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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
catherine_77's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
5.0
bugmancharles's review against another edition
5.0
The great thing about Cassie is, she's the best, and her books are the best in the series.
ffictionist's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
itsmekt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
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? N/A
5.0
joshualeet697's review against another edition
5.0
This one hovers around 4-5 somewhere, but it was a solid story, so I'm giving it a full 5 stars (for what it is).
Normally Cassie makes me groan. She's kind of the kill joy at times. When Rachel wants to leap into battle, Cassie is usually there saying something about how they should be careful and do things in a more sane way. I like Rachel. I don't dislike Cassie, but she's probably one of my least favorite. Ironically, Jake hasn't really taken on a real feeling for me. He seems like a robot every book I read. When I think back to Marco, or Tobias, or Rachel, they've grown on me more. But not Jake so much, and not Cassie.
All that said, this was a good Cassie book. I read it straight through without a break!! Normally I just read Animorphs books in little increments when I've got a moment free here or there with nothing to do.
So, all this said, I liked this book, and for a Cassie book, this was excellent for sure.
SPOILERS
The plot in this one was really intense. Ax getting a Yeerk in his head to help heal him. The Yeerk getting morphing powers and having to decide which morph to stay in for life as a nothlit. A humpback whale. Odd choice. Certainly not one I would consider. I'd probably choose something that lives long. A bird would be tempting, but most aren't that long lived. A turtle lives long, but they're too slow for my tastes. I think a bird would be ideal, quality of life wise, because you could fly anywhere.
Anyways, rant over. This book was intense. Did I mention it was intense? Remember that little girl Karen who was infested? Way back? Anyways, the Yerk, Aftran 942, was saved by Cassie in book 19, The Decision. The deal was that Aftran was to never take another host. This got Aftran in some big trouble in Book 29. So here we have a direct sequel, many books later. And pleasantly written by Melinda Metz, who to my surprise authored the Roswell series of books for which the Television show was based. (I have the ebooks and intend fully to check them out after reading Melinda's excellent writing in this)
That said, the book isn't without flaws. One oddity is that, Ax gets sick, hence the title, and they bring in Erek the Chee to help. But Erek isn't much help. He apparently cannot "restrain" Ax in the event of an attempted escape, we're told. Because Ax is sick, and acting delerious after all. This is odd, because we KNOW from previous books that the Chee CAN restrain people, as long as it does no harm. And where do we draw the line with the Chee and their inabilities? Should they be able to hurt someone, to save their life? I feel like the series makes this whole thing a bit vague.
The Yamphut virus, ends up having Ax infested with Aftran to save him. This leads Ax to absolute terror. He's horrified at first. This is the worst fate an Andalite can suffer after all.
Cassie literally has to perform brain surgery with tools found around her. Hmm, this hole saw looks like it'd do the job. Yikes. A teenage girl performing alien brain surgery with carpentry tools does not sound like the best medical care a person can have bestowed upon them in their time of sickness. But hey, it all works out.
We also had that whole Yeerk jail break bit, which was crazy. Whenever they go into the Yeerk pool it's frightening! They have to watch people release their Yeerk and become themselves again. So the deal was that they had to morph eels this time. But Jake gets sick while going there, and they end up shot out of a firehose when they cancel the mission. SO they get the bright idea to have Cassie morph as a Yeerk and infests Mr. Tidwell and go into the Yeerk pool. Mr. Tidwell is with the Yeerk peace movement, and his host volunteered to stay infested because Mr. Tidwell's Yeerk was fighting for a good cause, against the evil Yeerks. This is the book where we really realize that not all Yeerks are monsters.
Cassie humanizes the Yeerks like never before. Sympathy for the devil. And speaking of the devil, down she goes through the gates of hell (McDonalds), into the Yeerk pool.
She actually saves Aftran, and escapes, and it's a rather dramatic part of the novel. Saving Yeerks. Working with Yeerks. Sympathizing with Yeerks. All things we never thought we would see because they're monsters right?
As it turns out, not every Yeerk is a monster. It's like a reference to racism in a way. People judge the whole, because of the few, in so many cases of racism. They come up with this stereotype of negative traits and assume they fit every person of that race. But with the Yeerks that isn't so. To go from being blind, deaf, and without a voice... to infesting a host... to seeing the world... to being among it... to smell it... to taste... to hear... to communicate... the freedom is surely intoxicating, but it's often at the cost of taking over an unwilling host.
I won't rant any further other than to say, this was an excellent surprise. Not only ghost written, but ghost written WELL!
Normally Cassie makes me groan. She's kind of the kill joy at times. When Rachel wants to leap into battle, Cassie is usually there saying something about how they should be careful and do things in a more sane way. I like Rachel. I don't dislike Cassie, but she's probably one of my least favorite. Ironically, Jake hasn't really taken on a real feeling for me. He seems like a robot every book I read. When I think back to Marco, or Tobias, or Rachel, they've grown on me more. But not Jake so much, and not Cassie.
All that said, this was a good Cassie book. I read it straight through without a break!! Normally I just read Animorphs books in little increments when I've got a moment free here or there with nothing to do.
So, all this said, I liked this book, and for a Cassie book, this was excellent for sure.
SPOILERS
The plot in this one was really intense. Ax getting a Yeerk in his head to help heal him. The Yeerk getting morphing powers and having to decide which morph to stay in for life as a nothlit. A humpback whale. Odd choice. Certainly not one I would consider. I'd probably choose something that lives long. A bird would be tempting, but most aren't that long lived. A turtle lives long, but they're too slow for my tastes. I think a bird would be ideal, quality of life wise, because you could fly anywhere.
Anyways, rant over. This book was intense. Did I mention it was intense? Remember that little girl Karen who was infested? Way back? Anyways, the Yerk, Aftran 942, was saved by Cassie in book 19, The Decision. The deal was that Aftran was to never take another host. This got Aftran in some big trouble in Book 29. So here we have a direct sequel, many books later. And pleasantly written by Melinda Metz, who to my surprise authored the Roswell series of books for which the Television show was based. (I have the ebooks and intend fully to check them out after reading Melinda's excellent writing in this)
That said, the book isn't without flaws. One oddity is that, Ax gets sick, hence the title, and they bring in Erek the Chee to help. But Erek isn't much help. He apparently cannot "restrain" Ax in the event of an attempted escape, we're told. Because Ax is sick, and acting delerious after all. This is odd, because we KNOW from previous books that the Chee CAN restrain people, as long as it does no harm. And where do we draw the line with the Chee and their inabilities? Should they be able to hurt someone, to save their life? I feel like the series makes this whole thing a bit vague.
The Yamphut virus, ends up having Ax infested with Aftran to save him. This leads Ax to absolute terror. He's horrified at first. This is the worst fate an Andalite can suffer after all.
Cassie literally has to perform brain surgery with tools found around her. Hmm, this hole saw looks like it'd do the job. Yikes. A teenage girl performing alien brain surgery with carpentry tools does not sound like the best medical care a person can have bestowed upon them in their time of sickness. But hey, it all works out.
We also had that whole Yeerk jail break bit, which was crazy. Whenever they go into the Yeerk pool it's frightening! They have to watch people release their Yeerk and become themselves again. So the deal was that they had to morph eels this time. But Jake gets sick while going there, and they end up shot out of a firehose when they cancel the mission. SO they get the bright idea to have Cassie morph as a Yeerk and infests Mr. Tidwell and go into the Yeerk pool. Mr. Tidwell is with the Yeerk peace movement, and his host volunteered to stay infested because Mr. Tidwell's Yeerk was fighting for a good cause, against the evil Yeerks. This is the book where we really realize that not all Yeerks are monsters.
Cassie humanizes the Yeerks like never before. Sympathy for the devil. And speaking of the devil, down she goes through the gates of hell (McDonalds), into the Yeerk pool.
She actually saves Aftran, and escapes, and it's a rather dramatic part of the novel. Saving Yeerks. Working with Yeerks. Sympathizing with Yeerks. All things we never thought we would see because they're monsters right?
As it turns out, not every Yeerk is a monster. It's like a reference to racism in a way. People judge the whole, because of the few, in so many cases of racism. They come up with this stereotype of negative traits and assume they fit every person of that race. But with the Yeerks that isn't so. To go from being blind, deaf, and without a voice... to infesting a host... to seeing the world... to being among it... to smell it... to taste... to hear... to communicate... the freedom is surely intoxicating, but it's often at the cost of taking over an unwilling host.
I won't rant any further other than to say, this was an excellent surprise. Not only ghost written, but ghost written WELL!
kaia_ball_writes's review against another edition
5.0
Likely my favorite so far. Cassie's morality transformed into action, with problem solving she alone is capable of in the group. A great installment
justagiant's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
mmmichelle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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