Reviews

Please note that this review is written for my use as a librarian and may not appeal directly to readers. Please review at your own risk.

Accelerated Reader has this book listed as being for middle grades, or readers in 4th to 8th grade. They also have listed that this read is worth 5 AR points.

I have loved this series since I was a little girl. It was one of the coolest things when I was a kid. Kids turning into animals? YES PLEASE! I had forgotten how much happens in this first book. It’s very heavy with story plot set-up and action. It’s a little graphic, but I don’t remember it bothering me at all as a kid. Overall, still love this one!

Caution Notes*:
Graphic death, harsh family situations, scary aliens.

Recommended for:
Tweens who are interested in aliens or becoming animals.

Summary:

-Do not read past this point if you would like to avoid spoilers-

The first book introduces each of the five teenagers who are the main characters of the series: Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and Tobias. These five kids come into contact with an alien (an Andalite) who informs them that a race of invasive aliens (Yeerks) are invading the Earth by crawling into the brains of humans. As he is dying, he gives them a power that only Andalites posses, the power to morph into other creatures by copying their DNA. The kids watch the Andalite be killed by an Andalite who is being controlled by a Yeerk. They find that many people, even their loved ones are being controlled by Yeerks and they have to decide whether or not to fight them. By practicing his animal morphs, Jake discovers that his brother Tom has been taken by the Yeerks and is a controller. They figure out where the Yeerks go to eat and regain their strength. They attempt to rescue Tom but almost lose Cassie in the process. At the end of the night, they saved one human, but it wasn’t Tom. All of the kids escaped, but Tobias was in his hawk morph too long and is now trapped forever.

*Caution notes are not to say, don’t read the book. I only include these so that those individuals who have particular themes they do not like to read about or are not ready for their kids to read about are aware. I do not support censoring. :)

ranforingus's review

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4.0

Wow, this book was not at all what I thought when I picked it up years ago...

I actually feel ashamed for not finishing it then.
But those feelings are now in the past because I READ it! And I LOVE it!

And man, am I glad that I did.

Even though it's been 20 years (O_o) since the first book came out, it still reads with amazing ease yet manages to keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time. The introduction of the alien races was so well done I now have a clear mental picture of them that doesn't go away.

And I LOVE it!

The threat of the titular Invasion feels dangerous, the morphing of the bad guy feels disgusting and all the characters feel real. Even the minor ones that only get mentioned once or twice, and that's an amazing thing to do. I didn't even get to pick a favourite character, I can't choose between them! (although Marco's humor is simply awesome :D)

I can't wait to read the next book! Kudos to Katherine Applegate for giving us a series that has aged so very well. I may have found a new obsession :D