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Animorphs #12
The Reaction
Rachel's got some pretty strange stuff happening. She can't control her morphing. One minute, she's doing homework. The next, she's morphing a full-grown crocodile, and—without returning to human form—she becomes an elephant. That's when the floor gives way and Rachel finds herself looking up at what used to be the kitchen ceiling.
What's going on? No one's sure, but Rachel and the other Animorphs have to figure it out—quickly. Because if someone sees Rachel's out-of-control morphing, the other Animorphs and Ax are in some serious trouble. . . .
What's going on? No one's sure, but Rachel and the other Animorphs have to figure it out—quickly. Because if someone sees Rachel's out-of-control morphing, the other Animorphs and Ax are in some serious trouble. . . .
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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1031 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
December 22, 2016
Another switcheroo, here. I was surprised when I realized that childhood favorite The Forgotten is not actually very good, and that this one, which I didn't like very much when I was a kid, is actually super enjoyable. Maybe it's just that it's a Rachel book, and those are always intense, but where in the last one I found that the narrative voice felt off, like it was trying too hard, this one immediately felt on and sure of itself, just like Rachel.
There's nothing super special arc-wise going on here, nothing deep or emotional, really. There's also a rather silly plot involving the Yeerks plan to use a teen heartthrob (a verrrry thinly disguised nod to Jonathan Taylor Thomas) to be the new spokesperson for The Sharing. The guys and Ax don't understand what the big deal is until Cassie and Rachel (who think he's the cutest guy ever) explain that it could actually be hugely damaging, because the kid not only has a huge following, but an insanely devoted one. They have to get him out from under the Yeerk's influence, and soon. But also, Rachel's having this problem with a morph. She is apparently allergic to crocodile, and it's causing her to lose control, like the morphing version of a sneeze.
The scenes where she loses control of her morphing are actually some really effective body horror. She has no idea what's happening to her, and Applegate does a good job conveying the physical experience of becoming very ill. Which is of course compounded by the danger it puts Rachel (and the rest of the Animorphs in) when she morphs in public, or at her home. Her elephant morph collapses her house and almost kills her two little sisters.
Rachel does a pretty stupid thing here. She asks Cassie to keep her problem a secret initially, so of course the others are upset when they find out, especially since her out of control morphing blows a mission (in the presence of Visser Three no less). And when Ax figures out what's going on with her, explaining that her body will eventually expel the crocodile DNA (in the form of a fully grown crocodile, mass pulled in from z-space) she then lies to the others again that this has happened, just so she can take part in the mission to "save" the heartthrob, who by this time is a voluntary human controller. Where her out of control morphing (to be technical, it's actually the burping of the croc DNA this time) once again ruins the mission. Or really, I'm not sure what they were planning on doing if things didn't go to hell, but I'm sure it didn't involve unleashing an angry, hungry crocodile, which is currently trying to kill a grizzly bear, on live national television. Not much progress is made here, but it's still a fun time.
Next up, ANDALITE CHRONICLES YOU GUYS. I have been looking forward to this since I first started my re-read.
There's nothing super special arc-wise going on here, nothing deep or emotional, really. There's also a rather silly plot involving the Yeerks plan to use a teen heartthrob (a verrrry thinly disguised nod to Jonathan Taylor Thomas) to be the new spokesperson for The Sharing. The guys and Ax don't understand what the big deal is until Cassie and Rachel (who think he's the cutest guy ever) explain that it could actually be hugely damaging, because the kid not only has a huge following, but an insanely devoted one. They have to get him out from under the Yeerk's influence, and soon. But also, Rachel's having this problem with a morph. She is apparently allergic to crocodile, and it's causing her to lose control, like the morphing version of a sneeze.
The scenes where she loses control of her morphing are actually some really effective body horror. She has no idea what's happening to her, and Applegate does a good job conveying the physical experience of becoming very ill. Which is of course compounded by the danger it puts Rachel (and the rest of the Animorphs in) when she morphs in public, or at her home. Her elephant morph collapses her house and almost kills her two little sisters.
Rachel does a pretty stupid thing here. She asks Cassie to keep her problem a secret initially, so of course the others are upset when they find out, especially since her out of control morphing blows a mission (in the presence of Visser Three no less). And when Ax figures out what's going on with her, explaining that her body will eventually expel the crocodile DNA (in the form of a fully grown crocodile, mass pulled in from z-space) she then lies to the others again that this has happened, just so she can take part in the mission to "save" the heartthrob, who by this time is a voluntary human controller. Where her out of control morphing (to be technical, it's actually the burping of the croc DNA this time) once again ruins the mission. Or really, I'm not sure what they were planning on doing if things didn't go to hell, but I'm sure it didn't involve unleashing an angry, hungry crocodile, which is currently trying to kill a grizzly bear, on live national television. Not much progress is made here, but it's still a fun time.
Next up, ANDALITE CHRONICLES YOU GUYS. I have been looking forward to this since I first started my re-read.
May 9, 2016
I know this has very little impact on the series as a whole, but this book was one of my faves as a kid. Rachel is reckless, Marco is a llama (with a little llama smile), and Cassie makes the greatest alien pun in the history of the world. Made me laugh out loud. Good times.
June 28, 2015
When it comes right down to it, Animorphs plots are pretty silly. I mean, they kind of have to be, for a bunch of kids to stymie Visser Three on a regular basis. He is only slightly more competent than Dr. Drakken.
(I’m just going to pause here for a moment so you can envision the gloriousness that would be an Animorphs/Kim Possible crossover. That’s right. How awesome would that be?)
Fortunately, Applegate recognizes this, and that’s why she tends to serve up a helpful dosage of internal conflict with each novel. The Reaction is no exception. Indeed, it’s one in a long line of “bizarro morphing” plots. Rachel acquires a crocodile, but in the process, loses control over her morphing powers. She starts morphing at random, morphing parts of different animals. That’s not good. So while the Animorphs confront the Yeerk plot of the day to take over the world by using a teen heartthrob as the poster boy for their boys and girls club, Rachel has to deal with her new allergy.
There are just so many reasons to enjoy this book, even if, unlike me, you are not a Rachel fan.
Rachel enlists Cassie to hide this embarrassing development from the others, at least at first, hoping to consult with Ax privately. (“Well, doctor, I seem to be having this problem where I transform into various animals…”) Even once the rest of the Animorphs are in on the secret, Rachel lies to them again because she doesn’t want to be left out of the mission to rescue Jeremy Jason McCole. This is part of Rachel’s character: she consistently sees herself as integral to the success of the team. You get a great sense in this book of how driven she is to make sure the Yeerks don’t succeed.
Each of the Animorphs have their own reasons for fighting. Marco and Jake both have loved ones who are Controllers. Cassie is in it to save nothing less than the Earth, as an ecosystem, itself. Tobias has nothing left to lose now. And Ax is honour-bound to avenge his brother. Rachel, in some ways, has the least personal stake in this fight—way back in The Visitor we see how affected she is by Melissa Chapman’s plight. So it speaks volumes, then, this impersonal commitment she has to fighting the injustice of the Yeerks. Marco is always half-joking when he likens Rachel to Xena, but it’s an apt comparison in more ways than one.
With the whole embarrassing morphing allergy, Applegate finds a new an interesting way to play with the morphing power. This creativity is one of the reasons Animorphs is such a successful series and was able to go for so many books while still feeling fresh. There is a lot of morphing in The Reaction, and aside from Rachel’s crocodile morph at the very beginning, Applegate doesn’t linger on the actual experience of morphing so much in this novel. But she still manages to convey the weirdness of the experience through Rachel’s allergy.
I also see some parallels between this allergy (and morphing in general) and puberty. When you’re at the age of these kids, and the target audience’s age, weird stuff happens to your body. Hair appears, as if out of nowhere, in places where there was no hair. You get moody for no good reason. Your body does not, really, feel like your body any more. So this allergy is allegorical for the loss of control and loss of certainty that occurs during puberty. As with puberty, Rachel isn’t keen on letting others know what’s happening to her; it’s a very personal problem.
But when you’re fighting to save the world, you don’t get personal problems. You can’t take a personal day. You’re a warrior, and in war, you don’t always get sick leave. Sometimes you just have to keep fighting. So Rachel risks it all—somewhat foolishly, maybe, but that’s just what the Animorphs tend to do.
Next up is The Andalite Chronicles, so I am very excited. In a break from the regular format, Applegate delivers a much longer story, this one filling us in on Elfangor and once again changing our entire perspective on the Animorphs universe.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #11: The Forgotten | The Andalite Chronicles →
(I’m just going to pause here for a moment so you can envision the gloriousness that would be an Animorphs/Kim Possible crossover. That’s right. How awesome would that be?)
Fortunately, Applegate recognizes this, and that’s why she tends to serve up a helpful dosage of internal conflict with each novel. The Reaction is no exception. Indeed, it’s one in a long line of “bizarro morphing” plots. Rachel acquires a crocodile, but in the process, loses control over her morphing powers. She starts morphing at random, morphing parts of different animals. That’s not good. So while the Animorphs confront the Yeerk plot of the day to take over the world by using a teen heartthrob as the poster boy for their boys and girls club, Rachel has to deal with her new allergy.
There are just so many reasons to enjoy this book, even if, unlike me, you are not a Rachel fan.
Rachel enlists Cassie to hide this embarrassing development from the others, at least at first, hoping to consult with Ax privately. (“Well, doctor, I seem to be having this problem where I transform into various animals…”) Even once the rest of the Animorphs are in on the secret, Rachel lies to them again because she doesn’t want to be left out of the mission to rescue Jeremy Jason McCole. This is part of Rachel’s character: she consistently sees herself as integral to the success of the team. You get a great sense in this book of how driven she is to make sure the Yeerks don’t succeed.
Each of the Animorphs have their own reasons for fighting. Marco and Jake both have loved ones who are Controllers. Cassie is in it to save nothing less than the Earth, as an ecosystem, itself. Tobias has nothing left to lose now. And Ax is honour-bound to avenge his brother. Rachel, in some ways, has the least personal stake in this fight—way back in The Visitor we see how affected she is by Melissa Chapman’s plight. So it speaks volumes, then, this impersonal commitment she has to fighting the injustice of the Yeerks. Marco is always half-joking when he likens Rachel to Xena, but it’s an apt comparison in more ways than one.
With the whole embarrassing morphing allergy, Applegate finds a new an interesting way to play with the morphing power. This creativity is one of the reasons Animorphs is such a successful series and was able to go for so many books while still feeling fresh. There is a lot of morphing in The Reaction, and aside from Rachel’s crocodile morph at the very beginning, Applegate doesn’t linger on the actual experience of morphing so much in this novel. But she still manages to convey the weirdness of the experience through Rachel’s allergy.
I also see some parallels between this allergy (and morphing in general) and puberty. When you’re at the age of these kids, and the target audience’s age, weird stuff happens to your body. Hair appears, as if out of nowhere, in places where there was no hair. You get moody for no good reason. Your body does not, really, feel like your body any more. So this allergy is allegorical for the loss of control and loss of certainty that occurs during puberty. As with puberty, Rachel isn’t keen on letting others know what’s happening to her; it’s a very personal problem.
But when you’re fighting to save the world, you don’t get personal problems. You can’t take a personal day. You’re a warrior, and in war, you don’t always get sick leave. Sometimes you just have to keep fighting. So Rachel risks it all—somewhat foolishly, maybe, but that’s just what the Animorphs tend to do.
Next up is The Andalite Chronicles, so I am very excited. In a break from the regular format, Applegate delivers a much longer story, this one filling us in on Elfangor and once again changing our entire perspective on the Animorphs universe.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #11: The Forgotten | The Andalite Chronicles →
April 25, 2020
FIRST REVIEW / MAR 15, 2015
Another of the most memorable books, because BURPING DNA. THE CROCODILE!! Rachel books are always enjoyable, and this one continues to reveal her recklessness and foolhardiness: that she is so desperate to not sit out a mission that she will endanger the entire mission and their very lives and secret identities in the process. She's not pragmatic; there is definitely truth in Marco's theory that she enjoys the danger. I also love, love, looove her quote at the beginning (will edit it into this review later) about how, contrary to what all her friends think, she is not actually fearless -- she feels fear every day, but powers through it, to rob it of its power. It reminds me a little of the mantra in Dune, actually: Fear is the mind-killer.
I also enjoy the obvious pop culture stand-in of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and this early treatment of fandom and teen culture (and websites! which Rachel has to wait for through "busy signals"! oh man, dialup <3). It all really drives home that they are really just teenagers (as well as their perpetual embarrassment over the smallest things, like Jake losing it over the fact that he has to square dance), and it is genuinely clever of the Yeerks to try to exploit the nature of celebrity. It also reveals a little of how people might turn on their own species in a selfish pursuit.
Throughout the course of this reread, I also remain ridiculously into Rachel/Marco as a coulda-been ship. fml.
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAR 20, 2020
I've, uh, fallen behind on reviews thanks to the GLOBAL PANDEMIC, so I don't have that much coherent to add here besides the quote I promised:
Favourite quotes will be moved to Google Docs.
Another of the most memorable books, because BURPING DNA. THE CROCODILE!! Rachel books are always enjoyable, and this one continues to reveal her recklessness and foolhardiness: that she is so desperate to not sit out a mission that she will endanger the entire mission and their very lives and secret identities in the process. She's not pragmatic; there is definitely truth in Marco's theory that she enjoys the danger. I also love, love, looove her quote at the beginning (will edit it into this review later) about how, contrary to what all her friends think, she is not actually fearless -- she feels fear every day, but powers through it, to rob it of its power. It reminds me a little of the mantra in Dune, actually: Fear is the mind-killer.
I also enjoy the obvious pop culture stand-in of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and this early treatment of fandom and teen culture (and websites! which Rachel has to wait for through "busy signals"! oh man, dialup <3). It all really drives home that they are really just teenagers (as well as their perpetual embarrassment over the smallest things, like Jake losing it over the fact that he has to square dance), and it is genuinely clever of the Yeerks to try to exploit the nature of celebrity. It also reveals a little of how people might turn on their own species in a selfish pursuit.
Throughout the course of this reread, I also remain ridiculously into Rachel/Marco as a coulda-been ship. fml.
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAR 20, 2020
I've, uh, fallen behind on reviews thanks to the GLOBAL PANDEMIC, so I don't have that much coherent to add here besides the quote I promised:
People say I’m pretty, and I guess I’m okay. People say I’m self-confident, and I know that’s true.
My closest friends think I’m fearless. They’re wrong about that. People without fear are just insane. I have plenty of fear in my life. Some days I feel afraid from the minute I wake up in the morning till my last nightmare at night.
But the thing about fear is you can’t be afraid of it. I know that sounds confusing. I guess what I mean is, be afraid if you have to, right? Fear is like this vicious little worm that lives inside you and eats you alive. You have to fight it. You have to know it’s there. You have to accept that you’ll never get rid of it, but fight it just the same.
Brave isn’t about not being afraid. It’s about being scared to death and still not giving in.
That’s all any of us do. Any of us Animorphs. We just try not to give in.
Favourite quotes will be moved to Google Docs.
March 15, 2024
*** 4.25 ***
Rachael's POV. Allergy 😀😀😀
Rachael's POV. Allergy 😀😀😀
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
February 22, 2024
Bold of you to correlate uncontrollable random morphing because you’re allergic to crocodile DNA to sneezing
August 6, 2014
Haha, Rachel's "allergic" to crocodile DNA. I thought the whole concept was kinda goofy--especially that they have to basically barf the animal out of their system if it doesn't agree with them--but it kinda bothered me also that nobody else ever had this kind of reaction. It did amuse me that Ms. Applegate thought of the idea. And the way they covered it up and dealt with Rachel freaking out was really good.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book had dated passages almost immediately. First, Cassie talks about buying a CD because Marco wanted to "make a tape." Second, she rattled off popular bands that her mother mixes up, naming Nine Inch Nails, the Fugees, Snoop Doggy Dog, and Boyz II Men. Not all of these folks were still recording ten years later, so kids who read them when they weren't in their prime wouldn't get these references. It's also a bit amusing that this book's made up celebrity, Jeremy Jason McCole, is so very popular that there must be twenty websites just about him. Twenty? Wow, must be a popular guy!
And speaking of Jeremy Jason McCole, he appears to be a parody of Jonathan Taylor Thomas; the fictional celebrity is on a show called Power House, while the real star was on Home Improvement. Both had a "comedian guy who played his father" as well.
And Barry and Cindy Sue are obviously supposed to be Regis and Kathie Lee.
Ax recognizes a morph Visser Three uses as a Lebtin javelin fish. We don't know what "Lebtin" is, but Ax is excited about getting to see it even though it's deadly.
A naturally occurring process called hereth illint is what happens when a person must expel an animal's DNA due to being allergic. We learn about it in this book when Rachel has to expel a crocodile from herself after finding out she's allergic to crocodile DNA. This allergy issue never happens to her again or anyone else mentioned in the book series.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book had dated passages almost immediately. First, Cassie talks about buying a CD because Marco wanted to "make a tape." Second, she rattled off popular bands that her mother mixes up, naming Nine Inch Nails, the Fugees, Snoop Doggy Dog, and Boyz II Men. Not all of these folks were still recording ten years later, so kids who read them when they weren't in their prime wouldn't get these references. It's also a bit amusing that this book's made up celebrity, Jeremy Jason McCole, is so very popular that there must be twenty websites just about him. Twenty? Wow, must be a popular guy!
And speaking of Jeremy Jason McCole, he appears to be a parody of Jonathan Taylor Thomas; the fictional celebrity is on a show called Power House, while the real star was on Home Improvement. Both had a "comedian guy who played his father" as well.
And Barry and Cindy Sue are obviously supposed to be Regis and Kathie Lee.
Ax recognizes a morph Visser Three uses as a Lebtin javelin fish. We don't know what "Lebtin" is, but Ax is excited about getting to see it even though it's deadly.
A naturally occurring process called hereth illint is what happens when a person must expel an animal's DNA due to being allergic. We learn about it in this book when Rachel has to expel a crocodile from herself after finding out she's allergic to crocodile DNA. This allergy issue never happens to her again or anyone else mentioned in the book series.
February 2, 2023
One of my favorite Rachel books. A great example of the silly one-offs we get this early in the series, but still a great look into Rachel’s character. Her characterization in the later books get pretty bad, at least in her own books, so I’ve got to appreciate the good ones while I can.
July 21, 2022
Rachel has an allergic reaction, giving her some problems with her morphing power. There’s also a silly Yeerk plot the Animorphs have to put a stop to. A pretty fun read.
November 21, 2022
This one was so funny by the end. Marco the llama stole the show.
Read
May 24, 2023Look, I'm not gonna stop reading these books, even though I know how absurd they seem. They're NOT and honestly, I can't imagine if I'd read them in my formative childhood years. (What, I'd be even more anti-war?)
These books tackle themes that many adult narratives do not touch. In the past three books, we explore:
- how much of war, and of winning, is pure luck and nothing else. (Catch-22 explores this same concept. Leaders, even great leaders, even alleged brilliant military strategists, win because of luck. Books like Harry Potter show this luck too, but it's always lampshaded as fate, rarely is it so blandly exposed that yes, sometimes people will die because they have bad luck)
- is morality and pacifism a luxury of the privileged? And if we lose that, what are we? (I can't imagine how enraged it must feel that the Chee revert back to being pure pacifist. The respect the kids give for this decision is important, I think, to critically thinking about what war is worth.)
Frankly, it's rare to see an entire series centered around war be so blatantly anti-war, but by forcing readers to ask themselves questions about what decisions they would make. By book 12, a bit of quagmire has set in -- no one has truly made any gains in the war. They've won some battles and lost some. Earth isn't closer to being saved, but the Yeerks are no closer to total domination. Despite this, the war is affecting the group. Their PTSD, dismemberment, and physical effects are clearly worsening (Rachel gives birth to an entire crocodile out of her neck!) and what do they have to show for it?
This is probably why Tolstoy almost titled it: "War, what is it good for? (Absolutely nothing.)"
These books tackle themes that many adult narratives do not touch. In the past three books, we explore:
- how much of war, and of winning, is pure luck and nothing else. (Catch-22 explores this same concept. Leaders, even great leaders, even alleged brilliant military strategists, win because of luck. Books like Harry Potter show this luck too, but it's always lampshaded as fate, rarely is it so blandly exposed that yes, sometimes people will die because they have bad luck)
- is morality and pacifism a luxury of the privileged? And if we lose that, what are we? (I can't imagine how enraged it must feel that the Chee revert back to being pure pacifist. The respect the kids give for this decision is important, I think, to critically thinking about what war is worth.)
Frankly, it's rare to see an entire series centered around war be so blatantly anti-war, but by forcing readers to ask themselves questions about what decisions they would make. By book 12, a bit of quagmire has set in -- no one has truly made any gains in the war. They've won some battles and lost some. Earth isn't closer to being saved, but the Yeerks are no closer to total domination. Despite this, the war is affecting the group. Their PTSD, dismemberment, and physical effects are clearly worsening (Rachel gives birth to an entire crocodile out of her neck!) and what do they have to show for it?
This is probably why Tolstoy almost titled it: "War, what is it good for? (Absolutely nothing.)"
November 13, 2020
I like the implied post-credits scene where someone has to try and explain what on earth happened...
March 23, 2020
Spring 2020 (Animorphs Read 2020);
It's MyGirl's next book, and she's being extremely stubborn in it. I love that in our next chapter of the YOLO & EVERYONE'S LYING SAGA, we've found out that acquiring DNA is not as simple and straightforward as we've all come to simply assume it might be. I find it very delightful and well designed that there are allergies, and some DNA's that will personally not mesh well with yours.
I wasn't surprised in the slightest about Rachel first not telling anyone what was going on, and I was even more baffled why any of the other Animorphs was surprised that Rachel lied about being better to make sure the mission was taken care of over the waiting/care of herself. Do you people called her *Xena: Warrior Princess* but not actually know what that means or have watched the character in that show at all? She'd absolutely 100% do that, too. And does. And has. And would.
It's MyGirl's next book, and she's being extremely stubborn in it. I love that in our next chapter of the YOLO & EVERYONE'S LYING SAGA, we've found out that acquiring DNA is not as simple and straightforward as we've all come to simply assume it might be. I find it very delightful and well designed that there are allergies, and some DNA's that will personally not mesh well with yours.
I wasn't surprised in the slightest about Rachel first not telling anyone what was going on, and I was even more baffled why any of the other Animorphs was surprised that Rachel lied about being better to make sure the mission was taken care of over the waiting/care of herself. Do you people called her *Xena: Warrior Princess* but not actually know what that means or have watched the character in that show at all? She'd absolutely 100% do that, too. And does. And has. And would.
November 18, 2018
This was totally a filler story. I doubt the 'allergy' will advance the story in anyway. Rating 2.5
June 7, 2020
The PMS Animorphs book hey! I really liked the whacky scenes in this one, definitely a little more fun than previous books but still the threats of yeerks remains!
September 20, 2020
Honestly maybe my favorite one so far. At least top three. Or five. I have no idea. Regardless, it’s very good.
March 22, 2022
Pure. Chaos.
We finally got more information on Rachel’s recent complications around morphing and I think her difficulty in correcting the issue speaks greatly to her declining mental health.
These gets are constantly acquiring new traumas with every act of violence they are forced to participate in and are losing the ability to control or process their emotions in a healthy very quickly. With only each other to speak/vent to, they are incapable of relying on their usual support system or even considering mental health counseling. It’s a burden that demands to be bottled up and it’s taking an increasingly noticeable toll on them.
Each new book gets a sadder and sadder 🥲
CW: slavery, violence, manipulation
We finally got more information on Rachel’s recent complications around morphing and I think her difficulty in correcting the issue speaks greatly to her declining mental health.
These gets are constantly acquiring new traumas with every act of violence they are forced to participate in and are losing the ability to control or process their emotions in a healthy very quickly. With only each other to speak/vent to, they are incapable of relying on their usual support system or even considering mental health counseling. It’s a burden that demands to be bottled up and it’s taking an increasingly noticeable toll on them.
Each new book gets a sadder and sadder 🥲
CW: slavery, violence, manipulation
November 19, 2025
Man they just don’t make books like these anymore. How imaginative they are!
Read
January 11, 2022Didn’t like this one, a bit sexist
August 21, 2017
(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)
Narrator: Rachel
Plot: The story starts out in typical Rachel-fashion: jumping into a crocodile pit at the zoo! To be fair, she does it to save a small boy who has fallen in, and this is exactly what she tells Jake when he rants at her later at Cassie’s farm about “exposing them all” when the “friendly crocodile” gave the kid a ride out and drew notice. And in a book full of Rachel making really rash decisions, this one is pretty understandable! Pretty sure they all would have done it, but Rachel has a history of rashness (morphing elephant at both a used car lot and at the zoo, to make animal rights points), so the hammer always seems to come down on her a bit more for this type of stuff.
All of it seems to be mostly put to bed, until Rachel gets home and suddenly, unwillingly, starts morphing elephant in her own room. This, unsurprisingly, brings down the house and she is only just able to get control of herself and morph back before her sisters and mom show up. Between this and the crocodile escapade (people thought she also fell in), she gets quite a lot of local news attention. Rachel, being Rachel, decides that this is just some strange one-off and keeps the whole weird morphing to herself.
The main plot of the story gets tied in when the Animorphs discover that the Yeerks are quite interested in a certain teenage boy actor, one Jeremy Jason McCole. So, I haven’t talked much about the dated aspects of the book, because for the most part they’re just random mentions of VCRs and such, but this is a big one. Teenage super stars are no thing specific to any decade. I mean, we have Beiber and the Jonas Brothers and all that, now-ish. But this one’s pretty hilarious for anyone who grew up in the 90s, as it is a clear and direct reference to Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I mean, you’ve got the name with the rhyming ring to it, and past that, they even discuss the show he is on which has to do with family and, you guessed it, construction. This is such a direct and obvious call out that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud every time I read about it. Which was a lot, since it was the main focus of the story. So, sure, this will read fine to new readers picking up the books today, but without the 90s memories of “Home Improvement” and the JTT madness, much of the humor of this will be lost. But I got it all! And love it.
Anyways, Cassie and Rachel are the only ones who truly understand how bad it would be if Jeremy Jason was to be made a Controller and started promoting The Sharing. After they very strictly made this point to poor, clueless Jake and Marco (while throwing in the fact that boy, wouldn’t it be fun to scout out this situation anyways!), the team decide to morph seagulls, fly out to Jeremy’s yacht (cuz of course he has a yacht), and see what’s what. Turns out that Visser Three himself is there wooing Jeremy Jason to become a willing Controller. Much of the love for Jeremy Jason is thus instantly evaporated for poor Rachel and Cassie.
With perfect timing, Rachel’s morphing issue strikes again and she falls from the air, somehow morphing directly from seagull to other animals (luckily, conveniently, so that the Controllers don’t find out they’re all human). After escaping from another of Visser Three’s freaky morphs (some type of javelin-throwing sea creature that Rachel is able to “pop” by biting it in her croc morph), Rachel’s little problem is outed. Ax, of course, knows a bit about it and it turns out that Rachel is allergic to crocodiles, and will continue to have this morphing issue until she somehow mysteriously “expels” the DNA.
Now knowing that the Jeremy Jason thing is a serious problem, Rachel decides to take advantage of her moment of stardom as “disaster girl” and get on the same local TV program that will be featuring Jeremy Jason. They will then…somehow stop him from promoting The Sharing?? To do this, however, she lies to her friends and says that the whole allergy thing was taken care of, DNA expelled, she’s ready to go.
So, of course, while they’re all at the TV studio, Rachel’s croc problem goes live and she begins growing a crocodile out of her back (apparently what Ax meant by “expel DNA” was grow a full, live crocodile out of oneself that will detach and then just…be there). This leads to much mania and confusion (Marco morphs a llama, Cassie morphs Rachel, a wild croc is loose), and they are only saved from complete discovery by the fact that there also happened to be a zoologist scheduled for the show and the wild animals running everywhere are thought to be his. Through this all, the Yeerk (bizarrely) decides to bail out of Jeremy Jason, and Rachel steps on it accidentally. Jeremy Jason than flees to Asia after deciding that this whole Controller thing wasn’t quite what it was cracked up to be. The end!
Xena, Warriar Princess: Rachel’s strengths and weaknesses are fully shown in this book. Like a wounded animal, she doesn’t like to let others see when she’s hurting or confused, which leads to much of the craziness from her not asking for help with her morphing issue right away. Later, when she also lies about having expelled the DNA, we see another example of her hiding things from the others. This time, however, we can also see that this is tied up with the fact that she understands her role in the group. She’s the brave one, the one who often helps push the others into action, and to do what they hesitate to do. She, partly rightly I think, worries that without her, the others would struggle with this, and many, missions.
She’s also incredibly brave. When Visser Three is coming after them in the ocean, she plays dead and attacks him when he gets close, giving the others time to flee. She often puts herself in these roles where her own survival is called into question to save her friends.
The other notable feature of this book was the direct tie between her reaction to her croc allergy and her ability to keep control of her emotions, specifically anger. I know that this is a recurring theme in the Rachel books: her anger is what makes her powerful and brave, but it can also really hurt her. Some of the later books get quite silly with this, I think, almost jumping the shark with her character. But this was a good look at this issue as it begins to play a bigger role in Rachel’s character and arc throughout the series.
Our Fearless Leader: Poor, poor Jake. After the last book which focused on the tough realities of being a leader, here we have this one where the poor guy has to deal with crazies like Rachel who just go ahead and don’t tell the whole group relevant information that then leads to even worse scenarios, that he then has to make a call on, mid-mission. All cuz of Rachel’s bad decision making.
could get us all killed,> Jake said.
Other than this, it was funny reading about Jake and Marco’s endless discomfort with the girls’ infatuation with Jeremy Jason McCole. When they first decide to scout out the yacht more closely, this is Jake’s original plan:
seagulls, see what we overhear,> Jake went on. can be backup. Stay ->
I jeered. Yeah, that’s really going to happen. Come on, Cassie, we’re going in.>
A Hawk’s Life: Was Tobias even in this book?? Thank god his book is coming up next and SPOILER this problem gets mostly solved. But not too solved, gotta keep a hold on the massive corner of the teenage tragedy market that is Tobias’s life.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Why Cassie?! Why are you such a fun character in Rachel books, but then become the most stick-ish of sticks in the mud during your own books?? It drives me nuts. Cassie was actually a blast in this book, and her friendship with Rachel is definitely me favorite platonic relationship (others being Marco/Jake and Tobias/Ax). They had a lot of good moments just being girls about Jeremy Jason, and it was fun to read. Cassie was also quick to always correct any mistaken identification of the crocodile as an alligator, too, thus fulfilling her “animal facts” quota for the book.
A fun example of their thoughts on the boys’ reaction to Jeremy Jason:
Marco said.
The Comic Relief: Marco gets some good comedic moments in this one (what’s new), when he decides to abandon Jake with the whole “morph a bug” plan while scouting out the TV studio and just morph a convenient llama that was wandering around from the zoologist’s program. I mean, any excuse not to go bug, ammiright? Lots of quips about llama fur and llama spit and llama behavior ensued and it was great. Most impressive, however, was when things went south with the now-detached croc, Marco, in llama morph, did a mad rush at it. For all of his comedy moments, Marco is one of the bravest members of the group and my love for him only grows! He also has a fun moment in the end of the book with Rachel and some more “Xena” nods.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax, too, plays a significant role in handling the loose croc situation and essentially takes it out of play all on his own. Rachel makes some pretty clear comments about how she’s been impressed by Ax in the past, but this moment really highlighted the strength and speed of Andalites, raising him to a new level in her eyes.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Hands down, the “expelling” of the crocodile DNA. I mean, there were pages and pages of descriptions of the very slow process that was the crocodile growing its way out of Rachel’s back and finally dropping off, fully formed. I mean, just think about that whole experience. Or, better yet, don’t.
Couples Watch!: Man, for a book told from the perspective of one of the four characters involved in a couple-ish situation, there was very little to go on here! Maybe a few private asides from Tobias, but we got zero, ZERO, bedroom visits by hawk!Tobias, something that I remember clearly associating with this couple and as happening fairly often in their books. But nope! Nothing! Very disappointing. But the next book is his, so hopefully we’ll see an improvement there. For this book, I just had to fall back on my secondary Marco/Rachel fixation.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: It was strange having Visser Three sucking up to Jeremy Jason McCole, essentially. Didn’t really seem like his usual style of “do first, ask never.” I guess the idea was to highlight how much easier it is on the Yeerks, especially the one controlling someone, if the host is willing? But still, there are more than enough examples of forced-Controllers and in a situation like this where this one, very specific person is needed, it seems like Visser Three wouldn’t have given a hoot what the potential host wanted. But at least he had a relevant morph for chasing the Animorphs again! The javelin-shooting beast (Ax wasn’t paying attention in school to know all about it. Typical.) was a pretty good adversary, all told. Except for that “burst balloon” action there at the end.
The fact that they Yeerks then just let Jeremy Jason run off to Asia to hide also seems highly unlikely. I guess they figured that he wasn’t likely to say anything about it without sounding like a crazy person. But why not just re-capture him and go on with the original plan of using him as a spokesperson for The Sharing?
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: This didn’t have a whole lot in the “feels” department. It was a pretty wacky story, bookended by an even wackier morphing allergy. Even the side plot with Rachel’s family seemed fine. It’s clear that she still has a good relationship with her father, and the brief moments with her sisters, especially her fear that they may have been hurt when the house collapses, were nice. All in all, just a kind of fun adventure!
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: I mean, I’m pretty sure Rachel just straight up admits that they have no plan whatsoever when it comes to trying to mess up the Jeremy Jason TV spot. Beyond the lack of plan there, Rachel herself knows there is even less of a plan since she was the only one who know that the crocodile allergy hadn’t exactly been taken care of. All of the luck, all of the time!
Favorite Quote:
Rachel sums up her own character:
But the thing about fear is you can’t be afraid of it. I know that sounds confusing. I guess what I mean is, be afraid if you have to, right? Fear is like this vicious little worm that lives inside you and eats you alive. You have to fight it. You have to know it’s there. You have to accept that you’ll never get rid of it, but fight it just the same. Brave isn’t about not being afraid. It’s about being scared to death and still not giving in.
Scorecard: Yeerks 3, Animorphs 5
No points awarded! I guess the Animorphs technically pulled off their plan of stopping Jeremy Jason from being taken. But really, if I was going to award points for their success in that, it would be 1 point for the crocodile.
Rating: Pretty good! Lacking in much sustenance, but a fun read none the less. I can excuse wackiness when it leads to a fun story. But when wackiness is combined with dramatic nonsense *cough”The Secret”cough*…
Narrator: Rachel
Plot: The story starts out in typical Rachel-fashion: jumping into a crocodile pit at the zoo! To be fair, she does it to save a small boy who has fallen in, and this is exactly what she tells Jake when he rants at her later at Cassie’s farm about “exposing them all” when the “friendly crocodile” gave the kid a ride out and drew notice. And in a book full of Rachel making really rash decisions, this one is pretty understandable! Pretty sure they all would have done it, but Rachel has a history of rashness (morphing elephant at both a used car lot and at the zoo, to make animal rights points), so the hammer always seems to come down on her a bit more for this type of stuff.
All of it seems to be mostly put to bed, until Rachel gets home and suddenly, unwillingly, starts morphing elephant in her own room. This, unsurprisingly, brings down the house and she is only just able to get control of herself and morph back before her sisters and mom show up. Between this and the crocodile escapade (people thought she also fell in), she gets quite a lot of local news attention. Rachel, being Rachel, decides that this is just some strange one-off and keeps the whole weird morphing to herself.
The main plot of the story gets tied in when the Animorphs discover that the Yeerks are quite interested in a certain teenage boy actor, one Jeremy Jason McCole. So, I haven’t talked much about the dated aspects of the book, because for the most part they’re just random mentions of VCRs and such, but this is a big one. Teenage super stars are no thing specific to any decade. I mean, we have Beiber and the Jonas Brothers and all that, now-ish. But this one’s pretty hilarious for anyone who grew up in the 90s, as it is a clear and direct reference to Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I mean, you’ve got the name with the rhyming ring to it, and past that, they even discuss the show he is on which has to do with family and, you guessed it, construction. This is such a direct and obvious call out that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud every time I read about it. Which was a lot, since it was the main focus of the story. So, sure, this will read fine to new readers picking up the books today, but without the 90s memories of “Home Improvement” and the JTT madness, much of the humor of this will be lost. But I got it all! And love it.
Anyways, Cassie and Rachel are the only ones who truly understand how bad it would be if Jeremy Jason was to be made a Controller and started promoting The Sharing. After they very strictly made this point to poor, clueless Jake and Marco (while throwing in the fact that boy, wouldn’t it be fun to scout out this situation anyways!), the team decide to morph seagulls, fly out to Jeremy’s yacht (cuz of course he has a yacht), and see what’s what. Turns out that Visser Three himself is there wooing Jeremy Jason to become a willing Controller. Much of the love for Jeremy Jason is thus instantly evaporated for poor Rachel and Cassie.
With perfect timing, Rachel’s morphing issue strikes again and she falls from the air, somehow morphing directly from seagull to other animals (luckily, conveniently, so that the Controllers don’t find out they’re all human). After escaping from another of Visser Three’s freaky morphs (some type of javelin-throwing sea creature that Rachel is able to “pop” by biting it in her croc morph), Rachel’s little problem is outed. Ax, of course, knows a bit about it and it turns out that Rachel is allergic to crocodiles, and will continue to have this morphing issue until she somehow mysteriously “expels” the DNA.
Now knowing that the Jeremy Jason thing is a serious problem, Rachel decides to take advantage of her moment of stardom as “disaster girl” and get on the same local TV program that will be featuring Jeremy Jason. They will then…somehow stop him from promoting The Sharing?? To do this, however, she lies to her friends and says that the whole allergy thing was taken care of, DNA expelled, she’s ready to go.
So, of course, while they’re all at the TV studio, Rachel’s croc problem goes live and she begins growing a crocodile out of her back (apparently what Ax meant by “expel DNA” was grow a full, live crocodile out of oneself that will detach and then just…be there). This leads to much mania and confusion (Marco morphs a llama, Cassie morphs Rachel, a wild croc is loose), and they are only saved from complete discovery by the fact that there also happened to be a zoologist scheduled for the show and the wild animals running everywhere are thought to be his. Through this all, the Yeerk (bizarrely) decides to bail out of Jeremy Jason, and Rachel steps on it accidentally. Jeremy Jason than flees to Asia after deciding that this whole Controller thing wasn’t quite what it was cracked up to be. The end!
Xena, Warriar Princess: Rachel’s strengths and weaknesses are fully shown in this book. Like a wounded animal, she doesn’t like to let others see when she’s hurting or confused, which leads to much of the craziness from her not asking for help with her morphing issue right away. Later, when she also lies about having expelled the DNA, we see another example of her hiding things from the others. This time, however, we can also see that this is tied up with the fact that she understands her role in the group. She’s the brave one, the one who often helps push the others into action, and to do what they hesitate to do. She, partly rightly I think, worries that without her, the others would struggle with this, and many, missions.
She’s also incredibly brave. When Visser Three is coming after them in the ocean, she plays dead and attacks him when he gets close, giving the others time to flee. She often puts herself in these roles where her own survival is called into question to save her friends.
The other notable feature of this book was the direct tie between her reaction to her croc allergy and her ability to keep control of her emotions, specifically anger. I know that this is a recurring theme in the Rachel books: her anger is what makes her powerful and brave, but it can also really hurt her. Some of the later books get quite silly with this, I think, almost jumping the shark with her character. But this was a good look at this issue as it begins to play a bigger role in Rachel’s character and arc throughout the series.
Our Fearless Leader: Poor, poor Jake. After the last book which focused on the tough realities of being a leader, here we have this one where the poor guy has to deal with crazies like Rachel who just go ahead and don’t tell the whole group relevant information that then leads to even worse scenarios, that he then has to make a call on, mid-mission. All cuz of Rachel’s bad decision making.
could get us all killed,> Jake said.
Other than this, it was funny reading about Jake and Marco’s endless discomfort with the girls’ infatuation with Jeremy Jason McCole. When they first decide to scout out the yacht more closely, this is Jake’s original plan:
seagulls, see what we overhear,> Jake went on. can be backup. Stay ->
I jeered. Yeah, that’s really going to happen. Come on, Cassie, we’re going in.>
A Hawk’s Life: Was Tobias even in this book?? Thank god his book is coming up next and SPOILER this problem gets mostly solved. But not too solved, gotta keep a hold on the massive corner of the teenage tragedy market that is Tobias’s life.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Why Cassie?! Why are you such a fun character in Rachel books, but then become the most stick-ish of sticks in the mud during your own books?? It drives me nuts. Cassie was actually a blast in this book, and her friendship with Rachel is definitely me favorite platonic relationship (others being Marco/Jake and Tobias/Ax). They had a lot of good moments just being girls about Jeremy Jason, and it was fun to read. Cassie was also quick to always correct any mistaken identification of the crocodile as an alligator, too, thus fulfilling her “animal facts” quota for the book.
A fun example of their thoughts on the boys’ reaction to Jeremy Jason:
Marco said.
The Comic Relief: Marco gets some good comedic moments in this one (what’s new), when he decides to abandon Jake with the whole “morph a bug” plan while scouting out the TV studio and just morph a convenient llama that was wandering around from the zoologist’s program. I mean, any excuse not to go bug, ammiright? Lots of quips about llama fur and llama spit and llama behavior ensued and it was great. Most impressive, however, was when things went south with the now-detached croc, Marco, in llama morph, did a mad rush at it. For all of his comedy moments, Marco is one of the bravest members of the group and my love for him only grows! He also has a fun moment in the end of the book with Rachel and some more “Xena” nods.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax, too, plays a significant role in handling the loose croc situation and essentially takes it out of play all on his own. Rachel makes some pretty clear comments about how she’s been impressed by Ax in the past, but this moment really highlighted the strength and speed of Andalites, raising him to a new level in her eyes.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Hands down, the “expelling” of the crocodile DNA. I mean, there were pages and pages of descriptions of the very slow process that was the crocodile growing its way out of Rachel’s back and finally dropping off, fully formed. I mean, just think about that whole experience. Or, better yet, don’t.
Couples Watch!: Man, for a book told from the perspective of one of the four characters involved in a couple-ish situation, there was very little to go on here! Maybe a few private asides from Tobias, but we got zero, ZERO, bedroom visits by hawk!Tobias, something that I remember clearly associating with this couple and as happening fairly often in their books. But nope! Nothing! Very disappointing. But the next book is his, so hopefully we’ll see an improvement there. For this book, I just had to fall back on my secondary Marco/Rachel fixation.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: It was strange having Visser Three sucking up to Jeremy Jason McCole, essentially. Didn’t really seem like his usual style of “do first, ask never.” I guess the idea was to highlight how much easier it is on the Yeerks, especially the one controlling someone, if the host is willing? But still, there are more than enough examples of forced-Controllers and in a situation like this where this one, very specific person is needed, it seems like Visser Three wouldn’t have given a hoot what the potential host wanted. But at least he had a relevant morph for chasing the Animorphs again! The javelin-shooting beast (Ax wasn’t paying attention in school to know all about it. Typical.) was a pretty good adversary, all told. Except for that “burst balloon” action there at the end.
The fact that they Yeerks then just let Jeremy Jason run off to Asia to hide also seems highly unlikely. I guess they figured that he wasn’t likely to say anything about it without sounding like a crazy person. But why not just re-capture him and go on with the original plan of using him as a spokesperson for The Sharing?
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: This didn’t have a whole lot in the “feels” department. It was a pretty wacky story, bookended by an even wackier morphing allergy. Even the side plot with Rachel’s family seemed fine. It’s clear that she still has a good relationship with her father, and the brief moments with her sisters, especially her fear that they may have been hurt when the house collapses, were nice. All in all, just a kind of fun adventure!
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: I mean, I’m pretty sure Rachel just straight up admits that they have no plan whatsoever when it comes to trying to mess up the Jeremy Jason TV spot. Beyond the lack of plan there, Rachel herself knows there is even less of a plan since she was the only one who know that the crocodile allergy hadn’t exactly been taken care of. All of the luck, all of the time!
Favorite Quote:
Rachel sums up her own character:
But the thing about fear is you can’t be afraid of it. I know that sounds confusing. I guess what I mean is, be afraid if you have to, right? Fear is like this vicious little worm that lives inside you and eats you alive. You have to fight it. You have to know it’s there. You have to accept that you’ll never get rid of it, but fight it just the same. Brave isn’t about not being afraid. It’s about being scared to death and still not giving in.
Scorecard: Yeerks 3, Animorphs 5
No points awarded! I guess the Animorphs technically pulled off their plan of stopping Jeremy Jason from being taken. But really, if I was going to award points for their success in that, it would be 1 point for the crocodile.
Rating: Pretty good! Lacking in much sustenance, but a fun read none the less. I can excuse wackiness when it leads to a fun story. But when wackiness is combined with dramatic nonsense *cough”The Secret”cough*…
September 24, 2023
Too many inconsistencies in terms of character development and characters forgetting key details, like when Ax tells Jake that Rachel has morphed from an African Elephant to an insect without demorphing and Jake cries that it is impossible - ummm dude you just saw it happen less than a few seconds ago?!! LOL
Okay, one thing I would wanna know and I can't remember if this issue is EVER brought up again in the series but the Animorphs are unable to go from one morph to another, from what Ax says, imparting his Andalite knowledge of the technology; and yet Rachel is able to do so while being allergic, thereby proving that the ability to pass from one morph to another is not impossible.
Soooo how is this possible?!?!!
And what the heck? allergic reaction to acquiring certain morphs that are spontaneous and rare? seems outta the blue, if you ask me, and from memory, this affliction never happens again to Rachel or the other Animorphs, and the explanation of "burping" to expel that specific DNA out to Z-Space, what the heck is Z-Space? what does Z-space have to do with the morphing ability?
My overall understanding of morphing was explained from previous books as I thought the Animorphs acquire the DNA from whatever animal they wanna morph into and once they morph into that animal, they have to fight for mental dominance over the animal's natural animalistic mind, which makes sense, and of course the downside, time limit being in that morph, to throw a curveball to their abilities and not make them ever so overpowered.
I just feel that the author's attempts to add further weaknesses to the morphing ability is an interesting concept for sure, other than the already established time limit and the horror of being a nothlit but for me this allergic reaction to certain animal DNAs needed to be explained more effectively and creatively than what's on the page, cuz it just fell flat.
Another thing that bothered me was Cassie acquiring Rachel's DNA to masquerade as Rachel's allergic reaction to her morphing ability once she acquired the crocodile's DNA at the beginning of the book.
Now this is Cassie, whom the previous two books vehemently stood firm about the ethical ramifications of morphing and here she is taking her friend's DNA and posing as her, just feels out of character.
I can understand why Ax and Tobias weren't the likely candidates for this part of the mission, as Ax is unpredictable in human morph and Tobias is a nothlit, so that leaves the more likely choice is either Marco or Jake who aren't opposed to using human DNA, unlike Cassie.
Ok sure, take into account, Cassie knows Rachel the best as being her best friend and also being another girl who is able to pull off Rachel's mannerisms effectively whereas the boys might screw it up, it would've been nice to see some acknowledgment from Cassie through Rachel's POV about this, at least from a character growth standpoint.
Even though there are many goofs/inconsistences to this book I'm still curious to see the overall arc of this series play out from beginning to end as I'm nostalgic for the 90s and love the pop culture references and the clear nod to Jonathan Taylor Thomas which made me chuckle.
Okay, one thing I would wanna know and I can't remember if this issue is EVER brought up again in the series but the Animorphs are unable to go from one morph to another, from what Ax says, imparting his Andalite knowledge of the technology; and yet Rachel is able to do so while being allergic, thereby proving that the ability to pass from one morph to another is not impossible.
Soooo how is this possible?!?!!
And what the heck? allergic reaction to acquiring certain morphs that are spontaneous and rare? seems outta the blue, if you ask me, and from memory, this affliction never happens again to Rachel or the other Animorphs, and the explanation of "burping" to expel that specific DNA out to Z-Space, what the heck is Z-Space? what does Z-space have to do with the morphing ability?
My overall understanding of morphing was explained from previous books as I thought the Animorphs acquire the DNA from whatever animal they wanna morph into and once they morph into that animal, they have to fight for mental dominance over the animal's natural animalistic mind, which makes sense, and of course the downside, time limit being in that morph, to throw a curveball to their abilities and not make them ever so overpowered.
I just feel that the author's attempts to add further weaknesses to the morphing ability is an interesting concept for sure, other than the already established time limit and the horror of being a nothlit but for me this allergic reaction to certain animal DNAs needed to be explained more effectively and creatively than what's on the page, cuz it just fell flat.
Another thing that bothered me was Cassie acquiring Rachel's DNA to masquerade as Rachel's allergic reaction to her morphing ability once she acquired the crocodile's DNA at the beginning of the book.
Now this is Cassie, whom the previous two books vehemently stood firm about the ethical ramifications of morphing and here she is taking her friend's DNA and posing as her, just feels out of character.
I can understand why Ax and Tobias weren't the likely candidates for this part of the mission, as Ax is unpredictable in human morph and Tobias is a nothlit, so that leaves the more likely choice is either Marco or Jake who aren't opposed to using human DNA, unlike Cassie.
Ok sure, take into account, Cassie knows Rachel the best as being her best friend and also being another girl who is able to pull off Rachel's mannerisms effectively whereas the boys might screw it up, it would've been nice to see some acknowledgment from Cassie through Rachel's POV about this, at least from a character growth standpoint.
Even though there are many goofs/inconsistences to this book I'm still curious to see the overall arc of this series play out from beginning to end as I'm nostalgic for the 90s and love the pop culture references and the clear nod to Jonathan Taylor Thomas which made me chuckle.
April 21, 2024
Well of course we start out this book with Rachel coming to some kids rescue at the zoo! My gosh! I'm amazed that no one saw her morph! Thankfully she was able to help the lil tyke escape from the crocodile pen...but that's when her real problems start....
First she's gotta deal with Jake. lol. Everyone harping on Rachel, but Jake would have done the same thing. Good idea Tobias. haha. I'm just glad everyone is ok!
Seeing teenage girls crush over some celebrity is kinda cute.
But my favorite part of this book is the terror of beginning to morph without control!? What is this werewolf crap??! That's terrifying!! Just think of who you could hurt!! Thankfully Rachel manages to have these episodes unseen. Though not without some tv reports of her having crashed through her house (ala elephant morph). I'd take the win Rach.
I get a bit annoyed how Rachel tries to stay on mission and keep it all hidden. Being tough. Trying to be in control. But that's her teenage flaw, isn't it? It doesn't make logical sense to us, but it's her thing. lol.
When the team and Ax finally figure out what's going on after some deep sea mishap we find out Rachel is allergic to the crocodile morph? The heck?! That's crazy!! So she has to 'burp' the being out of her. And it will be a full on creature. O.O No pressure?
And of course the time in which this process is ready to happen is on live television when they aim to uncover if Jeremy Jason is a Yeerk. Offff Courseeeee.
Honestly it was really fun to read through all of the tension and high stakes! Luckily people made it out ok! And the croc is no more! These kids just are in really lucky scenarios. Like where and animal star comes on tv so of course there are animals on set. The luck. XD
My big question is at the end of the book Cassie morphed into Rachel??? When did they find out they could morph into each other? Or humans?? I mean Ax can...but is this the first time the kids did??
Anyways. Always fun to read this series! And to see some flaws to some morphin' powers!
First she's gotta deal with Jake. lol. Everyone harping on Rachel, but Jake would have done the same thing. Good idea Tobias. haha. I'm just glad everyone is ok!
Seeing teenage girls crush over some celebrity is kinda cute.
But my favorite part of this book is the terror of beginning to morph without control!? What is this werewolf crap??! That's terrifying!! Just think of who you could hurt!! Thankfully Rachel manages to have these episodes unseen. Though not without some tv reports of her having crashed through her house (ala elephant morph). I'd take the win Rach.
I get a bit annoyed how Rachel tries to stay on mission and keep it all hidden. Being tough. Trying to be in control. But that's her teenage flaw, isn't it? It doesn't make logical sense to us, but it's her thing. lol.
When the team and Ax finally figure out what's going on after some deep sea mishap we find out Rachel is allergic to the crocodile morph? The heck?! That's crazy!! So she has to 'burp' the being out of her. And it will be a full on creature. O.O No pressure?
And of course the time in which this process is ready to happen is on live television when they aim to uncover if Jeremy Jason is a Yeerk. Offff Courseeeee.
Honestly it was really fun to read through all of the tension and high stakes! Luckily people made it out ok! And the croc is no more! These kids just are in really lucky scenarios. Like where and animal star comes on tv so of course there are animals on set. The luck. XD
My big question is at the end of the book Cassie morphed into Rachel??? When did they find out they could morph into each other? Or humans?? I mean Ax can...but is this the first time the kids did??
Anyways. Always fun to read this series! And to see some flaws to some morphin' powers!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2023
This one is from Rachel's point of view.
Not a very exciting part of the series, but I guess it's supposed to introduce this new concept of morph-allergies.
I also like Rachel's point of view, because she's portrayed as this very tough woman by the others, but actually she's as scared as the rest of them and translates that fear to anger and violence.
Favorite sentence: "Brave isn't about not being afraid. It's about being scared to death and still not giving in." That's what I mean. Also: "Rachel can't stop being heroic. Being stupidly brave is like some nervous tic she can't control."
Not a very exciting part of the series, but I guess it's supposed to introduce this new concept of morph-allergies.
I also like Rachel's point of view, because she's portrayed as this very tough woman by the others, but actually she's as scared as the rest of them and translates that fear to anger and violence.
Favorite sentence: "Brave isn't about not being afraid. It's about being scared to death and still not giving in." That's what I mean. Also: "Rachel can't stop being heroic. Being stupidly brave is like some nervous tic she can't control."
May 23, 2020
I'm usually not harsh with my reviews, I seldom give below a three star review. However, Rachel was so uncharacteristically stupid throughout this story. It's ok to make a stupid choice, characters in YA novels do it all the time. Rachel makes at least 4 MAJORLY stupid decisions back to back to back to back. Not only that but it was literally the same mistake on repeat. AND by the end I don't think she learn a lesson at all. It genuinely made me furious as I was reading. She showed a total disregard for what might happen to herself, her friends, her loved ones and all of humanity with her stupid decisions to not tell her friends what was happening. I was actually upset that no one read her the riot act other than a "come on bro seriously?" lecture from Jake at one point. It was out of character and it seemed like the only reason to make such terrible decisions was to give the Animorphs something to do this book. Hoping the next book is back to the usual standard
June 25, 2018
Not bad for a filler story. Definitely more humorous than a lot of the other Animorph books, and introduces a little lore regarding... allergies. You know how some folks are allergic to cats or birds or reptiles? Rachel has a reptile allergy. This one was also 90s-tastic.... references include Baywatch, NIN, Boys II Men, and a nod to Johnathan Taylor Thomas. Not sure how much an impact it makes on the rest of the series, but it was nice to see things lighten up a bit even if it is just for a little while.
November 11, 2021
BANGER! I love Rachel and the Cassie/Rachel dynamic so much. Some VERY fascinating (and messed up) ideas coming out of this one (morph allergies? humans morphing humans?) that I kind of wish get explored further on in the series.
November 28, 2021
This one didn't have any major reveals or twists, but as always, I love Rachel's point of view. As frustrating as the characters' "I must hide my weakness from my friends" is, it really rings true for a bunch of kids fighting aliens is.
August 5, 2023
a grizzly bear a llama a squirrel and a croc walk into a tv studio..... no really, this went so hard. it starts with rachel jUMPING INTO THE CROCODILE PEN at the zoo and somehow tops itself thrice over the course of 152 pages. katherine applegate we do not deserve u
May 10, 2024
3/5 ⭐
Estuvo okay. Nada del otro mundo. Por momentos me dió vibes a Megamorphs y me aburrió un poco. Pero en general fue pasable. Tbh, me hubiera gustado ver un poco más de interacción entre Rachel y Tobias.
Estuvo okay. Nada del otro mundo. Por momentos me dió vibes a Megamorphs y me aburrió un poco. Pero en general fue pasable. Tbh, me hubiera gustado ver un poco más de interacción entre Rachel y Tobias.
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