Animorphs Re-Read

[cimplybe]

Animorphs #1 - The Invasion

SummarySometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He may tell you about the night he and his friends saw the strange light in the sky. He may even tell you about what happened when they realized the "light" was only a plane - from another planet. Here’s where Jake’s story gets a little weird. It’s where

Comments

[janinedog]

One thing I noticed in this re-read (this is the third time that I'm reading the series) that I don't think I noticed before:

"He just looked at me with those deep, troubled eyes -- eyes I can now see only in my memory." (page 59, Jake referring to Tobias)

This was obviously foreshadowing the end of the book, where we find out that Tobias is trapped in morphed. I'm not sure why I never noticed this line before, but I'm glad I did this time.

And also what was interesting about this is that it's speaking about a future event. I'm not sure where in the series they stop speaking about the future (i.e. this book is written as if Jake is writing about the past, so he already know what's going to happen), but I do know it does stop at some point. At some point the books are written pretty much in present time, I think. Any thoughts?

[fiiishy]

I don't know, they all seem fairly past tense to me.

I never thought about it, but also, how FAR into the future is Jake (and everyone else, for that matter) narrating these books? Because Tobias does actually "get his eyes back" sort of.

[oneinnabun]

I always thought most books were from the point of view of the characters right after the events of the book. That makes the most sense to me.

[iapetusneume]

I thought so too. It reminds me of the cartoon Doug, and how his stories almost always started with him writing in his journal about the adventure they were about to show in the cartoon. (Of course, Doug is also much more lighthearted than Animorphs.)

So it would make sense that Jake can only think about Tobias' human form in memory, because shortly after the book, getting it back just isn't possible.

[maltman]

I didn't reread it, so i may be fuzzy (I'm in the middle of working with two Shakespeares and Paradise Lost, yay college):

In retrospect to the rest of the series, how ballsy and unlikely (their survival, that is) was their trip to the Yeerk pool?

and ten+ years later... I can't imagine they wouldn't have been nabbed based on visiting the closet again after the fact; security cameras and all.

[cimplybe]

Well, this was written in the mid 90s. Were there many security cameras in schools? I can't remember seeing any in my high school except on the front door and the cafeteria.

[maltman]

i know, i'm just thinking in retrospect.

although a supersecret alien organization should have at least brought it up to the board of ed ;-)

[julygreen]

I don't think even the Yeerks could have got decent funding for public schools. =)

[malaven]

First off: I've been waiting for this post all week!! I'm so excited.

When I first started reading the series, I thought it'd be a short series. I kind of figured there'd be a book for each character's point of view, then maybe a super-special kind of book with all their points of view and their victory. I didn't expect it to last for 54 books and for there to be so many different adventures!

When I was reading this book, at the part where they get to the construction site and want to call someone about the Andalite ship, I thought about how different it would be if that happened now with all our technology. The kids would all have had cell phones, probably even camera phones, and what if Jake had called Tom or sent him a picture message of what was happening? They would have been finished! So maybe technology can be a bad thing...

Oh yeah, and I probably would have joined the Sharing, haha. It was a pretty clever move for the Yeerks to have invented it.

[kon_no_yume]

The sharing always seemed a bit too obvious to me. Maybe Tom was just bad at recruiting, or it was just that we got everything from the Animorphs POV, but the Sharing recruiting seemed a bit too forceful to me whenever we came across it.

[aibyouka7]

The Sharing always scared the crap out of me. But then, the Girl Scouts scare me too. They're basically a cult.

[seeyouupside]

I take offense at that Girl Scout comment! *hmph* I was a GS for 3 years, then stopped. Its no cult. (pause) Well maybe. I also was a GS during the late '90s and early '00s so maybe it was different?

[sunshapedgarden]

I hadn't noticed before how effective the first introductions of the characters are: the description of Marco's ability to analyze video games and figure out all the tricks, the story of Jake saving Tobias from the bullies, the exchange where Rachel gets mad at Jake for suggesting she's helpless and Cassie steps in as the peace-keeper. Very good, subtle, character-defining moments.

Here's something I never completely understood: The voluntary Controllers. Elfangor says the Yeerks prefer them because otherwise the hosts can resist. Are they really unable to resist even if they change their minds about wanting to be Controllers after the fact (and if so, how?), or do all those people really just not care about their personal freedom and the freedom of the rest of the planet? Like Rachel, I have a hard time believing that.

[malaven]

I wondered that, too.
But as one of them said... "some people are scum."

[kon_no_yume]

I also adore your icon. I mean to mention that earlier.

[stretch]

For the same reason that people turn to gangs of drugs or self harm - they can't cope and they're desperate to feel included, or better, or special. Back to Before though Tobias's eyes describes the reasoning behind it very well.

[hikari_v]

I think Marco's reaction to a handful of people fighting a whole alien invasion was the most realistic.He had the most supporting reasons to be the most realistic too. His mother's 'death' and having to watch his father fall apart would have had to harden him to reality