Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Invasion

As expected of Mrs. KA Applegate, the author that caused my obsession with war narratives and child soldiers. We delve right into the action, the moral delimeas, the conflict right in the first few chapters and boy am I hyping this up.

The Animorph series means so much to me that I always revisit it whenever I need a little character inspo and how to deal with certain topics. I will say that there are flaws with the series and that is no exception with the first book. It's a tad ridiculous, but I tend to overlook those details in the the face of nightmares and battles involving 13 year olds.

The Invasion starts with Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, and his narration. Each character voice is unique in how they view the war and Jake is no exception. His conflict lies in saving his brother, Tom, from Yeerk control and I find it really touching how devoted he is. Jake is the voice of reason and always takes in consideration both sides of the arguement, which is what makes him a good leader. I can already see the makings of the leader in the first book and I'm so hyped to re-read more of the series.

3.9 / 5 C+

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freddie_mewcury's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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dhrish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wanted to pick up this series again to see if it holds up to my reading experience as a child. I really have only read bits and pieces of it and have fond memories of waiting for people to return the next issue of the series back to the library so I can read it.

"Animorphs" follows a group of five teenagers who are suddenly thrust with the responsibility of defending Earth against an alien invasion. In "The Invasion" we essentially learn of the group's origin story told from the perspective of Jake their leader. The action is quick and dives into each of the characters lives are done with the awareness only a middle-grade book can pull off.

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I was always to afraid to read these books or watch the show when I was a kid. Even as an adult, I find the themes pretty intense; the characters are, for all intents and purposes, child soldiers. It seems like it’ll be interesting to continue though

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lanidon's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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ramiel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A stellar starter in the series, as I've said in my other reviews: making a solid foundation for the series as a whole to build from. The kids are all so young and unaware of the world around them, just as any first time reader would be jumping in without any spoilers. It's a children's book, it's middle school kids who can turn into animals and fight the forces of evil, Saturday cartoon style. Comic book style, as Marco wishes later ("because the good guys don't die in comic books").

This book carries you along, and while it's a quick read it slowly and carefully reveals the story at hand. While Elfangor's death was an incredible tragedy that shook the kids to the point of being something that they carried with them constantly, while the story starts out with his anguished cries, while detailed and despairing it still doesn't completely reveal everything about to come. That's saved for the yeerk pool.

When the kids get to the yeerk pool, that's when things become clear. "We were so few, and so weak". The kids lost the fight, Tom was recaptured, but one woman went free and the children escaped with their lives, escaped to live and fight another day. The fight at the end turns out to be what the entire series felt to me in the end: a strange juxtaposition of futility and hope both existing in the same place at the same time. This is not an insult, nor is it saying it's "better" than any other story - what it does is make the story it's own, it fits because it was created to fit. Very little feels forced in the first few books, and, again, they serve as a good starting point for the anti-war themes the story seems to convey.

No glory in battle, only tragedy and hope for a day when all is well.

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