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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: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
housedesignerking's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? No
4.0
I remember seeing these books in my elementary school library as well as in the stores. These were either next to or near the Goosebumps books that were for sale at the time. Gosh, I remember these books and Goosebumps being somewhere between $3.95-$5.95, depending on where you went. At K-Mart, they were always $3.95 a piece in my city.
Someone had told me that each book stood alone much like most of the Goosebumps books, but that's apparently not true. Apparently, it's one big story that spans about 62 books (64 if you count the Altermorphs books, but those weren't written by Applegate). I was also told that each book was about a character slowly morphing into another species, and THAT apparently isn't true, either. This is the stuff that creates trust issues...
We have Jake, the main character, with his friends Marcos, Tobias, and Cassie. There's also Rachel, Jake's cousin, who is a mutual friend of Cassie's. This entire story (62-ish books) starts with all five of them at the mall. After a time at the arcade, they decide to head home. They can either walk the long way home, or get home faster by sneaking through this abandoned construction site. They choose the latter despite Jake's better judgement. What follows is definitely not what I thought would follow.
A space ship flies over head, and before you know it, their seemingly normal life morphs into something off the Syfy/Sci-Fi channel with three different types of aliens eventually appearing. I personally found the one with hundreds of teeth in a huge mouth to be particularly creepy. Honestly, even though this is a "kids' book series" (phooey!), I thought parts of this were a bit creepy and somewhat cringe inducing, and I was a bit surprised by some of the things that appeared in this book. Let's just say some of the things in here would be more expected in a teen fiction than in young adult.
4 out of 5 stars.
Someone had told me that each book stood alone much like most of the Goosebumps books, but that's apparently not true. Apparently, it's one big story that spans about 62 books (64 if you count the Altermorphs books, but those weren't written by Applegate). I was also told that each book was about a character slowly morphing into another species, and THAT apparently isn't true, either. This is the stuff that creates trust issues...
We have Jake, the main character, with his friends Marcos, Tobias, and Cassie. There's also Rachel, Jake's cousin, who is a mutual friend of Cassie's. This entire story (62-ish books) starts with all five of them at the mall. After a time at the arcade, they decide to head home. They can either walk the long way home, or get home faster by sneaking through this abandoned construction site. They choose the latter despite Jake's better judgement. What follows is definitely not what I thought would follow.
A space ship flies over head, and before you know it, their seemingly normal life morphs into something off the Syfy/Sci-Fi channel with three different types of aliens eventually appearing. I personally found the one with hundreds of teeth in a huge mouth to be particularly creepy. Honestly, even though this is a "kids' book series" (phooey!), I thought parts of this were a bit creepy and somewhat cringe inducing, and I was a bit surprised by some of the things that appeared in this book. Let's just say some of the things in here would be more expected in a teen fiction than in young adult.
4 out of 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
jessthanthree's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and War
breadwitchery's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Child abuse and Kidnapping
kstericker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, and Abandonment
lh_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
dosxhime's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
As expected of Mrs. KA Applegate, the author that caused my obsession with war narratives and child soldiers. We delve right into the action, the moral delimeas, the conflict right in the first few chapters and boy am I hyping this up.
The Animorph series means so much to me that I always revisit it whenever I need a little character inspo and how to deal with certain topics. I will say that there are flaws with the series and that is no exception with the first book. It's a tad ridiculous, but I tend to overlook those details in the the face of nightmares and battles involving 13 year olds.
The Invasion starts with Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, and his narration. Each character voice is unique in how they view the war and Jake is no exception. His conflict lies in saving his brother, Tom, from Yeerk control and I find it really touching how devoted he is. Jake is the voice of reason and always takes in consideration both sides of the arguement, which is what makes him a good leader. I can already see the makings of the leader in the first book and I'm so hyped to re-read more of the series.
3.9 / 5 C+
The Animorph series means so much to me that I always revisit it whenever I need a little character inspo and how to deal with certain topics. I will say that there are flaws with the series and that is no exception with the first book. It's a tad ridiculous, but I tend to overlook those details in the the face of nightmares and battles involving 13 year olds.
The Invasion starts with Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, and his narration. Each character voice is unique in how they view the war and Jake is no exception. His conflict lies in saving his brother, Tom, from Yeerk control and I find it really touching how devoted he is. Jake is the voice of reason and always takes in consideration both sides of the arguement, which is what makes him a good leader. I can already see the makings of the leader in the first book and I'm so hyped to re-read more of the series.
3.9 / 5 C+
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
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, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Death
dhrish's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to pick up this series again to see if it holds up to my reading experience as a child. I really have only read bits and pieces of it and have fond memories of waiting for people to return the next issue of the series back to the library so I can read it.
"Animorphs" follows a group of five teenagers who are suddenly thrust with the responsibility of defending Earth against an alien invasion. In "The Invasion" we essentially learn of the group's origin story told from the perspective of Jake their leader. The action is quick and dives into each of the characters lives are done with the awareness only a middle-grade book can pull off.
"Animorphs" follows a group of five teenagers who are suddenly thrust with the responsibility of defending Earth against an alien invasion. In "The Invasion" we essentially learn of the group's origin story told from the perspective of Jake their leader. The action is quick and dives into each of the characters lives are done with the awareness only a middle-grade book can pull off.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
zombiezami's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was always to afraid to read these books or watch the show when I was a kid. Even as an adult, I find the themes pretty intense; the characters are, for all intents and purposes, child soldiers. It seems like it’ll be interesting to continue though
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death, Violence, and Blood