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emmsiej95's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Marco is nearly boiled alive as a lobster.
They become ants and rival ants tear off their legs and nearly bite Marco in half.
Also, Marc's mother is alive.
Very enjoyable book. I really like the character arcs being set up in these books. I have it on good authority that those pan out, so that's nice for... I was going to say kids fiction but fiction in general, I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Xenophobia
Minor: Torture and War
kstericker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, War, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
ramiel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
As with my previous reviews, the most important thing about this book to me upon REreading is how well it sets up Marco as a character and is the perfect base from which to build his character arc. This book also has one of the most memorable (read: absolutely horrifying) morphs in the series - the ant morph.
(All cws listed also apply for this review.)
Marco is a character who, in the first four books, is the "funny" one, the one who cracks jokes at the worst moments. He's also known as the one who consistently states that the team shouldn't be doing this, that he doesn't want to do this, that he wants to leave because it's dangerous and he doesn't want to die. Of course this is explained: his mother died two years ago, and since then his father has sunk into a deep depression, forcing Marco to be not only his own caregiver, but also to be that of his father. He says aloud several times: if he were to disappear or die, his father wouldn't survive the grief.
To Marco, family and friends, the people he loves, take priority in his mind.
This book takes this and dives deeper into his thoughts, into his home life and his feelings towards his parents, his feelings towards his friends, towards morphing and their secret war and even his sense of humor.
(All cws listed also apply for this review.)
Marco is a character who, in the first four books, is the "funny" one, the one who cracks jokes at the worst moments. He's also known as the one who consistently states that the team shouldn't be doing this, that he doesn't want to do this, that he wants to leave because it's dangerous and he doesn't want to die. Of course this is explained: his mother died two years ago, and since then his father has sunk into a deep depression, forcing Marco to be not only his own caregiver, but also to be that of his father. He says aloud several times: if he were to disappear or die, his father wouldn't survive the grief.
To Marco, family and friends, the people he loves, take priority in his mind.
You probably wouldn't think I was the kind of guy who would cry. Mostly I don't. Mostly I make jokes about things. It's better to laugh than to cry, don't you think? I do. Even when the world is scary and sad. Especially when the world is scary and sad. That's when you need to laugh.
Marco's infamous sense of humor is his biggest coping mechanism towards trauma. He says these things plainly: I'm terrified, so I told a joke. It's something that stays with him three, even six years later - to the end of the war and it's epilogue. It's something his friends don't completely understand - just like Jake and his issues with "leadership", Rachel and her relationship to "violence", Cassie and her internal struggles with "morality and ethics", or Tobias and his "duality". His friends narrative of his joking is far more simplistic than what we see when we get inside Marco's head, to them, yes, he's probably trying to lighten the mood before they rush into danger, but they seem to miss the way he uses it to deflect other emotions, the way he uses humor like an armor to protect him from harm. I don't think this would be a surprise to any reader, but still the comparison between his friends views of him vs his own (and again, each child's view of themself vs the others' views of them) is something that really invested me in these characters.
As in the other four books, Marco's self-introduction is also him solidifying his reason to fight. It's particularly brutal to him, he's nearly killed or lost in morph several times only days before the second anniversary of his mother's death. As I mentioned above, the ant morph is a particular is memorable purely because of how absolutely horrifying it is. The details of the ant war are shocking and claustrophobic, and the image of Marco attempting to become human again as an ant attempts to BITE HIM IN HALF AT THE WAIST is particularly haunting (to both Marco, who mentions this instance several times in later books, and the readers themselves). After days and days of balancing nearly-dying and watching as his father becomes more depressed as the anniversary of his mother's death grows nearer, Marco tells Jake the next mission will be his last - something Jake immediately accepts. Nowhere in this book is there anyone challenging Marco's decision here, it's presented as something understandable and something he, nor anyone, should be ashamed of.
And then, on this final mission, the team is captured, time ticking in their morphs, realizing they're helpless, they're going to die. And then, on this mission that was no longer his final one, Marco is introduced to Visser One: a yeerk controlling the body of his mother. His mother, who is not dead.
Another thing I've seen in each book is the introduction of each child's "hatred" and their reactions to it. Marco, upon seeing his mother, thinks back to when she was "alive", wondering when the relationship he and his mother shared became "pretend", when his mother became a slave and the person who cared for him was actually the parasite in her mind. How long had his mother been a slave, and how long was it that he and his father never realized and were cheerful in their ignorance?
It infuriates him.
His reaction to this reveals a new sort of passion, and he refuses to give up, lay down, and accept defeat. His mother is alive, and his father is still at home alone without either of them. He makes it out, returns home to his father, and does not quit being an "Animorph". Somehow, at the same time as Marco realized his mother was alive, his father also took a step forward. At his mother's empty grave his father apologizes to him and tells Marco that he's going to return to work and try harder from now on. This is a purely stand-alone ending I love, because in a way, in that moment, Marco feels like he's gotten both of his parents back. It's a hopeful note just like the others, and I love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Slavery
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, and Death
Additional cw: this book involves the children nearly being eaten as lobsters and has a very very graphic scene where they're attacked by ants (while in ant morph).
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