A review by eleanorjmca
The Message by K.A. Applegate

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Probably my favourite of the series yet. Cassie was always my favourite as a child, and her POV reads really refreshingly differently than the others we’ve seen - she is noticeably more empathetic, able to read the rest of the team and understand their emotions and motivations in a way the other narrators dwell on much less often, and her central conflicts are touching and relatable. She’s worried about the morals of morphing an intelligent creature, wondering explicitly if it’s that different to what the Yeerks do, and in a really compelling character-based plot line, she’s afraid to take responsibility for any decisions that might put her friends in danger. All of this makes her POV a joy to read. Plus the plot of this story is really great, the pacing is excellent, there are loads of different and really fun morphs, and
we get to meet Ax for the first time
! The underwater fighting is also a great novelty, if even more violent than is usual for this series.

It’s funny that these kids’ books from nearly 30 years ago contain scenes more mature than lots of “adult” literature; in this case the scene that really struck me was
the disappointment the team feel when they realise the Andalite they’ve saved is just a child, like them, and not someone who can relieve them of their responsibilities or tell them what to do
. In some ways the whole book revolves around this scene, amid broader themes of responsibility and duty. 

The only thing I disliked about this book was
the vaguely mystic communication with the whale
. One of the things I love about this series is its very loving but realistic portrayal of animals, and repeated statements that animals don’t think like humans - for example, the story of the hawk from the previous book. So I thought this was a little bit over that line into something less realistic. I almost took a quarter of a star off for that, but honestly, it’s only a very minor gripe and the rest of the book was pretty much flawlessly done, including the final scene
where Cassie realises she feels guilt over something the dolphins neither understand nor care about
, so I decided it could keep all its stars. A fantastic book.
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