The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Slavery, Abandonment, Gun violence, War, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism and Body shaming
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, Confinement, Abandonment, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Animal death
I tagged death of parent but her parents are technically alive just slaves trapped in their own mind and body by alien parasites. The parasites do not love their host's teenage daughter and she doesn't know why. Also an animal who is really a teenage girl is threatened with death but does not actually die. A shrew is focused on maggots and dead flesh.kaaaaaaaa's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Slavery
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, and Murder
kstericker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence, War, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
Minor: Vomit and Torture
skylarkindareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
ulogil's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and War
Minor: Self harm
chicafrom3's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
gracecrandall's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
magicalghoul's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I decided that I don't care what it takes, or how many risks I have to run. I don't care what happens to me. I hate these Yeerks. I hate them. I hate them. And I will find a way to stop them.Â
♢ 2/62 OF THE ANIMORPHS REREAD
 ⚠tws for the entire series: war, death, child soldiers, child death, descriptions of gore, body horror, discussions of parental death, slugs, parasites, loss of free will, depictions of PTSD and trauma, ableism, imperialism.Â
First Rachel book! We love her! Her motives are present here from the get-go but given a more solid form: from the previous book we know that she finds courage to protect others even when she herself is scared to death, and here we have that desire to protect (the others animorphs, Melissa, and then all the kids that have been left loveless and that will be left loveless because of the yeerks) being shaped into the foundation of what the animorphs are fighting for.
With this we're also seeing as one by one the kids start falling into the roles they deconstruct more than embody: Jake as Fearless Leader and Rachel as Blood Knight.
Nothing else to say besides the character-focused content, but once again that's where the draw of the series is.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Stalking
Stalking/Sexual Harassment: Main character gets stalked and harassed by a man on her way home but nothing comes out of it.ramiel's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
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".Â
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.
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.