Reviews

The Departure by K.A. Applegate

kateoclaire's review

Go to review page

4.0

I wanted to really love this one, because I think the ethical questions raised are fascinating. Midway through I was ready for a 5⭐ but the second half knocked it down. No spoilers here, but the outcome felt..... super risky, to say the least. Not that I'm surprised, this is the norm with Animorphs. I still love it all!

loreleifae's review

Go to review page

4.0

My heart.

brunettejnas's review

Go to review page

4.0

As a teen I would skip books where I thought the animal was boring. Obviously- huge mistake. Especially in the case of this book. Adding humanity to the enemy- in my YA novel?!

deviki's review

Go to review page

3.0

Books I've read and provided detailed reviews over the years but all data is lost after accidental deletion and GD refuse to restore it back.

Adding books back to my library for my own reference and tracking purposes

the1germ's review

Go to review page

5.0

This book is so f*cking good I'll never get over it. Might be the best in the series.

Following up on Cassie losing her mind over brutalizing that triceratops, homegirl finally has a break down and quits the Animorphs. After leaving and whilst living her life, riding horses and enjoying meadows, she comes across a little girl at the edge of the forest being attacked by a bear. Cassie morphs to rescue her, and the two get lost in the woods. Welp--turns out the little girl is a controller, now she knows that the Animorphs are humans, and getting her back to her parents means signing her friend's death sentences.

Zero percent of my 12 year old brain was ready to process this book when it came out. The bulk of it is spent as a back-and-forth between Cassie and the Yeerk as a little girl, exploring the gray morality of the war, debating who gets to decide which creatures get to live & be protected and which become cattle, confronting the PTSD Cassie is suffering, and her moral struggle with the need to kill this child, but not wanting to... because, well, it's a child. And it turns out, the Yeerk kinda has a point.

Applegate said the following regarding writing this book:

"Sometimes the bad guys of the world come at you guns blazing. Sometimes they come at you wearing a mask, hiding their intentions, deceiving and manipulating, turning one person against another without giving you a fair chance to fight back. Life would be easier all around if evil people would simply announce that they are evil so we could all reject them. But in many cases evil creeps in, hiding behind politics, philosophy, patriotism, law, religion, science, art. Sometimes evil can be very plausible, logical. That's why I've gradually fleshed out the history of the Yeerks. I hope that readers will, on occasion, find themselves thinking, 'You know what, the Yeerks are making sense. They kind of have a point.' It's easy to figure out right and wrong when it's clear as black and white." But the challenge in our lives is "to be able to figure out right and wrong even when the bad guys 'kind of have a point'."


This book had me crying. Cassie was hands down my least favorite character when originally reading the books, and with how much I loathe her narrator in the audiobooks I almost skipped her books entirely in this reread. I'm glad I didn't, because she is by far the most interesting from an adult perspective.

nguyen_vy's review

Go to review page

3.0

Tập truyện này vượt qua cả sự xuất sắc, nó đánh vào nhân sinh quan của mình. Đáng lẽ nếu được cho vượt số sao thì mình đã cho tập này 6 hay 7 sao gì đó :>

teyn's review

Go to review page

5.0

Best Animorphs book thusfar in my opinion. I love that this series doesn't shy away from the ways war changes a person

eash1920's review

Go to review page

5.0

I love Cassie as a foil for the other Animorphs, and she really shines in this book. I admire how she always sticks to her principles, even when her life is at stake.

asktheleaf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'd give this one 6 stars if I could. 
I've been wanting some exploration of yeerk individuality and psychology; I've also been wanting an exploration of Cassies character more, and this book exceeded my expectations on both.
so, Applegate does it again. I'll be thinking about Karen's monologue for a long, long time.

dreadandsolace's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 The Solace: Cassie takes an Animorph timeout in this one, overwhelmed by it all (I can't blame her), but finds herself in a deeper mess. Applegate raises even more moral complexity, thinking about the life of a human vs. the life of a Yeerk in their natural state; if you knew a better life existed, would you take steps to change it? How far would you go? We also learn another morphing technology fun fact. 

The Dread: Repetitive recaps initially, along with an inconsequential plotline to the main story. 

Overall, I love this series and these characters. Really though, I think we need to ask Ax more questions.