Reviews

The Departure by K.A. Applegate

asktheleaf's review against another edition

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

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. 

hstapp's review

3.0

The least fighting and most emotional Animorphs to date. Quite a difference from the rest of the series so far, but an enjoyable one.

lycheecha's review

5.0

It's easy to get caught up in all the action and humans vs Yeerks dynamic and forget everything else. Cassie gets uncomfortable with how she's more and more willing to enact violence and abandon her morals and decides to leave out of guilt. She's always incredibly stuck to her morals, which makes her almost foolishly idealistic and comes off a little holier than thou at times, but here we get to see where empathy can take us. Jake said it best. "But if we win and someday it's all over, you'd better hope there are still plenty of Cassies in the world. You'd better hope that not everyone has decided it's okay to do whatever it takes to win."

irisfang's review

adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.75

kartrick's review

5.0

FUCKING FEELS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE BEST BOOK SO FAR!!!

I mean, who knew there was such a brilliant author as KA Applegate? Sure, there are times when she bores us, but that happens to everyone.

Simply the best so far in these 20 or so books.

Boy.

mgm9816's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

It didn’t take long for the Animorphs series to hit its stride. The Departure is Animorphs at its best. Cassie is the beating heart of the team, and she is confronted with seriously tough moral quandaries in this book.This is a touching, poignant look at both sides of the Andalite-Yeerk War with some classic Animorphs cheesiness sprinkled in (an escaped leopard?) and it is probably my favorite entry so far. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Body horror

leontyna's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

kendiepants's review

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

alternbruno's review

4.0

Fi