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Animorphs #7.5
The Andalite's Gift
We never should have done it. But we needed a break. You know, some time off from the superhero stuff. A chance to act like normal kids. Well—as normal as four kids who can morph, a hawk, and an alien can be. Everything should have been cool.
Now Rachel is missing. And there's this . . . this thing that's after us. But it's not up to me to tell the whole story. Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax were there, too. Even Rachel has some info to add. So go ahead and check this out. And remember not to tell anyone what we're about to tell you. It could mean the difference between life and death. Or worse. . . .
Now Rachel is missing. And there's this . . . this thing that's after us. But it's not up to me to tell the whole story. Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax were there, too. Even Rachel has some info to add. So go ahead and check this out. And remember not to tell anyone what we're about to tell you. It could mean the difference between life and death. Or worse. . . .
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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1045 people want to read
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K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
May 15, 2015
Seven books into the Animorphs series, and K.A. Applegate has a problem. The series is popular. Too popular. See, it’s so popular that its sales are already so high that any improvement is not only unlikely but mathematically impossible … unless she can come up with some way to make the series even bigger, even crazier. Something so wild that it transforms a horizontal asymptote on that time versus sales graph into a vertical one.
Enter Megamorphs. Whereas each regular book is told from a single Animorph’s perspective, Megamorphs is told through the voice of all Animorphs—including, for the very first time, Ax! Additionally, the stakes are higher than ever, the action is more intense than ever, and Rachel gets amnesia!
Wait, what?
Yeah, so … here’s the thing. The Andalite’s Gift is, in my opinion, one of the weakest books in the series so far. And that’s saying something, because Applegate introduces a genuinely scary new threat in this book. But the rest of the story strains at the obvious attempt to be bigger! better! stronger! While it never quite degenerates into Michael Bay territory, it verges on that kind of nonsensical action.
Let’s start with the Rachel thing. Why does Rachel have to get amnesia? Like, what purpose does it serve in this plot, except to give Rachel something to do for the entire book? This is a storytelling cliché for a reason, and Applegate never goes anywhere interesting with it. Instead she plays it up for the lulz, with Rachel regaining her memory at the most convenient time. No other adverse effects whatsoever.
And while the book supposedly includes all the Animorphs, Tobias gets shafted. The antagonist is a creature that is attracted to morphing energy, so the climax centres on Jake, Cassie, and Marco. Want to know how many viewpoint chapters Tobias has? Three. Even Ax has more than that. I’m not saying that Tobias needs parity here, but it’s just unfortunate that he gets sidelined like that when Applegate manages to find interesting things for him to do in the other books.
On the other hand, hearing Ax’s narrative voice for the first time is one of the highlights of The Andalite’s Gift. I love his clipped diction and tone. It’s both analytical in the way he describes things unfamiliar to him on this planet, and emotional in his reactions to Visser Three and his failure to go on the attack. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I can easily forget Ax is a child sometimes (what with him having a deadly weapon on the end of his tail). These chapters really drive that home.
Other highlights include, of course, the epic chase sequence/extended action scene involving Marco driving Cassie’s dad’s pickup truck. DO YOU JUST HATE TRASH CANS? Yes, Jake. Yes we do. This scene is one among many that exemplifies the humour Applegate manages to bring to a series that is otherwise so dark and serious at times. In many ways Animorphs reminds me a lot of Chuck, a spy comedy on NBC that is one of my favourite series: a mixture of oddball humour and serious consequences. The inept chase sequence and the banter between Jake and Marco is definitely something Chuck and Morgan might have experienced.
Once again Applegate introduces a credible threat, in the form of the morph-hunting Veleek. Visser Three comes up with a plan that does not, for once, actually suck. In fact, it sounds like he has invested considerable effort into this plan—that alone is a sign that the Animorphs, despite their inability to create plans to save their lives, are actually making a dent on the Yeerks’ plans for conquering Earth. I enjoyed the way Applegate unspools the plot, from revealing the Veleek’s existence all the way to finding its weakness, and then turning it against Visser Three.
So this book is definitely not all bad! It’s still a fun adventure. It’s just that in attempting to emulate those action movies that sell so well, The Andalite’s Gift might be that sales booster everyone wants … but it’s not on the level that most of the books have been up until now.
My review of the Animorphs series:
← #7: The Stranger | #8: The Alien →
Enter Megamorphs. Whereas each regular book is told from a single Animorph’s perspective, Megamorphs is told through the voice of all Animorphs—including, for the very first time, Ax! Additionally, the stakes are higher than ever, the action is more intense than ever, and Rachel gets amnesia!
Wait, what?
Yeah, so … here’s the thing. The Andalite’s Gift is, in my opinion, one of the weakest books in the series so far. And that’s saying something, because Applegate introduces a genuinely scary new threat in this book. But the rest of the story strains at the obvious attempt to be bigger! better! stronger! While it never quite degenerates into Michael Bay territory, it verges on that kind of nonsensical action.
Let’s start with the Rachel thing. Why does Rachel have to get amnesia? Like, what purpose does it serve in this plot, except to give Rachel something to do for the entire book? This is a storytelling cliché for a reason, and Applegate never goes anywhere interesting with it. Instead she plays it up for the lulz, with Rachel regaining her memory at the most convenient time. No other adverse effects whatsoever.
And while the book supposedly includes all the Animorphs, Tobias gets shafted. The antagonist is a creature that is attracted to morphing energy, so the climax centres on Jake, Cassie, and Marco. Want to know how many viewpoint chapters Tobias has? Three. Even Ax has more than that. I’m not saying that Tobias needs parity here, but it’s just unfortunate that he gets sidelined like that when Applegate manages to find interesting things for him to do in the other books.
On the other hand, hearing Ax’s narrative voice for the first time is one of the highlights of The Andalite’s Gift. I love his clipped diction and tone. It’s both analytical in the way he describes things unfamiliar to him on this planet, and emotional in his reactions to Visser Three and his failure to go on the attack. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I can easily forget Ax is a child sometimes (what with him having a deadly weapon on the end of his tail). These chapters really drive that home.
Other highlights include, of course, the epic chase sequence/extended action scene involving Marco driving Cassie’s dad’s pickup truck. DO YOU JUST HATE TRASH CANS? Yes, Jake. Yes we do. This scene is one among many that exemplifies the humour Applegate manages to bring to a series that is otherwise so dark and serious at times. In many ways Animorphs reminds me a lot of Chuck, a spy comedy on NBC that is one of my favourite series: a mixture of oddball humour and serious consequences. The inept chase sequence and the banter between Jake and Marco is definitely something Chuck and Morgan might have experienced.
Once again Applegate introduces a credible threat, in the form of the morph-hunting Veleek. Visser Three comes up with a plan that does not, for once, actually suck. In fact, it sounds like he has invested considerable effort into this plan—that alone is a sign that the Animorphs, despite their inability to create plans to save their lives, are actually making a dent on the Yeerks’ plans for conquering Earth. I enjoyed the way Applegate unspools the plot, from revealing the Veleek’s existence all the way to finding its weakness, and then turning it against Visser Three.
So this book is definitely not all bad! It’s still a fun adventure. It’s just that in attempting to emulate those action movies that sell so well, The Andalite’s Gift might be that sales booster everyone wants … but it’s not on the level that most of the books have been up until now.
My review of the Animorphs series:
← #7: The Stranger | #8: The Alien →
August 15, 2016
Okay, first of all, whoever had the idea to jumbo-size Animorphs was a marketing GENIUS. Get kids hooked on a book series and then just give them as much content as possible. They are a captive audience, and they have enough pocket money to pay out once a month to get their next fix. (If you're lucky, it will also be quality, like this series.) Animorphs was such a success by the time this book was published that they moved it from being a bimonthly series to a monthly, and added specials like this one. There were eventually four Megamorphs books--which are roughly double the size of a normal installment, and include all the kids as POV characters--and four chronicles: Andalite, Hork-Bajir, Visser, and Ellimist. The chronicles were always my favorite, but we'll get to that.
For now, let's talk The Andalite's Gift. When I first read this book I LOST MY MIND. Basically, because it was double the size of a normal installment, as previously mentioned, and that was literally the only reason. Kids are not hard to please. It's not actually any more significant than a normal Animorphs book, just a little different stylistically. There's more time for Applegate to play around with small moments, and to really take advantage of the shifting POVs to replay scenes from different perspectives, something that won't continue in future books, because fans complained (I said kids were easy before, but they are also tough, because a kid will not mince words when they tell you you're wasting valuable book space replaying things they've already seen).
The plot of the book is that Visser Three has a new pet monster, and has somehow set it loose on the Animorphs, who he aims to capture if possible (can't waste a morph capable body). The creature is relentless, and destroys everything in its path. The whole book is basically them being chased all over creation, trying to stay away from it, and keep it away from civilization. Meanwhile, Rachel is missing.
The book is also really heavy on action, and light on emotion and thematic resonance. I like both things ideally in some sort of balance, and here that balance was off for me.
All in all, The Andalite's Gift is a successful ploy that paves the way for much more successful jumbo-sized books in the future, but which ultimately pales when compared to the better stories in this series.
Next time, our first full book with Ax POV. Bring on the cinnamon buns. Buns. Bun-zah. Bunssss.
[3.5 stars]
For now, let's talk The Andalite's Gift. When I first read this book I LOST MY MIND. Basically, because it was double the size of a normal installment, as previously mentioned, and that was literally the only reason. Kids are not hard to please. It's not actually any more significant than a normal Animorphs book, just a little different stylistically. There's more time for Applegate to play around with small moments, and to really take advantage of the shifting POVs to replay scenes from different perspectives, something that won't continue in future books, because fans complained (I said kids were easy before, but they are also tough, because a kid will not mince words when they tell you you're wasting valuable book space replaying things they've already seen).
The plot of the book is that Visser Three has a new pet monster, and has somehow set it loose on the Animorphs, who he aims to capture if possible (can't waste a morph capable body). The creature is relentless, and destroys everything in its path. The whole book is basically them being chased all over creation, trying to stay away from it, and keep it away from civilization. Meanwhile, Rachel is missing.
The book is also really heavy on action, and light on emotion and thematic resonance. I like both things ideally in some sort of balance, and here that balance was off for me.
All in all, The Andalite's Gift is a successful ploy that paves the way for much more successful jumbo-sized books in the future, but which ultimately pales when compared to the better stories in this series.
Next time, our first full book with Ax POV. Bring on the cinnamon buns. Buns. Bun-zah. Bunssss.
[3.5 stars]
May 22, 2025
(Read in March 2015, February 2020, and May 2025.)
FIRST REVIEW / MAR 12, 2015
The first Megamorphs book, in which each chapter alternates between a different character POV (practically ASOIAF-style!), accordingly delivering a story with even bigger scope and action. This one feels like a straight-up rip-roaring action movie, complete with animal-morphing car chases and all. It's awesome. Plus, it features one of the best quotes of the series: do you hate trash cans?? DO YOU JUST HATE TRASH CANS??!
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / FEB 22, 2020
3.5 stars rounded down -- it still reads like a thrilling, pulse-pounding action movie, and has a few good character moments (Cassie and Rachel's friendship, and Cassie's fondness for her; Cassie's ongoing fear of responsibility and her guilt over leaving Marco behind; Cassie's plan at the end; just everything Cassie tbh!!). But the ever-rotating narrators and relentless pace does mean that, unlike the regular books, there isn't much time for quieter character moments to sit down with some interiority & development. I don't think future Megamorphs suffer from this exact problem. But I still love this one, for the nutty way it blows the scope open wide and delivers such a bonkers adventure.
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
---------------------------------
THIRD REVIEW / MAY 22, 2025
What I appreciated this time was the way this book hooks into all the ones that came before it: the Yeerks rattling off the hits and losses they've taken, the Animorphs' wins, their successful missions from the previous books; the ongoing rivalry and undercutting between the Vissers; learning about the Kandrona rationing, which will have repercussions in subsequent books as well. The chronology and structure of this series just remains so great.
Good stuff, even if this one is mostly just a fun action movie, and a great showcase of the Animorphs operating as a quick-thinking tactical squad.
FIRST REVIEW / MAR 12, 2015
The first Megamorphs book, in which each chapter alternates between a different character POV (practically ASOIAF-style!), accordingly delivering a story with even bigger scope and action. This one feels like a straight-up rip-roaring action movie, complete with animal-morphing car chases and all. It's awesome. Plus, it features one of the best quotes of the series: do you hate trash cans?? DO YOU JUST HATE TRASH CANS??!
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / FEB 22, 2020
3.5 stars rounded down -- it still reads like a thrilling, pulse-pounding action movie, and has a few good character moments (Cassie and Rachel's friendship, and Cassie's fondness for her; Cassie's ongoing fear of responsibility and her guilt over leaving Marco behind; Cassie's plan at the end; just everything Cassie tbh!!). But the ever-rotating narrators and relentless pace does mean that, unlike the regular books, there isn't much time for quieter character moments to sit down with some interiority & development. I don't think future Megamorphs suffer from this exact problem. But I still love this one, for the nutty way it blows the scope open wide and delivers such a bonkers adventure.
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
---------------------------------
THIRD REVIEW / MAY 22, 2025
What I appreciated this time was the way this book hooks into all the ones that came before it: the Yeerks rattling off the hits and losses they've taken, the Animorphs' wins, their successful missions from the previous books; the ongoing rivalry and undercutting between the Vissers; learning about the Kandrona rationing, which will have repercussions in subsequent books as well. The chronology and structure of this series just remains so great.
Good stuff, even if this one is mostly just a fun action movie, and a great showcase of the Animorphs operating as a quick-thinking tactical squad.
February 12, 2024
Tornado blade monster with one thousand mouths from Saturn: 0
Animorphs: 1
Animorphs: 1
April 16, 2020
Latest review April 16, 2020
Yes, I am bumping this book up to four stars this read-through. Why? Because of how much it accomplishes, not only in the story, but as a side “addition” or even “entry point” into the Animorphs series. It fits thematically right in line as coming after book 7 The Stranger, with the character development and everything, while also offering quick recaps from each character on how they got where they are. It manages the balance of not over-explaining aspect to readers since the beginning, while also including enough to hook in new readers. And for those who have read the whole series, there are clues and indications of how some future character development will happen. Now, whether or not those parts are fully intentional is up for debate, especially this early on in the series where Ms. Applegate is still hammering out the details and finer points of this science fiction world, but I would say you can take the character points presented here as pieces of the whole, especially if anyone decides to do a character study of any/all of these characters. (Believe you me, the thought has crossed my mind on more than one occasion.) Anyways in The Andalite’s Gift, we get a fun round-robin of each of the characters narrating, and one of the most memorable lines in all of Animorphs: “Do you just HATE TRASH CANS?!” There’s amnesia, a new alien monster, wild driving, a face-off with Visser Three, and action-packed sequences to the max. I can definitely see why my friend Julie thinks this would make a great movie – it has all the action and elements of a solid action film, and with its balance of being both an addition and an entry point into Animorphs, it could catch quite a few people on a new hook, if a movie is done well/right.
Now on to the details of the story, and how they popped out at me. Spoiler cuts often have spoilers for the end of the series, or at least to much later books, so open at your own risk.
To start, some of the characterization/character elements: there is a reiteration of Cassie and her “feelings” (page 7) about when something is off, or wrong (as with the time-travel in #7, and how she could sense Ax’s call for help in #4), and while you can easily write it off as she’s just especially sensitive, it is also supporting evidence for a much later revelation in Megamorphs #4 that . Also for Cassie, we’re getting more of how she operates better when she doesn’t have to make life-or-death decisions for others: . This will be a recurring theme in Cassie’s books as the series goes on. With Tobias, we get a bit more of how his life as a hawk isn’t all roses and sunshine, how he has some dangers out there too to watch out for, not just Yeerks. Rachel has this to say about Jake: We also see more of Marco’s sense of humor – not only how he uses it, but how he’s learning to use it, how he recognizes when he goes too far or is out of line, and also how his conscience plays into making good or bad jokes:
[Marco narrating: I said,] “Ask Tobias. He’s the predator here. He should know.”
I meant it to be mean. I felt bad about it as soon as I said it. (page 119) It also shows
For more general timeline stuff: back in book 2, Rachel talks about her friend Melissa Chapman’s 10th birthday happening a couple years ago, which implies she’s probably 12. In this book, Marco is not invited to a schoolmate’s birthday part because at her 10th birthday, he played a trick in the pool with a Baby Ruth bar. Presumably, and considering his big stink about not being invited to this year’s party, it’s probable this is the very next year, which would put him at 11 years old. It is almost definitely not more than 2 years after the last pool party he was invited to, so he’s not older than 12 at the start of Animorphs. I think it’s safe to say the Animorphs are all born within a year of each other, staring the series at 11-12 years old, so that they are all in the same grade level. (At least, I’m assuming they’re all in the same grade level, based on shared classes and crossing in the halls.)
As for world-building, we’re offered some solid definition of the morphing and thought-speak rules which have only really been implied thus far: “With thought-speak, you can either do it so everyone hears you, or sort of aim it at just one person,” (page 32) as Marco explains – even though later, on the ship, Ax also comments on Visser Three’s open broadcast versus his and the Animorphs’ own use of targeted thought-speak. With morphing, we also get confirmation that morphing heals one’s natural body as well, like when Rachel’s previously torn up bare feet are healed after morphing another animal/demorphing. Finally, we get a whisper of the ramifications of the Animorphs’ destroying the Kandrona ray in the last book, and the information that, per Chapman, “Ten percent of the police force are our people.” (page 111) That is a lot of Controllers, and how later Ax and Marco observe Human-Controllers being integrated onto Yeerk ships, we get a hint of just how great the Yeerk invasion is. It’s one thing to see all the Human-Controllers and the underground Yeerk pool, another to hear that Human-Controllers are even in space. And of course, we can’t forget what we learn from the “crazy woman” Rachel meets in the woods – the woman who used to be a Controller, but her Yeerk likely starved out, leaving the woman crazy. This comes back in later books, at the very least in Visser I believe, confirming just how dangerous Jake’s situation really was when they starved the Yeerk out of his head in #6 The Capture. And since we get some chapters narrated by Ax for the first time, we also get a little more insight into his culture and alien knowledge: [Ax narrating] “Ramonite is a metal that can stretch open or be made clear or opaque by molecular arrangement.” (page 153) I know KAA and Michael Grant used a lot of plays on words to create terms in this series, so I wonder if “ramonite” comes from… “ramen”? Because of how it is super convenient for its purpose? (ramen= cheap food, easily obtained; “ramonite”=convenient metal which does everything you could need it to do in a spaceship). I don’t know, that might be a stretch, but I’ll put it out there. Especially seeing as I don’t have any clues on where they might have drawn veleek from. (“Taxxon” comes from “taxes”). And a little discrepancy:
Lastly, a little cultural dating: Ben and Jerry’s flavor Wavy Gravy was retired to the Flavor Graveyard in 2001 (though it briefly came back in 2005), though Cherry Garcia is still available (page 51).
Favorite quotes:
“Well, I guess when life turns completely crazy, it’s the normal things that start to seem strange.” - page 7
[Jake narrating] And we looked up to Rachel. She was fearless. She made the rest of us braver than we might have been without her. – page 129
Original Review: May 11, 2015 – 3 stars
Possibly my favorite quote from the whole book, which happens after Marco plows down 4 trash cans in Cassie's dad's truck: "Do you hate trash cans?" Jake asked. "Is that your problem? Do you just HATE TRASH CANS?!!" - page 139
And after reading this, and checking my bookshelves, I don't think I ever read this book back in '99 or thereabouts, since I didn't own it. I have now remedied that, and ordered Megamorphs #1 and #4, since I also didn't have #4. That should complete my Animorphs collection, less the Alternamorphs (which I only have #1 and #2 of; at the time, I didn't really enjoy those choose-your-own ending stories - maybe because I always pick the bad options...).
There were again some fun new quotes, below. Overall this book is just a 3, because the amnesiac story line is pretty weak, and the amnesia and the Veleek don't serve much purpose in furthering the general Animorphs vs. Yeerks story line. Other than to have Visser Three find a monster to hunt the Animorphs and them to solidly .
[Ax narrating:] Marco is highly intelligent. But he is also very afflicted by a condition the humans call "sense of humor." I have noticed that Marco's sense of humor sometimes makes him do strange things. -- page 83
[Amnesiac Rachel narrating:] And what was strange was that the scratches and scrapes I'd gotten from walking barefoot through the woods were gone. I was renewed. -- page 115 -- I didn't remember that even morphing could help heal the human form too... I know it's DNA based, and DNA isn't hurt by physical injuries, but the human form is their natural form. Why would morphing affect the natural form too? Could it heal a broken leg, or a missing human limb too??
[Marco narrating:] "Rachel isn't here to cast her vote. So, on her behalf, I'll say what she would say: What we need to do is find a way to kick this Veleek's butt."
Cassie smiled. "And what would the real Marco say to that?"
"He'd probably make some stupid but very funny remark," I admitted. "Then he would start thinking about how to do just that: Kick this big windbag's dusty butt." -- page 122
[Marco narrating:]I had a tiger in the back of a pickup truck I could barely drive, and I was being chased by the most powerful monster I had ever seen.
Later I would be terrified. But right then, at that moment, I was just thinking, This is so cool. -- page 142
[Amnesiac Rachel narrating:] [Cassie said,] "So we're morphing every five minutes or so, hoping to wear [the Veleek] out."
< How do you know it wears out? > [Rachel asked.]
"We don't."
< This isn't much of a plan, > I said. < Are you Animorphs always this hopeless? >
"Pretty much," Cassie said ruefully. "The bad guys have all the power. Sometimes we think it's all a hopeless fight."
< A hopeless fight? > I asked. < Isn't that the best kind? >
Cassie laughed. "You may have lost your memory, but you're still Rachel." -- page 163
[Ax narrating:] Why a flea should have a taste for Andalite blood is a mystery. But now I knew how the little monster did his dirty work. And I really did not want to dwell on that image. -- page 174
[Marco narrating:] I don't know what I expected to see, but it sure wasn't this. I was on something that looked like the bridge of the starship Enterprise, only triangular. Instead of Data or Sulu or Worf or Spock, there were a bunch of Taxxons and a circle of Hork-Bajir with their weapons drawn." -- page 178-179 -- I wonder if I got this reference when I first read it back in 1999? I doubt it, as I wasn't allowed to watch Star Trek at that age, but I had caught snippets when my parents were watching before they managed to pause the show.
[Marco narrating:] < Yah-HAH! > I yelled. I glanced left. Ax was right beside me, in his own harrier morph.
< That was exciting, > Ax said.
< Yes, it was. Let's never, ever do that again. >
< Ever, > Ax agreed. -- page 199. I feel like we've already had this exact same exchange once (only under different circumstances).
[Tobias narrating:] < Are you ever afraid? > [Cassie] asked me.
< Who, me? I'm afraid of everything. I know I'm a predator and all, but do you know how many predators I have after me? Every golden eagle, every falcon. You know how fast they are? It's like getting hit by a bullet. They make me look like the Goodyear blimp. Then there are the raccoons and foxes and snakes and even the occasional nervy house cat. And that's just the natural environment. Add to that the Yeerks, and the fact that I wake up sometimes and don't remember exactly what I am, boy or bird... yeah, Cassie, I’m afraid a lot of the time. >
< How do you handle it? >
< Who says I handle it? There's only one way to deal with fear: Be afraid. Be afraid, and then go ahead and do what you have to do, anyway. > -- page 219
Yes, I am bumping this book up to four stars this read-through. Why? Because of how much it accomplishes, not only in the story, but as a side “addition” or even “entry point” into the Animorphs series. It fits thematically right in line as coming after book 7 The Stranger, with the character development and everything, while also offering quick recaps from each character on how they got where they are. It manages the balance of not over-explaining aspect to readers since the beginning, while also including enough to hook in new readers. And for those who have read the whole series, there are clues and indications of how some future character development will happen. Now, whether or not those parts are fully intentional is up for debate, especially this early on in the series where Ms. Applegate is still hammering out the details and finer points of this science fiction world, but I would say you can take the character points presented here as pieces of the whole, especially if anyone decides to do a character study of any/all of these characters. (Believe you me, the thought has crossed my mind on more than one occasion.) Anyways in The Andalite’s Gift, we get a fun round-robin of each of the characters narrating, and one of the most memorable lines in all of Animorphs: “Do you just HATE TRASH CANS?!” There’s amnesia, a new alien monster, wild driving, a face-off with Visser Three, and action-packed sequences to the max. I can definitely see why my friend Julie thinks this would make a great movie – it has all the action and elements of a solid action film, and with its balance of being both an addition and an entry point into Animorphs, it could catch quite a few people on a new hook, if a movie is done well/right.
Now on to the details of the story, and how they popped out at me. Spoiler cuts often have spoilers for the end of the series, or at least to much later books, so open at your own risk.
To start, some of the characterization/character elements: there is a reiteration of Cassie and her “feelings” (page 7) about when something is off, or wrong (as with the time-travel in #7, and how she could sense Ax’s call for help in #4), and while you can easily write it off as she’s just especially sensitive, it is also supporting evidence for a much later revelation in Megamorphs #4 that . Also for Cassie, we’re getting more of how she operates better when she doesn’t have to make life-or-death decisions for others: . This will be a recurring theme in Cassie’s books as the series goes on. With Tobias, we get a bit more of how his life as a hawk isn’t all roses and sunshine, how he has some dangers out there too to watch out for, not just Yeerks. Rachel has this to say about Jake: We also see more of Marco’s sense of humor – not only how he uses it, but how he’s learning to use it, how he recognizes when he goes too far or is out of line, and also how his conscience plays into making good or bad jokes:
[Marco narrating: I said,] “Ask Tobias. He’s the predator here. He should know.”
I meant it to be mean. I felt bad about it as soon as I said it. (page 119) It also shows
For more general timeline stuff: back in book 2, Rachel talks about her friend Melissa Chapman’s 10th birthday happening a couple years ago, which implies she’s probably 12. In this book, Marco is not invited to a schoolmate’s birthday part because at her 10th birthday, he played a trick in the pool with a Baby Ruth bar. Presumably, and considering his big stink about not being invited to this year’s party, it’s probable this is the very next year, which would put him at 11 years old. It is almost definitely not more than 2 years after the last pool party he was invited to, so he’s not older than 12 at the start of Animorphs. I think it’s safe to say the Animorphs are all born within a year of each other, staring the series at 11-12 years old, so that they are all in the same grade level. (At least, I’m assuming they’re all in the same grade level, based on shared classes and crossing in the halls.)
As for world-building, we’re offered some solid definition of the morphing and thought-speak rules which have only really been implied thus far: “With thought-speak, you can either do it so everyone hears you, or sort of aim it at just one person,” (page 32) as Marco explains – even though later, on the ship, Ax also comments on Visser Three’s open broadcast versus his and the Animorphs’ own use of targeted thought-speak. With morphing, we also get confirmation that morphing heals one’s natural body as well, like when Rachel’s previously torn up bare feet are healed after morphing another animal/demorphing. Finally, we get a whisper of the ramifications of the Animorphs’ destroying the Kandrona ray in the last book, and the information that, per Chapman, “Ten percent of the police force are our people.” (page 111) That is a lot of Controllers, and how later Ax and Marco observe Human-Controllers being integrated onto Yeerk ships, we get a hint of just how great the Yeerk invasion is. It’s one thing to see all the Human-Controllers and the underground Yeerk pool, another to hear that Human-Controllers are even in space. And of course, we can’t forget what we learn from the “crazy woman” Rachel meets in the woods – the woman who used to be a Controller, but her Yeerk likely starved out, leaving the woman crazy. This comes back in later books, at the very least in Visser I believe, confirming just how dangerous Jake’s situation really was when they starved the Yeerk out of his head in #6 The Capture. And since we get some chapters narrated by Ax for the first time, we also get a little more insight into his culture and alien knowledge: [Ax narrating] “Ramonite is a metal that can stretch open or be made clear or opaque by molecular arrangement.” (page 153) I know KAA and Michael Grant used a lot of plays on words to create terms in this series, so I wonder if “ramonite” comes from… “ramen”? Because of how it is super convenient for its purpose? (ramen= cheap food, easily obtained; “ramonite”=convenient metal which does everything you could need it to do in a spaceship). I don’t know, that might be a stretch, but I’ll put it out there. Especially seeing as I don’t have any clues on where they might have drawn veleek from. (“Taxxon” comes from “taxes”). And a little discrepancy:
Lastly, a little cultural dating: Ben and Jerry’s flavor Wavy Gravy was retired to the Flavor Graveyard in 2001 (though it briefly came back in 2005), though Cherry Garcia is still available (page 51).
Favorite quotes:
“Well, I guess when life turns completely crazy, it’s the normal things that start to seem strange.” - page 7
[Jake narrating] And we looked up to Rachel. She was fearless. She made the rest of us braver than we might have been without her. – page 129
Original Review: May 11, 2015 – 3 stars
Possibly my favorite quote from the whole book, which happens after Marco plows down 4 trash cans in Cassie's dad's truck: "Do you hate trash cans?" Jake asked. "Is that your problem? Do you just HATE TRASH CANS?!!" - page 139
And after reading this, and checking my bookshelves, I don't think I ever read this book back in '99 or thereabouts, since I didn't own it. I have now remedied that, and ordered Megamorphs #1 and #4, since I also didn't have #4. That should complete my Animorphs collection, less the Alternamorphs (which I only have #1 and #2 of; at the time, I didn't really enjoy those choose-your-own ending stories - maybe because I always pick the bad options...).
There were again some fun new quotes, below. Overall this book is just a 3, because the amnesiac story line is pretty weak, and the amnesia and the Veleek don't serve much purpose in furthering the general Animorphs vs. Yeerks story line. Other than to have Visser Three find a monster to hunt the Animorphs and them to solidly .
[Ax narrating:] Marco is highly intelligent. But he is also very afflicted by a condition the humans call "sense of humor." I have noticed that Marco's sense of humor sometimes makes him do strange things. -- page 83
[Amnesiac Rachel narrating:] And what was strange was that the scratches and scrapes I'd gotten from walking barefoot through the woods were gone. I was renewed. -- page 115 -- I didn't remember that even morphing could help heal the human form too... I know it's DNA based, and DNA isn't hurt by physical injuries, but the human form is their natural form. Why would morphing affect the natural form too? Could it heal a broken leg, or a missing human limb too??
[Marco narrating:] "Rachel isn't here to cast her vote. So, on her behalf, I'll say what she would say: What we need to do is find a way to kick this Veleek's butt."
Cassie smiled. "And what would the real Marco say to that?"
"He'd probably make some stupid but very funny remark," I admitted. "Then he would start thinking about how to do just that: Kick this big windbag's dusty butt." -- page 122
[Marco narrating:]I had a tiger in the back of a pickup truck I could barely drive, and I was being chased by the most powerful monster I had ever seen.
Later I would be terrified. But right then, at that moment, I was just thinking, This is so cool. -- page 142
[Amnesiac Rachel narrating:] [Cassie said,] "So we're morphing every five minutes or so, hoping to wear [the Veleek] out."
< How do you know it wears out? > [Rachel asked.]
"We don't."
< This isn't much of a plan, > I said. < Are you Animorphs always this hopeless? >
"Pretty much," Cassie said ruefully. "The bad guys have all the power. Sometimes we think it's all a hopeless fight."
< A hopeless fight? > I asked. < Isn't that the best kind? >
Cassie laughed. "You may have lost your memory, but you're still Rachel." -- page 163
[Ax narrating:] Why a flea should have a taste for Andalite blood is a mystery. But now I knew how the little monster did his dirty work. And I really did not want to dwell on that image. -- page 174
[Marco narrating:] I don't know what I expected to see, but it sure wasn't this. I was on something that looked like the bridge of the starship Enterprise, only triangular. Instead of Data or Sulu or Worf or Spock, there were a bunch of Taxxons and a circle of Hork-Bajir with their weapons drawn." -- page 178-179 -- I wonder if I got this reference when I first read it back in 1999? I doubt it, as I wasn't allowed to watch Star Trek at that age, but I had caught snippets when my parents were watching before they managed to pause the show.
[Marco narrating:] < Yah-HAH! > I yelled. I glanced left. Ax was right beside me, in his own harrier morph.
< That was exciting, > Ax said.
< Yes, it was. Let's never, ever do that again. >
< Ever, > Ax agreed. -- page 199. I feel like we've already had this exact same exchange once (only under different circumstances).
[Tobias narrating:] < Are you ever afraid? > [Cassie] asked me.
< Who, me? I'm afraid of everything. I know I'm a predator and all, but do you know how many predators I have after me? Every golden eagle, every falcon. You know how fast they are? It's like getting hit by a bullet. They make me look like the Goodyear blimp. Then there are the raccoons and foxes and snakes and even the occasional nervy house cat. And that's just the natural environment. Add to that the Yeerks, and the fact that I wake up sometimes and don't remember exactly what I am, boy or bird... yeah, Cassie, I’m afraid a lot of the time. >
< How do you handle it? >
< Who says I handle it? There's only one way to deal with fear: Be afraid. Be afraid, and then go ahead and do what you have to do, anyway. > -- page 219
June 27, 2022
A bit too many points of view for one book. It also tries to do a bit too much. Though, it’s a good standalone book in the series with a really cool villain.
March 15, 2020
I don't think I ever read this first Megamorphs book as a kid. I have no memory of the Veleek whatsoever, but Cassie getting that humpback whale morph was badass. Still not sure what the point was of Rachel's amnesia.
January 9, 2018
I like how in this one it goes back and forth between perspectives. We get to see different angles of the same story. It was pretty cool. I enjoyed this one like I've enjoyed the other ones so far. Looking forward to seeing where the series goes!
April 11, 2016
Not too huge on story, but this is a fun blockbuster with heaps of action. Marco's humour is also 1000% on point in this one. I would have liked more Tobias chapters.
April 23, 2024
It’s not just nostalgia. I love this wonderful series.
March 21, 2022
With a shift in writing approach, we move away from a single narrator in a book to multiple POV. We’re now in a position of jumping to each member’s narration every single chapter and this changes the flow of the story greatly.
I much prefer this style.
I am also FASCINATED by the perspective shift to Ax ????!!?!
He’s a fantastic character and very refreshing POV as we see all the characters in a new light. Ax feels the closest to us as readers.
I’m wondering if the emphasis on how mean Marco is functions as an intentional beginning to an entire growth arc. He seemed worse than usual and the behavior kept getting pointed out. I think we’ll be seeing some interesting changes in him soon, otherwise it’s a missed opportunity for something of substance.
I don’t even wanna get into how insane the amnesia plotline was. I am so scared for these kids.
CW: war, imprisonment, slavery, violence, blood, brief (and minor) gore, misogyny, grief
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2019
4/5
Four monster-whooping stars for this one!
This is the first Megamorphs book in the Animorphs series, and takes place between books 7 and 8. Instead of one POV, each chapter is a different POV of one of our awesome protagonists. This book was also longer than usual, and I really enjoyed that as well. Heck, I'd read 1000-page books in this series if it was a possibility.
Alright, so this time around, our beloved Animorphs are taking a break. Tired from the constant Yeerk-battling madness, Rachel has a gymnastics retreat of sorts to attend, and Jake and Cassie have been invited to a pool party.
But soon, things take a sudden change when a beast of a tornado attacks at the pool party. No seriously, it's a beast of a tornado, literally! Narrowly escaping with their lives amidst the ruins of the house they were partying at, the Animorphs must band together to figure out how to combat this evil.
What is this creature? Why is it following them? And most of all, how can they stop its path of destruction when innocent lives hang in the balance?
I have to say, this was a great book! The chills, the thrills, this book had it all! I loved that tornado creature. Super clever!
I really enjoyed each POV written. My favorites were probably Cassie and Marco, as they seemed to shine through more than the others did. I do kind of feel that Tobias and Ax took something of a back seat for portions of it. Also, I'm not an expert, but I wasn't completely convinced of a certain event revolving around amnesia (trying my best not to spoil anything folks!). Lastly, while I can accept that the Andalites are super scientifically smart, the info dumps when it comes to tech can sometimes bug me a tad, and that happened this time.
I knocked off a star for these small issues, but ultimately this book was just another testament to how great this series is, and just how resourceful a bunch of teens can be when fighting evil slugs from outer space! Definitely worth a read!
Four monster-whooping stars for this one!
This is the first Megamorphs book in the Animorphs series, and takes place between books 7 and 8. Instead of one POV, each chapter is a different POV of one of our awesome protagonists. This book was also longer than usual, and I really enjoyed that as well. Heck, I'd read 1000-page books in this series if it was a possibility.
Alright, so this time around, our beloved Animorphs are taking a break. Tired from the constant Yeerk-battling madness, Rachel has a gymnastics retreat of sorts to attend, and Jake and Cassie have been invited to a pool party.
But soon, things take a sudden change when a beast of a tornado attacks at the pool party. No seriously, it's a beast of a tornado, literally! Narrowly escaping with their lives amidst the ruins of the house they were partying at, the Animorphs must band together to figure out how to combat this evil.
What is this creature? Why is it following them? And most of all, how can they stop its path of destruction when innocent lives hang in the balance?
I have to say, this was a great book! The chills, the thrills, this book had it all! I loved that tornado creature. Super clever!
I really enjoyed each POV written. My favorites were probably Cassie and Marco, as they seemed to shine through more than the others did. I do kind of feel that Tobias and Ax took something of a back seat for portions of it. Also, I'm not an expert, but I wasn't completely convinced of a certain event revolving around amnesia (trying my best not to spoil anything folks!). Lastly, while I can accept that the Andalites are super scientifically smart, the info dumps when it comes to tech can sometimes bug me a tad, and that happened this time.
I knocked off a star for these small issues, but ultimately this book was just another testament to how great this series is, and just how resourceful a bunch of teens can be when fighting evil slugs from outer space! Definitely worth a read!
February 18, 2020
Spring 2020 (Feb / Animorphs Read 2020);
It’s strange. A normal series book takes me 51 minutes to read (my time for our other book this week), so I expected this to take longer, but it ranked in at just around an hour, but I think I get why.
This book felt incredibly more simplistic compared to even the normal middle-grade reads of the other ones. The POV chapter were incredibly small bites. I was really kind of chomping at the bit of restlessness that Cassie didn’t get any POV chapters until after the 50% mark, and then Rachel got almost nothing at the point of her remembering things.
My love for Rachel remains forever (and I loved her even in her amnesiac self). My fondness my Cassie & Jake together super holds. My opinion of Marco, as my least favorite character and the pinnacle of the type of person (child and adult) I, personally, avoid at all costs, only formed up even further with the whole pool fiasco, in the past and in the present.
Also, I remain steadfastly certain that so far in the series the whales are my favorite animals and I love when they show up. The way they act, what they “say” without saying.
It’s strange. A normal series book takes me 51 minutes to read (my time for our other book this week), so I expected this to take longer, but it ranked in at just around an hour, but I think I get why.
This book felt incredibly more simplistic compared to even the normal middle-grade reads of the other ones. The POV chapter were incredibly small bites. I was really kind of chomping at the bit of restlessness that Cassie didn’t get any POV chapters until after the 50% mark, and then Rachel got almost nothing at the point of her remembering things.
My love for Rachel remains forever (and I loved her even in her amnesiac self). My fondness my Cassie & Jake together super holds. My opinion of Marco, as my least favorite character and the pinnacle of the type of person (child and adult) I, personally, avoid at all costs, only formed up even further with the whole pool fiasco, in the past and in the present.
Also, I remain steadfastly certain that so far in the series the whales are my favorite animals and I love when they show up. The way they act, what they “say” without saying.
February 20, 2025
I don’t even know where to begin to start with this book - there is unhinged and then one really big step up the ladder is this book.
Listened to most of this book like 😦🤭🫢
Loved it. No notes.
Listened to most of this book like 😦🤭🫢
Loved it. No notes.
April 25, 2019
The first double-sized installment of the series is fun, for sure, but mostly consists of all action and little real substance. The main series always has a lot more focus on the emotional/psychological challenges of being an Animorph, which I enjoy. I missed it here, and while the adventure was fun, it wasn't nearly as good as later Megamorphs will give us.
March 14, 2016
This one was kind of shaky. I'm not sure if it was the multiple POV? Or just trying to put too much into one little book.
May 11, 2017
(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)
Narrator: Everyone!
Plot: Visser Three has a new pet and it hunts by sensing the energy given off when someone morphs. This, obviously, spells trouble for the Animorphs who must race to find a way to take out this strange creature all while their major advantage, their morphing ability, is also now their greatest weakness. As far as the story goes, that’s about it. Rachel ends up with amnesia, just to throw another wrench in the gears. There is a lot of action in this book, racing away from the Veleek, morphing different animals to see how the Veleek reacts, getting captured on Yeerk ships, and some more ocean action towards the end when they find a way to kill the beast.
This is the first “Megamorphs” book in the series. I think there ends up being around 4 or so of them? The book is longer than the typical books in the series and features chapters from the perspectives of all the Animorphs. While I enjoyed this book, I do remember liking the later “Megamorphs” books better as I feel like Applegate does a better job of coming up with things for them all to be doing in those. As you’ll see in the character portions, the action isn’t very evenly divided and certain characters (mostly Jake and Tobias) don’t end up with much to do and other Animorphs (Rachel) end up with storylines that, in the end, don’t have any tie-in/impact on the primary story arc. The stakes just never seem very high, and so far, this has been my least favorite book in the series. However, fun was still to be had in parts, so onwards!
Our Fearless Leader: Strangely enough, other than Tobias, Jake has the least to do in this book. Rachel has amnesia. Cassie saves the day. Marco and Ax are abducted. And Jake…becomes a tiger? Towards the end there is some commentary that Jake is the type of person who will become president some day due to his ability to make the necessary tough decisions, even when those decisions involve sending people he cares about (Cassie) into danger.
Xena, Warriar Princess: Even with amnesia, somehow Rachel ends up caught in the most gruesome fight scenes in this book, as detailed in the “body horror” section below. But it must speak to a deep truth about her character, some type of nature vs. nurture aspect, where she will go full throttle whenever challenged even if she isn’t quite sure why she can change into animals, what aliens are doing roaming the earth, and what not. She just knows that she can become a grizzly. And if you mess with her, that’s what she will do! The whole amnesia thing was a bit strange, though, really. There was no actual impact on the story due to this, so it mostly just felt like an added story line that went nowhere. But…oh well, I still love Rachel and enjoyed watching her confront the horror of their whole situation for the first time again.
A Hawk’s Life: Poor Tobias. Not only does he get way fewer chapters than the rest of them (I believe he even had less than Ax!), but he literally sleeps through the major action scene in the middle of the book. I have to think that it was around this point that Applegate started playing around with options for getting Tobias back in the game. Turns out that as emotionally traumatic as it was turning one of her characters into a hawk, there isn’t a lot of plot action that can come from it and figuring out what to do with Tobias in the mean time during all of these books had to start getting frustrating.
Peace, Love, and Animals: There’s an adorable scene towards the end where Cassie meets up with Rachel who is still struggling with her memory. So to kill two birds with one stone, Cassie goes on a ride on Elephant!Rachel and gives her a quick run through of their history. The mental image of Cassie riding along on Elephant!Rachel is just precious. Besties forever! Their friendship is one of my favorite parts of the book, and probably my favorite part of Cassie’s character since she is the one I struggle with most in the series.
But, after a moment of weakness in the middle of the book that leaves Cassie questioning herself, she is the crux to the whole story. Her unique talent at morphing allows her to speed through the many morphs necessary to pull off their “drop through the air while morphing from a cockroach on Tobias’s back to human to a whale in order to crush the Veleek into the ocean where it’s particle body will break to pieces” crazy pants plan.
The Comic Relief: Marco’s truly terrible driving makes a second and even more extended appearance (last time was in book #2, I believe). Without even knowing its him, Rachel hears the car coming and thinks to herself “that’s a very bad driver.”
BAM! BAM! BAM!
“Do you hate trash cans?” Jake asked. “Is that your problem? Do you just HATE TRASH
CANS?!!”
“I can’t drive with you screaming in my ear,” I [Marco] said.
“You can’t drive at all!” Jake said.
Turns out that when Marco volunteers for this little jaunt, his driving experience came from video games. Later the scene devolves into Marco continuing to drive, only this time he has Tiger!Jake in the back of the truck. Honestly, the Marco/Jake snark through all of this was probably the most fun part of the entire book.
Other than the silly mouse plot at the beginning (see the “bad plans” section), Marco’s major action comes from being captured by the Veleek and ending up on a Yeerk space ship alongside Ax. They escape by jumping out an open hatch, essentially. Come to think of it, a disproportionate amount of time in this book is spent with various Animorphs plummeting through the air desperately trying to morph.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax now has a 60/30 chance, it seems, of somehow ending up captured and on board a Yeerk space ship. Not counting “The Capture” where Jake is Controlled and which doesn’t involve really any major Yeerk battles, Ax has ended up on a space ship in 2 of the last 3 books. And, more importantly, gotten off alive, which is quite the feat! Sure, this time the space shift was still in the atmosphere which is the only reason his and Marco’s plan to just “jump out” worked, but still! I also have to suspect that Ax is going to continue to play a pretty strong role in continuing the charade that the Animorphs are all Andalite warriors. In this book, Visser Three mentions that some of the Yeerks had begun to become suspicious that humans may be involved, but here Ax is! But, Visser Three has also already met Ax and noted that he is a youth, something you don’t typically see in Andalite fighting forces. You’d think he’d start to be curious that the only Andalite he’s meeting is the same young kid. Hm…we’ll see I guess!
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Two come to mind immediately, both for poor Rachel. The first comes right after she’s woken up from hitting the tree as an eagle (thus the amnesia) and discovers that she is halfway through morph. Now the descriptions are as nasty as ever about what midpoints in morphs are like (random patches of skin here, feathers there, talons sticking out of legs), but what makes it worse is that Rachel, at this point, has no memory! So the horror of waking up to find your body in that condition with no context for it?? The second moment comes after she’s been attacked by the Veleek in her bear morph and has had both of her paws…ahem…removed (what is it with her bear morph losing paws?!). And there’s a particularly gross part later on where she describes human fingers emerging from the gory stumps of her arms as she returns to human form. Yeah…
Couples Watch!: There are a few little references here and there to our favorite two couples. Rachel mentions that she takes care of things for Tobias that he can’t manage himself (like bringing him books to read!), and doing just that is what leads her into the amnesia trouble. She also remembers Cassie and Tobias first when she begins having flashes of memory. Cassie also mentions that Jake can read her facial expressions better than anyone else later in the book. And also resents the fact that she is suspicious that he sent her to look for Rachel around town (when they all realize she’s missing) not only because she’s Rachel’s best friend, but because he wanted to keep her out of danger.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: At one point in this story, Chapman meets up with a few other Controllers and one of them literally compares Visser Three’s melodramatics to the antics found in bad spy novels. I’ve been saying it all along!
Also, Visser Three’s ongoing love affair with Tiger!Jake shows up again in this book. I mean, the guy has, outloud!, waxed poetic about the tiger morph, and cats in general (Rachel’s house cat being the other instance), four times that I can remember at this point! And we’re only 8 books in! I think it’s safe to say that he has an obsession.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: This one actually avoided most of the tragedy. There’s a point towards the end where Cassie tells Tobias that they will need to tell her parents what happened to her if her plummeting towards the ocean as a whale plan doesn’t work out, but only when it’s safe. So that kind of struck home about the reality of what would happen if one of their missions ended badly. They couldn’t even tell the parents why their child died because it would put the family at risk. Sads.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Well, Marco’s idiotic mouse plan in the beginning has to be mentioned. Essentially, he’s not invited to a girl’s pool party and instead of handling this gracefully, Marco decides to crash the party in mouse form to “see if anyone’s talking about him” since “she obviously has a crush on him.” It’s completely in character, and yet you just have to feel bad for poor Ax who gets dragged along with really no clue about any of this. Pool parties. Crushes. Teenage gossip. Immature practical jokes. At one point, Ax puts the whole thing down to Marco suffering from an affliction called “sense of humor.” And that he’s seen this strange affliction cause Marco to do bizarre things in the past, as well, so this must just be yet another instance.
Favorite Quote:
I think this exchange proves why I always hone in on how similar Rachel and Marco really are to how they approach the war. Essentially the same way, but Marco can't resist quipping.
“Rachel isn’t here to cast her vote. So, on her behalf, I’ll say what she would say: What we need to do is find a way to kick this Veleek’s butt.”
Cassie smiled. “And what would the real Marco say to that?”
“He’d probably make some stupid but very funny remark,” I admitted. “Then he would start thinking about how to do just that: Kick this big windbag’s dusty butt.”
Scorecard: Yeerks 1, Animorphs 4
While the Animorphs do manage to kill Visser Three’s killer alien creature, their real success is simply: came out alive. So no points for anyone!
Rating: This was a fun first attempt at a book told from the perspectives of all the characters. But it’s also clear that Applegate was struggling a bit with the format and trying to find action for them all. If I remember correctly, the next two “Megamorph” books do a better job of it.
Narrator: Everyone!
Plot: Visser Three has a new pet and it hunts by sensing the energy given off when someone morphs. This, obviously, spells trouble for the Animorphs who must race to find a way to take out this strange creature all while their major advantage, their morphing ability, is also now their greatest weakness. As far as the story goes, that’s about it. Rachel ends up with amnesia, just to throw another wrench in the gears. There is a lot of action in this book, racing away from the Veleek, morphing different animals to see how the Veleek reacts, getting captured on Yeerk ships, and some more ocean action towards the end when they find a way to kill the beast.
This is the first “Megamorphs” book in the series. I think there ends up being around 4 or so of them? The book is longer than the typical books in the series and features chapters from the perspectives of all the Animorphs. While I enjoyed this book, I do remember liking the later “Megamorphs” books better as I feel like Applegate does a better job of coming up with things for them all to be doing in those. As you’ll see in the character portions, the action isn’t very evenly divided and certain characters (mostly Jake and Tobias) don’t end up with much to do and other Animorphs (Rachel) end up with storylines that, in the end, don’t have any tie-in/impact on the primary story arc. The stakes just never seem very high, and so far, this has been my least favorite book in the series. However, fun was still to be had in parts, so onwards!
Our Fearless Leader: Strangely enough, other than Tobias, Jake has the least to do in this book. Rachel has amnesia. Cassie saves the day. Marco and Ax are abducted. And Jake…becomes a tiger? Towards the end there is some commentary that Jake is the type of person who will become president some day due to his ability to make the necessary tough decisions, even when those decisions involve sending people he cares about (Cassie) into danger.
Xena, Warriar Princess: Even with amnesia, somehow Rachel ends up caught in the most gruesome fight scenes in this book, as detailed in the “body horror” section below. But it must speak to a deep truth about her character, some type of nature vs. nurture aspect, where she will go full throttle whenever challenged even if she isn’t quite sure why she can change into animals, what aliens are doing roaming the earth, and what not. She just knows that she can become a grizzly. And if you mess with her, that’s what she will do! The whole amnesia thing was a bit strange, though, really. There was no actual impact on the story due to this, so it mostly just felt like an added story line that went nowhere. But…oh well, I still love Rachel and enjoyed watching her confront the horror of their whole situation for the first time again.
A Hawk’s Life: Poor Tobias. Not only does he get way fewer chapters than the rest of them (I believe he even had less than Ax!), but he literally sleeps through the major action scene in the middle of the book. I have to think that it was around this point that Applegate started playing around with options for getting Tobias back in the game. Turns out that as emotionally traumatic as it was turning one of her characters into a hawk, there isn’t a lot of plot action that can come from it and figuring out what to do with Tobias in the mean time during all of these books had to start getting frustrating.
Peace, Love, and Animals: There’s an adorable scene towards the end where Cassie meets up with Rachel who is still struggling with her memory. So to kill two birds with one stone, Cassie goes on a ride on Elephant!Rachel and gives her a quick run through of their history. The mental image of Cassie riding along on Elephant!Rachel is just precious. Besties forever! Their friendship is one of my favorite parts of the book, and probably my favorite part of Cassie’s character since she is the one I struggle with most in the series.
But, after a moment of weakness in the middle of the book that leaves Cassie questioning herself, she is the crux to the whole story. Her unique talent at morphing allows her to speed through the many morphs necessary to pull off their “drop through the air while morphing from a cockroach on Tobias’s back to human to a whale in order to crush the Veleek into the ocean where it’s particle body will break to pieces” crazy pants plan.
The Comic Relief: Marco’s truly terrible driving makes a second and even more extended appearance (last time was in book #2, I believe). Without even knowing its him, Rachel hears the car coming and thinks to herself “that’s a very bad driver.”
BAM! BAM! BAM!
“Do you hate trash cans?” Jake asked. “Is that your problem? Do you just HATE TRASH
CANS?!!”
“I can’t drive with you screaming in my ear,” I [Marco] said.
“You can’t drive at all!” Jake said.
Turns out that when Marco volunteers for this little jaunt, his driving experience came from video games. Later the scene devolves into Marco continuing to drive, only this time he has Tiger!Jake in the back of the truck. Honestly, the Marco/Jake snark through all of this was probably the most fun part of the entire book.
Other than the silly mouse plot at the beginning (see the “bad plans” section), Marco’s major action comes from being captured by the Veleek and ending up on a Yeerk space ship alongside Ax. They escape by jumping out an open hatch, essentially. Come to think of it, a disproportionate amount of time in this book is spent with various Animorphs plummeting through the air desperately trying to morph.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax now has a 60/30 chance, it seems, of somehow ending up captured and on board a Yeerk space ship. Not counting “The Capture” where Jake is Controlled and which doesn’t involve really any major Yeerk battles, Ax has ended up on a space ship in 2 of the last 3 books. And, more importantly, gotten off alive, which is quite the feat! Sure, this time the space shift was still in the atmosphere which is the only reason his and Marco’s plan to just “jump out” worked, but still! I also have to suspect that Ax is going to continue to play a pretty strong role in continuing the charade that the Animorphs are all Andalite warriors. In this book, Visser Three mentions that some of the Yeerks had begun to become suspicious that humans may be involved, but here Ax is! But, Visser Three has also already met Ax and noted that he is a youth, something you don’t typically see in Andalite fighting forces. You’d think he’d start to be curious that the only Andalite he’s meeting is the same young kid. Hm…we’ll see I guess!
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Two come to mind immediately, both for poor Rachel. The first comes right after she’s woken up from hitting the tree as an eagle (thus the amnesia) and discovers that she is halfway through morph. Now the descriptions are as nasty as ever about what midpoints in morphs are like (random patches of skin here, feathers there, talons sticking out of legs), but what makes it worse is that Rachel, at this point, has no memory! So the horror of waking up to find your body in that condition with no context for it?? The second moment comes after she’s been attacked by the Veleek in her bear morph and has had both of her paws…ahem…removed (what is it with her bear morph losing paws?!). And there’s a particularly gross part later on where she describes human fingers emerging from the gory stumps of her arms as she returns to human form. Yeah…
Couples Watch!: There are a few little references here and there to our favorite two couples. Rachel mentions that she takes care of things for Tobias that he can’t manage himself (like bringing him books to read!), and doing just that is what leads her into the amnesia trouble. She also remembers Cassie and Tobias first when she begins having flashes of memory. Cassie also mentions that Jake can read her facial expressions better than anyone else later in the book. And also resents the fact that she is suspicious that he sent her to look for Rachel around town (when they all realize she’s missing) not only because she’s Rachel’s best friend, but because he wanted to keep her out of danger.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: At one point in this story, Chapman meets up with a few other Controllers and one of them literally compares Visser Three’s melodramatics to the antics found in bad spy novels. I’ve been saying it all along!
Also, Visser Three’s ongoing love affair with Tiger!Jake shows up again in this book. I mean, the guy has, outloud!, waxed poetic about the tiger morph, and cats in general (Rachel’s house cat being the other instance), four times that I can remember at this point! And we’re only 8 books in! I think it’s safe to say that he has an obsession.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: This one actually avoided most of the tragedy. There’s a point towards the end where Cassie tells Tobias that they will need to tell her parents what happened to her if her plummeting towards the ocean as a whale plan doesn’t work out, but only when it’s safe. So that kind of struck home about the reality of what would happen if one of their missions ended badly. They couldn’t even tell the parents why their child died because it would put the family at risk. Sads.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Well, Marco’s idiotic mouse plan in the beginning has to be mentioned. Essentially, he’s not invited to a girl’s pool party and instead of handling this gracefully, Marco decides to crash the party in mouse form to “see if anyone’s talking about him” since “she obviously has a crush on him.” It’s completely in character, and yet you just have to feel bad for poor Ax who gets dragged along with really no clue about any of this. Pool parties. Crushes. Teenage gossip. Immature practical jokes. At one point, Ax puts the whole thing down to Marco suffering from an affliction called “sense of humor.” And that he’s seen this strange affliction cause Marco to do bizarre things in the past, as well, so this must just be yet another instance.
Favorite Quote:
I think this exchange proves why I always hone in on how similar Rachel and Marco really are to how they approach the war. Essentially the same way, but Marco can't resist quipping.
“Rachel isn’t here to cast her vote. So, on her behalf, I’ll say what she would say: What we need to do is find a way to kick this Veleek’s butt.”
Cassie smiled. “And what would the real Marco say to that?”
“He’d probably make some stupid but very funny remark,” I admitted. “Then he would start thinking about how to do just that: Kick this big windbag’s dusty butt.”
Scorecard: Yeerks 1, Animorphs 4
While the Animorphs do manage to kill Visser Three’s killer alien creature, their real success is simply: came out alive. So no points for anyone!
Rating: This was a fun first attempt at a book told from the perspectives of all the characters. But it’s also clear that Applegate was struggling a bit with the format and trying to find action for them all. If I remember correctly, the next two “Megamorph” books do a better job of it.
February 3, 2021
"A girl who thought she was a coward. It’s amazing how some people can just not know themselves at all."
Ah, our first Megamorphs book. It feels like a Saturday morning special two-parter episode. To make these longer books work, there has to be something unique about the story that justifies the format. In The Andalite’s Gift, that hook comes in the form of Rachel’s amnesia and separation from the group. The Veleek terrorizes all of the Animorphs, which may as well have been your standard Animorphs book #1-7. But Rachel’s side plot of trying to remember who she is elevates the drama and adds that special something to the plot that really sells the Mega- moniker.
The pacing of The Andalite’s Gift is excellent. The children’s-sci-fi-thriller format helps here too, but there’s no denying that Applegate (she is still writing all of the books at this point in the series, right?) has a talent for telling a mean story. If every Animorph book could have had this extended format, we could have seen the same kind of satisfying multi-act stories as we do here. I’m not complaining about the standard Animorph fare so far, but they often feel like they conclude too quickly. Not so here. It takes nearly half the book to even learn what enemy the Animorphs face, which adds to the suspense and terror as they frantically try to outrun this unknown beast. By the time our heroes determine how to stop the Veleek, you feel their desperation and exhaustion along with them .
Several characters gets a chance to shine, which is yet another way this Megamorphs format feels special. Rachel’s amnesia (though a bit convenient to the plot) is both harrowing and captivating, as we see what parts of Rachel survive her loss of memory – and we get a great scene with a crazy lady in the woods. (Fascinating side note: Who is she? Why does she know about Yeerks? Could this be the woman the crew rescued from the Yeerk pool in book 1?). Cassie’s emotional journey in the final act of the book gives her character yet more depth . And we get some pairings we haven’t seen much of -- Cassie and Tobias, Ax and Marco – which is always one of the delights of ensemble stories.
This first Mega-story pulls its weight, introducing this format as a special treat. I’ll put it this way: If this book were airing at 7 AM on a Saturday, I’d get up to watch it.
Ah, our first Megamorphs book. It feels like a Saturday morning special two-parter episode. To make these longer books work, there has to be something unique about the story that justifies the format. In The Andalite’s Gift, that hook comes in the form of Rachel’s amnesia and separation from the group. The Veleek terrorizes all of the Animorphs, which may as well have been your standard Animorphs book #1-7. But Rachel’s side plot of trying to remember who she is elevates the drama and adds that special something to the plot that really sells the Mega- moniker.
The pacing of The Andalite’s Gift is excellent. The children’s-sci-fi-thriller format helps here too, but there’s no denying that Applegate (she is still writing all of the books at this point in the series, right?) has a talent for telling a mean story. If every Animorph book could have had this extended format, we could have seen the same kind of satisfying multi-act stories as we do here. I’m not complaining about the standard Animorph fare so far, but they often feel like they conclude too quickly. Not so here. It takes nearly half the book to even learn what enemy the Animorphs face, which adds to the suspense and terror as they frantically try to outrun this unknown beast. By the time our heroes determine how to stop the Veleek, you feel their desperation and exhaustion along with them .
Several characters gets a chance to shine, which is yet another way this Megamorphs format feels special. Rachel’s amnesia (though a bit convenient to the plot) is both harrowing and captivating, as we see what parts of Rachel survive her loss of memory – and we get a great scene with a crazy lady in the woods. (Fascinating side note: Who is she? Why does she know about Yeerks? Could this be the woman the crew rescued from the Yeerk pool in book 1?). Cassie’s emotional journey in the final act of the book gives her character yet more depth . And we get some pairings we haven’t seen much of -- Cassie and Tobias, Ax and Marco – which is always one of the delights of ensemble stories.
This first Mega-story pulls its weight, introducing this format as a special treat. I’ll put it this way: If this book were airing at 7 AM on a Saturday, I’d get up to watch it.
February 2, 2022
This was an interesting reading experience in multiple ways. Firstly, because this is the first Animorphs books that I've picked up in my adult read-through of the series that I know for a fact I'd never read in my childhood. Secondly, because I started this book in the spring of 2021, reading during my downtime at school, then graduated and never got back to it until the end of January, 2022. While I did skim through again to make sure I could remember all the plot details I had read the better part of a year ago, I may be forgetting tiny details here and there. For example, I'm giving the book 5-stars, but I can't remember for sure whether or not the earlier portions of this book committed the great Animorph sin of describing morphs in anatomically incorrect ways (more specifically, stating that someone's knee had to bend backwards in order for them to turn into a dog, wolf, or other mammal that has knees which definitely 100% face the same direction as human knees). Regardless, my overall impression of this book was that of a 5-star experience, at least for what it is, which is a science fiction adventure story aimed at a middle grade audience.
Each classic Animorphs book follows the same basic format: choose one of the Animorphs to be the POV character for the novel and then tell a ~100-page adventure story which typically results in some amount of character development for that particular protagonist. This time, as a Megamorphs book, we get chapters from each of the Animorphs' perspectives, and the books is approximately twice the length. I do think that this book somewhat sacrifices the character growth portion of the formula in order to provide this more complex, multi-POV story, but from a formatting perspective, this felt much closer to the kind of novel I would expect to see being written today, in a world where the ridiculously long, mostly ghost-written children's series has fallen a bit by the wayside as a medium of storytelling.
In general, I really enjoyed this book and could clearly picture all the exciting, action-packed scenes well. As someone who doesn't remember these books actually existing in the series, I'm very excited to see what they add to the story in the future.
Each classic Animorphs book follows the same basic format: choose one of the Animorphs to be the POV character for the novel and then tell a ~100-page adventure story which typically results in some amount of character development for that particular protagonist. This time, as a Megamorphs book, we get chapters from each of the Animorphs' perspectives, and the books is approximately twice the length. I do think that this book somewhat sacrifices the character growth portion of the formula in order to provide this more complex, multi-POV story, but from a formatting perspective, this felt much closer to the kind of novel I would expect to see being written today, in a world where the ridiculously long, mostly ghost-written children's series has fallen a bit by the wayside as a medium of storytelling.
In general, I really enjoyed this book and could clearly picture all the exciting, action-packed scenes well. As someone who doesn't remember these books actually existing in the series, I'm very excited to see what they add to the story in the future.
July 7, 2021
The first Animorphs release outside of the main series is this 'Megamorphs' title, which is supersized both in literal page count and in including all six potential narrators, rather than just one. (Even Ax the resident alien gets a voice, right before anchoring his own full novel next.) There are probably a greater number of different animal morphs than usual too, although I haven't exactly been counting along that dimension.
Theoretically this should also be a bigger and wilder adventure than the typical team missions, but it's here that the story falters for me. The threat of a tornado-like creature that can hunt down and capture anyone who uses the morphing technology never quite justifies the blockbuster treatment, and a subplot involving a temporarily amnesiac Rachel is as eye-rollingly trite and conveniently resolved as it sounds. Subsequent companion books would embrace the weirder possibilities of this franchise to explore extraterrestrial worlds, time travel, and beyond, but this initial experiment plays out as a somewhat unremarkable side event instead.
It's not all bad per se, and in fact, we get some action sequences like Marco jumping off a Yeerk ship and having to quickly make his way from a gorilla into a more suitable form while plummeting towards the ground that are downright thrilling. But nothing in this volume seems to matter for the ongoing narrative -- I wouldn't be surprised if many readers inadvertently miss it between #7 and #8 -- and the territory it stakes out feels grander than what author K. A. Applegate ultimately does within that space.
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Theoretically this should also be a bigger and wilder adventure than the typical team missions, but it's here that the story falters for me. The threat of a tornado-like creature that can hunt down and capture anyone who uses the morphing technology never quite justifies the blockbuster treatment, and a subplot involving a temporarily amnesiac Rachel is as eye-rollingly trite and conveniently resolved as it sounds. Subsequent companion books would embrace the weirder possibilities of this franchise to explore extraterrestrial worlds, time travel, and beyond, but this initial experiment plays out as a somewhat unremarkable side event instead.
It's not all bad per se, and in fact, we get some action sequences like Marco jumping off a Yeerk ship and having to quickly make his way from a gorilla into a more suitable form while plummeting towards the ground that are downright thrilling. But nothing in this volume seems to matter for the ongoing narrative -- I wouldn't be surprised if many readers inadvertently miss it between #7 and #8 -- and the territory it stakes out feels grander than what author K. A. Applegate ultimately does within that space.
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
January 14, 2019
I wish the first book from multiple PoVs were more robust than this; there's a huge amount of narrative redundancy, compounded by a boring amnesia plot, and the first glimpse into Ax's view isn't particularly distinct. The episodic antagonist is clever and sincerely, memorably horrifying! but too episodic, just when the series was gaining momentum. Cassie and (sometimes-)competent teamwork are the book's saving grace, but on the whole this is mildly disappointing.
May 13, 2020
The Animorphs reread continues, except I've never actually read this one before. It was WILD. So many things happening, plus an encounter with Visser Three in which Ax claims the Animorphs are his uncles to explain the fact that he's a kid and the Andalite Bandits are totally Andalites, you Yeerk scum. Awesome.
May 24, 2021
This one deals with fear in a different way.
I had to re-read it because I sped too much on it unknowingly and I’m glad I did because I would have missed a great deal of adventure! Luckily, it can be read at any point, it doesn’t does, nor takes much from the main story.
The fear is real, the fear is grand. Cassie is extraordinary.
**************
Also I freaking love whales holy shit
I had to re-read it because I sped too much on it unknowingly and I’m glad I did because I would have missed a great deal of adventure! Luckily, it can be read at any point, it doesn’t does, nor takes much from the main story.
The fear is real, the fear is grand. Cassie is extraordinary.
**************
Also I freaking love whales holy shit
January 13, 2023
bit messy but worth it for the completely bonkers car chase scene (BIG star trek: picard seven/raffi season 2 vibes) and tobias's off-the-wall rundown of everything that happened WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP.
also confirmed my suspicion that katherine applegate's favorite star trek movie is the one with the whales, as it should be.
also confirmed my suspicion that katherine applegate's favorite star trek movie is the one with the whales, as it should be.
October 20, 2020
Amnesia is a really lame plot device. #sorrynotsorry. 2.5
November 26, 2022
The plot isn’t my favorite, but there’s some pretty good character stuff that saved it.
April 10, 2023
There's only one way to deal with fear: Be afraid. Be afraid, and then go ahead and do what you have to do, anyway."
July 4, 2025
Not the best one but I still liked it. 3.8 stars
July 27, 2025
The Veleek was a cool enemy but I wish it had been explored more. The Rachel amnesia plot felt entirely unnecessary.
November 20, 2021
Like other reviewers say, this is the weakest so far. Rachels amnesia especially felt hokey. But it's still fun, with the introduction of a new alien creature.
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