Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Visitor by K.A. Applegate

2 reviews

phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is the 2nd book in the series. It does a great job of expanding on the teens understanding of their new abilities and the narration by Rachel gives a welcome different perspective.

That being said, I have some problems with this one, starting with the concept of

morphing outfits. It makes no sense, and the argument that this is a book meant for kids does nothing to change that. It is clearly a sloppy throwaway device the adults in charge threw into the story to make it clear that teens could never possibly be nude near each other. Oh no kids, don't worry. Nudity isn't real. Bodies are shameful  You'll never have to change your clothes in gym class.

I feel like if a kid is mature enough to read about war, harassment, and death, this shouldn't be a problem either. 

Also,

Cassie is somehow 80 pounds? In one of the early chapters, it clearly states that she is fully morphed back into her human form, except that she still has her bird wings and that she could not fly like this because her body is 80 pounds. According to average growth patterns published by the CDC and the Cincinnati Children's hospital, this would only be normal if she was the shortest and skinniest possible for her age group, which is very unlikely.

What is she 8 years old? This is a teen girl who is active and healthy. Any young girl reading this is going to question if this is normal, and media that perpetuates weird characterizations like this only steers girls toward disorders. 

And finally...
Marco is the most ignorant boy on the planet when it comes to girls.

In one chapter, he calls ugly girls skanks. In another, he berates Rachel, calling her dumb for using her morph to protect herself from getting kidnapped and raped. Rachel is left feeling guilty and ashamed.

Keep in mind, they are teenagers who have been traumatized repeatedly over the previous week so this is yet another thing Rachel has to process.

I have always loved the series, even as a kid, but this one was never my favorite.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

ramiel's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This is, very much, my favorite of all the "introduction" books. Partially because Rachel is my favorite of the animorphs, and partially because I'm absolutely fascinated with the Chapman family despite them being background characters (Iniss, Hedrick's yeerk, is technically the antagonist we deal with when we deal with "Chapman", its only in Andalite Chronicles that Chapman himself is an antagonist - which is also part of what makes this book so fascinating to me, but that's an essay for another day).

Like all the characters, Rachel has a role she has to embody, and that's being the "brave, reckless one" (later twisted into "the violent one") - a role we see comes not exactly from being a "danger junkie" or "made for war" (as she's often described) but from a very deep protective instinct. Despite what we see and will see from the eyes of everyone else, Rachel's determination to fight is solidified not on a whim or due to a need for excitement but out of the righteous fury she feels when she sees the Chapman family's new dynamic.  

Next time Marco asked why we were fighting the Yeerks, I knew I would have a whole new answer. Because they destroy the love of parents for their daughter. Because they made Melissa Chapman cry in her bed with no one to comfort her but a cat.

The way I see Rachel is less of a "warrior" and more of a "martyr" - she sees someone suffering, someone in pain, and jumps in front of them, fighting tooth and nail to protect them. We see this from Jake's point of view in book one, when Cassie and Tobias are scared she holds them both and has "strength enough to share" despite being "terrified with tears running down her face". 

Rachel's starting point in the war, her base, the reason she wants to fight isn't because "she wants to fight", it's because she would rather bleed to death than let anyone suffer. Any moment in later books when she self-reflects upon herself in horror is almost always when she's caused an innocent any sort of harm, and she even states aloud that she "does the dirty work, so that her friends don't have to do it". In later books we see this get twisted as with all the other kids (as war does), but it still all comes from this baseline feeling of duty towards others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Torture

Sexual assault: only a mention in the first few pages of the book. Rachel is walking home alone and some men follow her, catcalling and jeering, with the threat of this implied.