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booksthatburn's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Ableism, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Confinement, Violence, and Body horror
Minor: Death of parent
sarahdm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I'm absolute here because of the Lord Ravenscraft video essay on Animorphs. (link at the end) I highly recommend you check that out if you are at all interested in this series (and don't mind some light spoilers).
I will start by saying that I did not read these as a child even though I was in the correct age range for them. This is because 1) My school never had book one available and 2) My family did not have money to spend on the Scholastic book fair. So this is my first time interacting with this series at the age of 30.
This shit absolutely slaps. It is incredibly mature and dark for a series targeted at 3rd graders. It has themes about death, war, personal sacrifice, grief, escapism. All while still keeping it appropriate for the 5-8 year old audience. I recently read the first Percy Jackson book as well and in comparison, The Invasion kept my attention, was less repetitive, and had deeper emotional writing. This feels like Coraline meets Power Rangers. Its got the vibe of a weekly children's TV action show while still having the heavy themes of a psychological thriller.
I will say I'm not sure I'm in love with the entire cast yet. This book is in Jake's point of view, so we only really get to know him. He is very much the reluctant leader, Red Ranger type. And he is so emotionally mature and has incredible insight into the danger of the situation they are currently in. But he still feel like a child. He loves video games, as a crush on a girl, doesn't like math homework, is interested in sports, and idolizes his big brother. He isn't just some one dimensional "leader" character and I have a feeling once I get to other books, I will feel the same way about the rest of the cast.
The only negative is that the books have very dated references. Which makes sense given that Applegate has stated that she took a lot of inspiration for the characters from tween magazines of the time. So I guess Animorphs is just a 90's time capsule in that way.
I also wanna shout out the audiobook. MacLeod Andrews does an AMAZING job with all the voices and emotions. I might pick up Warrior Cats just to listen to him read.
I finally decided to take a dive into Animorphs as a pick me up between books. I do not regret it. I can not wait to get to book two. 10/10 would recommend to all ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPRKzwgqvAA&t=1906s
I will start by saying that I did not read these as a child even though I was in the correct age range for them. This is because 1) My school never had book one available and 2) My family did not have money to spend on the Scholastic book fair. So this is my first time interacting with this series at the age of 30.
This shit absolutely slaps. It is incredibly mature and dark for a series targeted at 3rd graders. It has themes about death, war, personal sacrifice, grief, escapism. All while still keeping it appropriate for the 5-8 year old audience. I recently read the first Percy Jackson book as well and in comparison, The Invasion kept my attention, was less repetitive, and had deeper emotional writing. This feels like Coraline meets Power Rangers. Its got the vibe of a weekly children's TV action show while still having the heavy themes of a psychological thriller.
I will say I'm not sure I'm in love with the entire cast yet. This book is in Jake's point of view, so we only really get to know him. He is very much the reluctant leader, Red Ranger type. And he is so emotionally mature and has incredible insight into the danger of the situation they are currently in. But he still feel like a child. He loves video games, as a crush on a girl, doesn't like math homework, is interested in sports, and idolizes his big brother. He isn't just some one dimensional "leader" character and I have a feeling once I get to other books, I will feel the same way about the rest of the cast.
The only negative is that the books have very dated references. Which makes sense given that Applegate has stated that she took a lot of inspiration for the characters from tween magazines of the time. So I guess Animorphs is just a 90's time capsule in that way.
I also wanna shout out the audiobook. MacLeod Andrews does an AMAZING job with all the voices and emotions. I might pick up Warrior Cats just to listen to him read.
I finally decided to take a dive into Animorphs as a pick me up between books. I do not regret it. I can not wait to get to book two. 10/10 would recommend to all ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPRKzwgqvAA&t=1906s
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Kidnapping, War, Grief, Police brutality, Slavery, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Slavery, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Abandonment, and Death
A named character is eaten alive fairly early, also a boy eats a spider against his will while he is a lizardkaaaaaaaa's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Body horror
Moderate: War, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Death, Bullying, and Vomit
emmsiej95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I don't know what Katherine Applegate was planning with this series. It's aimed at 8 - 12 year old.
I'm 27 and I am traumatised by the body horror and psychological horror in this book.
I loved it.
The kids become Animorphs and need to found out about their new parasitic foes.
I'm 27 and I am traumatised by the body horror and psychological horror in this book.
I loved it.
The kids become Animorphs and need to found out about their new parasitic foes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Colonisation, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
freddie_mewcury's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Death
lanidon's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Death, Torture, Slavery, and Grief
ramiel's review
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.
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.
No glory in battle, only tragedy and hope for a day when all is well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child abuse
This is a series about war, and this is a series about child soldiers. It doesn't pull any punches on those themes or anything related to them. This will go for all 62 books in the series.
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