A review by magicalghoul
The Invasion by K.A. Applegate

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


This was a place of unimaginable horror. And we were so few, and so weak.

♢ 1/62 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. 

Where to even begin.

Animorphs is one of those pieces of media that I find myself revisiting every few years. It's fantastic despite its flaws and I'm awed and moved by the themes and the treatment every single time. And on a reread it's even more clear that the intent of the animorphs series was never to romanticize war, nor to talk down to its young audience— something crucial, considering the heavy subject matter it was treating. 

The Invasion is a great first installment that sets the basics for every character motivation and the future conflicts they'll face just as well as the theme and tone for the rest of the series: a bleak (albeit not completely hopeless) one that's not here to do pro-war apologism, who will take the premise of "Kids given powers to fight in a war" and take it to it's full realistic potential, one that won't shy away from its portrayal of PTSD and the heavy mantle of war on those who have to fight it.

Also: Petition to recategorize these books as horror because wow, certain passages are scarier than some of the horror media I've consumed recently. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings