Reviews

In this book, the Animorphs learn that the Yeerks have taken over a hospital and are infecting everyone that checks in there. They're spurred into action when they discover that their state's Governor, a future presidential candidate, is checking in for surgery there next week. When the Animorphs attempt to destroy the hospital's Yeerk pool, Jake falls in and is infected. Fortunately the Animorphs quickly realize what's happened, and hold him captive for three days until the Yeerk dies of Kandrona starvation.

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This is the most compelling book of the series thus far, as it's our first true glimpse inside the mind of a Yeerk. We not only get to witness a Yeerk's thought patterns and learn about its history, but we also get to see what the experience is like for the host. It was quite upsetting to see that Tom had given up fighting against his Yeerk, and spent every minute basically wishing for death. I was also upset by the Yeerk's recount of how he infected a poor, simple Gedd (their planet's equivalent of monkeys). I'm a total animal lover, so it was disturbing to think about how distressed the Gedd must have been to have this other presence inside his mind. :(

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This wasn’t quite up to the standards of the series so far but still a good read. The part of the book in which Jake is taken over by a Yeerk (not a spoiler as it’s on the cover!) could have been longer, and it takes the other Animorphs a surprisingly short time to realise what’s going on, although possibly if they hadn’t it would have been a bit too dark. Even so, this one gets quite dark at times, especially when

Jake watches the Yeerk die inside his own head

and when

the Animorphs boil a whole jacuzzi full of Yeerks alive

- something which uncharacteristically doesn’t get commented on. The fly morph was well described, although considering recent morphs have included ants and lobsters, the invertebrate theme is getting a little bit old.

I enjoyed getting more exploration of Jake’s relationship with Tom and how the situation is wearing on him, but the pacing of this one is a bit off, so the story drags compared to its usual fast pace.

ETA Another dark element not explored here is that Jake’s parents, who as we know already haven’t noticed their older son has been taken over by an alien, also fail to notice when

Jake is replaced by Ax for three days

. Also I found the Yeerk itself (himself? are Yeerks gendered or is it just Jake who does that?) to be a boring character, predictably evil and without any real motivations beyond power, but the hints that the Andalite-Yeerk backstory may be less black and white are intriguing.

hostboi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.5

goatpush's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

atomicookie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cellardoor10's review against another edition

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5.0

In which we have our first real, emotional, in-depth interactions with a Yeerk. I could do without the cockroach morph descriptions, but this is an iconic moment in the series that I remember having a huge impact on me. I think the ending could have been given a little more room to breathe, a little more chance for reflections from Jake, but overall, this book really breaks up the pattern of previous ones and gives us more insight than ever before. The last third of the book brings so much new information and emotion, it's incredibly well done.

justagiant's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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