Reviews

The Visitor by K.A. Applegate

kimbeey13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

smo's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

2.5

junojunejunie's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

1.5

justagiant's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

mondays's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

winterkeep's review against another edition

3.0

2024 re-read

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2012 read: 7/10

merry_portenseigne's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

goatpush's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

eleanorjmca's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This second instalment of the series isn’t as fast paced and action-packed as the first, but actually it works very well as a second book. Switching POV characters gives Rachel some character development, and the slower pace allows for more exploration of the impacts of the war on innocent people like Rachel’s friend Melissa. That’s not to say this book is boring though - the final scenes

when Rachel has been captured

are incredibly tense! I remember really loving the descriptions of the cat morph as a child, and they were equally fun to read this time round. 

Some elements were a little more far fetched than in the first book - that Chapman

has a direct line to Visser Three in his basement and happens to be Rachel’s best friend’s father

is extremely convenient - but it’s never too grating. My only other real criticism was that the standard kids’ book practice of filling in all the backstory for the benefit of anyone who hadn’t already read book 1 was a bit tedious and time-consuming in such a short book, but the POV change at least gave a slightly different perspective on the events of book 1. 

A key point introduced in this book is the idea that

hosts can rebel against the Yeerks; this is directly compared with the animorphs struggling to control their morphs

. I’ll be interested to see where this goes as the series develops! 

atomicookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5