Reviews

The Departure by K.A. Applegate

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timegnostic's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve learned, from the wide range of Goodreads reviews for her narrated books, that Cassie is a divisive character. This is mostly due to her moral quandaries that sometimes slow the Animorphs down. But I’ve always loved her – probably because I was a treehugging hippie of a child myself – and as an adult I appreciate even more the bravery it takes to choose the route of nonviolence, even at great personal sacrifice. This book has one of the most beautiful climactic moments in all of Animorphs, and it makes my love for Cassie unshakeable. In this war’s increasing grittiness and hard choices, someone still dares to do the “stupid, crazy, hopeful thing” of trying for peace.

We learn some more, morally-grey lore about the Yeerks in The Departure. It seems obvious to us that enslaving other sentient races is wrong, but the Yeerks have built up a worldview that justifies it. (It wasn’t so long ago that humans were legally enslaving other humans - so it’s not hard to believe.) And the climax hinges on the question that isn’t so easy for any of us to answer: Would we give up sight and a life of mobility for the freedom of a stranger?

From Cassie’s moral anxiety leading to her decision to stop her part in the violence, we set up a crucible for the other Animorphs to display their worst and best attributes. Marco is ruthless from the beginning, not wanting to help Cassie after she’s quit the group and being a primary threat for Cassie to protect Karen from. Rachel wants to rip Karen apart after the revelation that

Spoiler

Cassie morphed a caterpillar

- but even she ends up respecting Cassie’s choice. Tobias is a literal predator, yet he is the most sympathetic to Cassie’s concerns, showing his gentleness and empathy from the body of a hawk. Jake is left no room for his own feelings as he takes the responsibility of making choices for the group. It’s a wonderful snapshot of the group’s dynamics at this point nearly halfway through the series.

The resolution was just plausible enough to not feel too gimmicky, though it still felt a little like a technological deus ex machina. But since Cassie didn’t know about

Spoiler

biological morphing resetting the two-hour clock

, her sacrifice still didn’t feel cheap. Cassie’s bravery, sourced from her moral conviction, means more than any hard-fought firefight.

Miscellaneous observations:
- Cassie describes her regular life as feeling boring now (p.79). This seems very obvious, but it also reminds me of [b:All Quiet on the Western Front|355697|All Quiet on the Western Front|Erich Maria Remarque|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632027397l/355697._SY75_.jpg|2662852], when the soldiers return home for R&R during WWI. It becomes impossible to find joy in ordinary things when the trauma of war is so constant.
- Writing this review after just finishing the David trilogy, The Departure’s emphasis on Cassie’s respect for life makes Rachel’s fixation on her own bloodlust even starker in the next few books. It also makes Cassie’s complicity in the events of that trilogy very dark indeed.
- Random worldbuilding facts about aliens are fun. Yeerks reproduce by 3 of them melding into one grub! Isn’t that charming?

sizrobe's review

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4.0

Cassie's bleeding heart ethics bother me in general, but I found it made for a compelling plot arc this time. It bothered me that everything wrapped up in a happy ending with a neat bow that didn't have any lasting effects, though.