be tied up, and Cassie seems like a damned fool sometimes.
She risked everyone’s life on her team for a very small possible payoff. I’m still left wondering what she was thinking.
I also found it strange that she was missing for days with another person, both were found separately, and neither told anyone they were with the other person. No one thought it a strange coincidence that two kids went missing in the woods at the same time?
And what about that goddamned tiger? That thing just out there prowling about in the woods?
It was still a good addition to the series overall, but some loose ends in this one needed to be tied up, and Cassie seems like a damned fool sometimes.
March 14, 2021
WOW. WOWOWOWOW!!!!! this is by far one of the best animorphs books so far. i read it in 3 hours and it made me cry at work 100/10!!!!!
February 23, 2022
I read a lot of this series as it was being released (I fell off at some point and I’m excited to find where). That means I was in early middle school when this one came out.
My parents bonded over a love of Proust - my father recommended his work to my mother, who then read it in French. I mention this because they used to give me a hard time for reading Animorphs; they thought I should be reading more challenging and sophisticated work. I tried to explain to them that while Animorphs books were short and the protagonists were children, these were as challenging and sophisticated as anything else I’d read. They didn’t believe it, so finally I gave them this book - I remembered these twenty-plus years that it was book #19 - and asked them to please read this beautiful story.
This is, to me, the Animorphs at their very best. Some action but mainly a big complicated problem involving interspecies warfare, and the Animorphs all feeling differently about how to solve it. But beyond that, the Cassie books are just different. The Animorphs all suffer from their trauma in their own ways, but Cassie is the only one who is tormented by an insecurity about whether fighting is right at all. While Rachel has discovered that she is her best self when fighting (and that’s a hard thing for her to deal with), Cassie never gets more comfortable with killing aliens. Through her eyes, we see the toll this war takes on someone who reveres life. And in this book she splits with the Animorphs to try to make the world a little bit better without fighting.
My mom agreed the book was pretty good but also insisted I should read thicker books. My dad didn’t get around to reading it (and still feels bad about it - I forgive you!).
I don’t know which of the Animorphs I’d be most like in their shoes, but I agree so completely with Jake - you can’t build a better world after the fighting without people like Cassie.
Sobbed through this entire book.
My parents bonded over a love of Proust - my father recommended his work to my mother, who then read it in French. I mention this because they used to give me a hard time for reading Animorphs; they thought I should be reading more challenging and sophisticated work. I tried to explain to them that while Animorphs books were short and the protagonists were children, these were as challenging and sophisticated as anything else I’d read. They didn’t believe it, so finally I gave them this book - I remembered these twenty-plus years that it was book #19 - and asked them to please read this beautiful story.
This is, to me, the Animorphs at their very best. Some action but mainly a big complicated problem involving interspecies warfare, and the Animorphs all feeling differently about how to solve it. But beyond that, the Cassie books are just different. The Animorphs all suffer from their trauma in their own ways, but Cassie is the only one who is tormented by an insecurity about whether fighting is right at all. While Rachel has discovered that she is her best self when fighting (and that’s a hard thing for her to deal with), Cassie never gets more comfortable with killing aliens. Through her eyes, we see the toll this war takes on someone who reveres life. And in this book she splits with the Animorphs to try to make the world a little bit better without fighting.
My mom agreed the book was pretty good but also insisted I should read thicker books. My dad didn’t get around to reading it (and still feels bad about it - I forgive you!).
I don’t know which of the Animorphs I’d be most like in their shoes, but I agree so completely with Jake - you can’t build a better world after the fighting without people like Cassie.
Sobbed through this entire book.
June 5, 2024
Such a cool premise!
The beginning and ending felt a little rushed; I would’ve loved to see more of Cassie after the fact and how she rationalizes her actions to the team, but I can’t begrudge any of the space where we got to see Cassie and Aftran chatting.
The “natural morphing resets the clock” thing made me think that the Animorphs should make a contingency plan where they turn into tadpoles or something in order to escape?
All in all a pretty solid Cassie book, and the beginning of my favorite section (the middle) of the series!
The beginning and ending felt a little rushed; I would’ve loved to see more of Cassie after the fact and how she rationalizes her actions to the team, but I can’t begrudge any of the space where we got to see Cassie and Aftran chatting.
The “natural morphing resets the clock” thing made me think that the Animorphs should make a contingency plan where they turn into tadpoles or something in order to escape?
All in all a pretty solid Cassie book, and the beginning of my favorite section (the middle) of the series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2024
I cried so much during these last few pages. This might be my favourite book so far, from the whole series.
December 9, 2021
This one was a bit slower than the others, in a good way. Lots of conversations and worldview discussions, showing that the battle they face isn't as straightforward as they originally believed. I like that Cassie quit - it felt true to her character to have those qualms. I also liked how Rachel said something like "You think you're bad because you're turning into me!" There are fundamental differences between these characters and how they see and react to the world, and it's super cool to see that explored.
I also didnt realize the second megamorphs came before this, and it's not available anywhere right now :/
I also didnt realize the second megamorphs came before this, and it's not available anywhere right now :/
May 21, 2018
"It's over, Anakin! I have the moral high ground!" - Pretty much Cassie in this book
Let's see here. In 99% of cases, Cassie's choices in this book would either lead to -
A. Cassie's death by the cruel, cruel forces of nature.
B. Death by controller.
C. Capture and annihilation of all Animorphs and the last hope of mankind.
She makes them anyway because she's not willing to kill in self-defense, or even in defence of the entire human race. And she happens to get lucky and stumble upon the nicest, most honest and selfless yeerk in the entire galaxy. No. Just no.
Let's see here. In 99% of cases, Cassie's choices in this book would either lead to -
A. Cassie's death by the cruel, cruel forces of nature.
B. Death by controller.
C. Capture and annihilation of all Animorphs and the last hope of mankind.
She makes them anyway because she's not willing to kill in self-defense, or even in defence of the entire human race. And she happens to get lucky and stumble upon the nicest, most honest and selfless yeerk in the entire galaxy. No. Just no.
March 27, 2020
I felt so bad for Cassie in this one. She is way too young to have such a burden on her shoulders.
I was surprised at how much I could still enjoy this as an adult. It still makes me laugh and feel for the characters. And I felt it is still relatable in many ways today. It doesn't feel overly dated. It was interesting to get so much of a Yeerk's perspective. I wonder how many feel the same? Their history was fascinating. Cassie is such an amazing, down-to-Earth character, easy to admire.
I was surprised at how much I could still enjoy this as an adult. It still makes me laugh and feel for the characters. And I felt it is still relatable in many ways today. It doesn't feel overly dated. It was interesting to get so much of a Yeerk's perspective. I wonder how many feel the same? Their history was fascinating. Cassie is such an amazing, down-to-Earth character, easy to admire.
October 25, 2025
Why are people still trying to write when K.A Applegate already achieved perfection with ‘The Departure’ in 1998?
Cassie is the heart of the series, and it wouldn’t be half as strong without her. This is such an interesting look into Yeerks, slavery, morality, and the power of choice. I genuinely think Cassie is the best character in the series, and one of the best children’s book characters of all time.
Cassie is the heart of the series, and it wouldn’t be half as strong without her. This is such an interesting look into Yeerks, slavery, morality, and the power of choice. I genuinely think Cassie is the best character in the series, and one of the best children’s book characters of all time.
July 9, 2022
Well damn if this wasn’t one of the darkest ones yet. This was… morally gray. And heartbreaking. And I like the way they subverted the typical structure of these books to give us something so raw. This one’s all about the real effects of war. The human, emotional toll. Damn.
December 1, 2021
November 25, 2021 audiobook review here
January 9, 2021 reread:
When, oh when will I stop being surprised by just how complex and nuanced even a single Animorphs book is? In short, this book is about if pacifism and peaceful ways can work and even get better results than violence in war. There is so much that goes into that question, including opening up oneself to an enemy, choosing to trust that not everyone shares the same vies, that there are those who think differently than the masses, taking a leap of faith, not knowing if it will work or not, and accepting that whether it works or not, you’ve given it your all. I really wish I kept a reading journal as a kid, to know what my 10/11-year-old self thought of this book, and what she came away from it with. Of course, given who I’ve become as an adult, I have a pretty good idea that I came away with very similar values to what Cassie exhibits in this: betting on the good in people, and that not everyone in a (bad) movement thinks the same way. That we can find a better path, one that is peaceful and kind, and in which violence has no place.
Spoiler for event near the end of the series: I also bolded in my original pulled quotes a couple that I marked again this read-through.
Typos/Continuity Errors - more errors popped out at me in this book than previous books – maybe there was a bit of a rush to get it to the printer?
Then the human morph. Karen. – page 104 – “morph” should be “host”
Unable to move, unable even to control my own memory. All that was left to me were my own emotions. – page 107 – Later, we hear about Controllers who recite plays endlessly to annoy their Yeerk parasite, so how does that figure into not controlling one’s own memory? Or is it more so related to the memory of events not being controllable, not of knowledge stored?
…for the Yeerk to fly to the nearest gas station, demorph, and call his superiors. – page 109 – “his” should be “her”
< Hah-hah-hah! I have you now! Hah-hah-hah! > - page 134 – this is the Controller speaking, so it should be in quotation marks, not thought-speech brackets.
I looked to see Ax halfway into Andalite morph. – page 135 – It should be, halfway back to Andalite form or to his Andalite body, not morph, since it’s his natural body.
< I can carry her. > he answered. – page 135 – the period should be a comma
Alien facts:
Yeerks procreate by three Yeerks combining into one, then that one separates into tiny grubs which grow into new Yeerks. Twins happen when one of those grubs splits into two Yeerks. And the parent-Yeerks die. In their natural state, Yeerks have an excellent sense of smell, a good sense of touch, they can hear, and they can communicate using a language of ultrasonic squeaks. But they are blind. Page 82-83
Original Review: August 5, 2015
After everything that has happened in the previous books – and especially after the events of Megamorphs #2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs, Cassie has had enough. She can no longer stand all the killing and fighting the Animorphs encounter, because she feels she is losing sight of who she is. She is losing touch with the Cassie who feels empathetic towards all living beings, who cares about all living beings.
When Cassie meets a young girl who is a Controller, her views of the war between Yeerks and humans are tested. Not only that, but she learns more about what makes the Yeerks tick, and about their individuality. What is she willing to lose to protect the people and the planet she loves so much? What can she potentially gain from consorting with a Yeerk?
We have a right to live!
“No. I feel bad because I felt nothing. I felt … nothing, Rachel. At that moment I felt like I was just doing my job, you know? And now they’re shutting down the clinic, and my dad tells me and I feel … nothing. It’s been going on for a long time. Each day, each battle, each mission, I just feel less and less.”
I looked at Rachel. She looked away. I turned to Jake. He made the ghost of a smile and nodded his head. He understood. He knew. It was happening to him, too. But then he looked away as well.
I spread my hands, open, helpless. “I can’t not feel anything when there’s violence. I can’t not care about living things. I can’t be like that.”
[…] Rachel had an expression I’ve almost never seen on her face: She was hurt.
“Rachel, we can still be –”
“No, we can’t,” she said, cutting me off. “See, you’ve just said the whole world can drop dead, so long as you, Cassie, don’t have to end up turning into me.” She stormed from the barn.
I should have said something. But it was true. It was true I didn’t want to turn into Rachel. – page 24-25 – This is very heavy stuff, for kids and for adults. It can force you to question who you are, and who you want to be. What are you willing to sacrifice of your own self, your own soul, to protect the very things you hold dear? Can you still recover after all the horrible things you have not only seen, but also done, all in the name of protecting what is important to you?
“Did you ever read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen?” I asked Karen – page 35 – Yes, Cassie, yes I did! (Is this also a shameless book plug/compliment for a fellow author?)
Karen jumped up, wincing at the pain in her ankle. “We have a right to live!”
“This isn’t about living!” I yelled. “It’s about you enslaving other people.”
“It’s what we are,” she yelled back. “We’re parasites, you humans are predators. How many pigs and cows and chickens and sheep do you kill each year to survive? You think being a predator is morally superior to being a parasite? At least the host bodies we take remain alive. We don’t kill them, cut them into pieces, and grill them over a charcoal fire in our backyards.”
“We’re not pigs,” I said.
“Oh yes, you are,” she said, her face distorted and twisted with contempt. “That’s all you are to us. Oink, oink.” – page 64-65 – And here is a much-needed presentation of the differences between humans and Yeerks. Are the people the Yeerks enslave any better off than a dead pig? It’s not like the human can make any choices of their own anymore, for the most part.
“That’s not the problem,” she said. “We are issued weapons. We aren’t supposed to lose them. The punishment for losing them is … is very painful. I shouldn’t have been carrying it – I’m on an unauthorized mission. That will double my punishment.”
She looked very old, staring down hopelessly at the spot where the Dracon beam had fallen. – page 73 – Well, that’s an interesting peek into how the Yeerk invasion force works. It also helps illustrate just how ruthless the invasion as a whole is – if one of their own slips up even a little, the consequences can be “painful”. (And knowing Visser Three, “painful” in the worst sense of the word is most likely the best way to understand Karen’s comment.)
“I’m trying to save you,” I whispered.
Karen snorted. “You want to make peace, don’t you? You want to find a way to stop us without having to get your hands dirty. You want to defeat us … without having to kill us. It’s almost sweet. It is sweet. Sweet and naïve and foolish and utterly, utterly futile.” – page 95 – Is it, Karen?
One more quote under the spoiler in the comments:
January 9, 2021 reread:
When, oh when will I stop being surprised by just how complex and nuanced even a single Animorphs book is? In short, this book is about if pacifism and peaceful ways can work and even get better results than violence in war. There is so much that goes into that question, including opening up oneself to an enemy, choosing to trust that not everyone shares the same vies, that there are those who think differently than the masses, taking a leap of faith, not knowing if it will work or not, and accepting that whether it works or not, you’ve given it your all. I really wish I kept a reading journal as a kid, to know what my 10/11-year-old self thought of this book, and what she came away from it with. Of course, given who I’ve become as an adult, I have a pretty good idea that I came away with very similar values to what Cassie exhibits in this: betting on the good in people, and that not everyone in a (bad) movement thinks the same way. That we can find a better path, one that is peaceful and kind, and in which violence has no place.
Spoiler for event near the end of the series: I also bolded in my original pulled quotes a couple that I marked again this read-through.
Typos/Continuity Errors - more errors popped out at me in this book than previous books – maybe there was a bit of a rush to get it to the printer?
Then the human morph. Karen. – page 104 – “morph” should be “host”
Unable to move, unable even to control my own memory. All that was left to me were my own emotions. – page 107 – Later, we hear about Controllers who recite plays endlessly to annoy their Yeerk parasite, so how does that figure into not controlling one’s own memory? Or is it more so related to the memory of events not being controllable, not of knowledge stored?
…for the Yeerk to fly to the nearest gas station, demorph, and call his superiors. – page 109 – “his” should be “her”
< Hah-hah-hah! I have you now! Hah-hah-hah! > - page 134 – this is the Controller speaking, so it should be in quotation marks, not thought-speech brackets.
I looked to see Ax halfway into Andalite morph. – page 135 – It should be, halfway back to Andalite form or to his Andalite body, not morph, since it’s his natural body.
< I can carry her. > he answered. – page 135 – the period should be a comma
Alien facts:
Yeerks procreate by three Yeerks combining into one, then that one separates into tiny grubs which grow into new Yeerks. Twins happen when one of those grubs splits into two Yeerks. And the parent-Yeerks die. In their natural state, Yeerks have an excellent sense of smell, a good sense of touch, they can hear, and they can communicate using a language of ultrasonic squeaks. But they are blind. Page 82-83
Original Review: August 5, 2015
After everything that has happened in the previous books – and especially after the events of Megamorphs #2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs, Cassie has had enough. She can no longer stand all the killing and fighting the Animorphs encounter, because she feels she is losing sight of who she is. She is losing touch with the Cassie who feels empathetic towards all living beings, who cares about all living beings.
When Cassie meets a young girl who is a Controller, her views of the war between Yeerks and humans are tested. Not only that, but she learns more about what makes the Yeerks tick, and about their individuality. What is she willing to lose to protect the people and the planet she loves so much? What can she potentially gain from consorting with a Yeerk?
We have a right to live!
“No. I feel bad because I felt nothing. I felt … nothing, Rachel. At that moment I felt like I was just doing my job, you know? And now they’re shutting down the clinic, and my dad tells me and I feel … nothing. It’s been going on for a long time. Each day, each battle, each mission, I just feel less and less.”
I looked at Rachel. She looked away. I turned to Jake. He made the ghost of a smile and nodded his head. He understood. He knew. It was happening to him, too. But then he looked away as well.
I spread my hands, open, helpless. “I can’t not feel anything when there’s violence. I can’t not care about living things. I can’t be like that.”
[…] Rachel had an expression I’ve almost never seen on her face: She was hurt.
“Rachel, we can still be –”
“No, we can’t,” she said, cutting me off. “See, you’ve just said the whole world can drop dead, so long as you, Cassie, don’t have to end up turning into me.” She stormed from the barn.
I should have said something. But it was true. It was true I didn’t want to turn into Rachel. – page 24-25 – This is very heavy stuff, for kids and for adults. It can force you to question who you are, and who you want to be. What are you willing to sacrifice of your own self, your own soul, to protect the very things you hold dear? Can you still recover after all the horrible things you have not only seen, but also done, all in the name of protecting what is important to you?
“Did you ever read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen?” I asked Karen – page 35 – Yes, Cassie, yes I did! (Is this also a shameless book plug/compliment for a fellow author?)
Karen jumped up, wincing at the pain in her ankle. “We have a right to live!”
“This isn’t about living!” I yelled. “It’s about you enslaving other people.”
“It’s what we are,” she yelled back. “We’re parasites, you humans are predators. How many pigs and cows and chickens and sheep do you kill each year to survive? You think being a predator is morally superior to being a parasite? At least the host bodies we take remain alive. We don’t kill them, cut them into pieces, and grill them over a charcoal fire in our backyards.”
“We’re not pigs,” I said.
“Oh yes, you are,” she said, her face distorted and twisted with contempt. “That’s all you are to us. Oink, oink.” – page 64-65 – And here is a much-needed presentation of the differences between humans and Yeerks. Are the people the Yeerks enslave any better off than a dead pig? It’s not like the human can make any choices of their own anymore, for the most part.
“That’s not the problem,” she said. “We are issued weapons. We aren’t supposed to lose them. The punishment for losing them is … is very painful. I shouldn’t have been carrying it – I’m on an unauthorized mission. That will double my punishment.”
She looked very old, staring down hopelessly at the spot where the Dracon beam had fallen. – page 73 – Well, that’s an interesting peek into how the Yeerk invasion force works. It also helps illustrate just how ruthless the invasion as a whole is – if one of their own slips up even a little, the consequences can be “painful”. (And knowing Visser Three, “painful” in the worst sense of the word is most likely the best way to understand Karen’s comment.)
“I’m trying to save you,” I whispered.
Karen snorted. “You want to make peace, don’t you? You want to find a way to stop us without having to get your hands dirty. You want to defeat us … without having to kill us. It’s almost sweet. It is sweet. Sweet and naïve and foolish and utterly, utterly futile.” – page 95 – Is it, Karen?
One more quote under the spoiler in the comments:
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