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magicalghoul's reviews
52 reviews
La dama del segundo piso by Cristina Policastro
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, and Pedophilia
Minor: Sexual assault
Planeta Azul by Jeanette Winterson
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Love circular stories, love the unending search for a place to call home, love the criticism of consumerism and late stage capitalism.
Not too keen though, on the tendency the narrative had of putting all of humanity in the same bag for the sake of its connecting narrative. I really wish that just as much as it criticized capitalism in-text, it did the same for colonialism— at times it even felt like it was romanticizing it, just for the sake of a metaphor that didn't quite land.
For example I don't think that colonialism and genocide perpetrated by very white nations when "discovering" the "New Worlds", or mass consumerism and ecocide due to corporatocracy, should've been drawn as a parallel to what happened in Rapa Nui (who's never referred by its actual indigenous name) for a cautionary tale. Even less so coming from a white author.
It does have beautiful turn of phrases though, but I think I would've liked it better as a space opera.
Not too keen though, on the tendency the narrative had of putting all of humanity in the same bag for the sake of its connecting narrative. I really wish that just as much as it criticized capitalism in-text, it did the same for colonialism— at times it even felt like it was romanticizing it, just for the sake of a metaphor that didn't quite land.
For example I don't think that colonialism and genocide perpetrated by very white nations when "discovering" the "New Worlds", or mass consumerism and ecocide due to corporatocracy, should've been drawn as a parallel to what happened in Rapa Nui (who's never referred by its actual indigenous name) for a cautionary tale. Even less so coming from a white author.
It does have beautiful turn of phrases though, but I think I would've liked it better as a space opera.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexism
Fatphobia, racism, xenophobia, sexism: The first half takes place in a late stage capitalism super city where all isms are present. They're challenged in text.
Pedophilia/Child Abuse/Trafficking: MC meets a character that wants to look like a teen to please her pedophilic husband. Later on, the MC has to go talk to the husband while he's in a brothel where child trafficking takes place.
Colonialism/Imperialism: Cited and referenced all through the text.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I picked up this book completely blind just based on the fact that it was horror and that it was being heavily talked about. I wasn't familiar with the author before this so discovering as I read that
it was basically a slasher featuring a revenant elk was a wonderful surprise.
The quasi stream-of-thought narration took me some time to grasp but the visuals were really good. That coupled with the way it worked up the tension made me feel like in the middle of a slasher movie, and I could see this being easily adapted as one— There's more than one scene that I couldn't help but picture as a cinematic in my head, specially when they had tinges of other well known horror tropes.
Like Denorah sitting in class and looking out the window only to find Elk Head Woman there, bringing up a similar —and often emulated in horror media— scene with Laurie Strode and Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise, in case anyone was doubting at that point that Denorah would be our final(s) girl
Basketball being so prominent kinda threw me off but that's on me for not being big into sports, although I see what it was going for. And if the match at the end lost me, the following scenes got me back anyways and that's what matters.
And God, that ending!We love closing the cycle of violence and we love women being compassionate to other women and we absolutely love Denorah, whom we're welcoming to the final girl hall of fame.
The fact that I kept at it despite my HUGE aversion to animal death is a testament to how good this book is, I think. It made me feel like I needed to see it all to the the end, and when I put it down between reads it kept haunting me— I saw echoes of it in other media and situations, and I suspect it will keep happening.
After this I'll be reading more books from the author in the future and also going down the list of influences he mentioned in the acknowledgements, that's for sure.
The quasi stream-of-thought narration took me some time to grasp but the visuals were really good. That coupled with the way it worked up the tension made me feel like in the middle of a slasher movie, and I could see this being easily adapted as one— There's more than one scene that I couldn't help but picture as a cinematic in my head, specially when they had tinges of other well known horror tropes.
Basketball being so prominent kinda threw me off but that's on me for not being big into sports, although I see what it was going for. And if the match at the end lost me, the following scenes got me back anyways and that's what matters.
And God, that ending!
The fact that I kept at it despite my HUGE aversion to animal death is a testament to how good this book is, I think. It made me feel like I needed to see it all to the the end, and when I put it down between reads it kept haunting me— I saw echoes of it in other media and situations, and I suspect it will keep happening.
After this I'll be reading more books from the author in the future and also going down the list of influences he mentioned in the acknowledgements, that's for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, and Police brutality
Minor: Drug abuse
Descriptions of gore: All over the book in every death caused by the antagonist. This includes women and children.
Animal cruelty/harm/death: Protagonist shoots a calf that turns out to be pregnant when he later opens her up. It doesn't die at once and both the killing and the gutting process is described.
-A dog almost chokes to death and is later finished off by the antagonist— there's explicit descriptions of the gore.
-Descriptions of gored dog corpses.
Animals attacking people: The dog bites the cheek of one of the protagonist's friends when they rescue him from choking.
-Implication of horses stomping a teen to death.
El vagón de las mujeres by Anita Nair
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Akhilandeswari, una mujer en sus 40s, se cansa de todo y decide irse en un viaje largo en tren. En el vagón conoce a otras cinco mujeres quienes compartirán las historias de su vida con ella y con nosotros. Intercaladas a estas historias, la propia Akhila también comparte cómo ha sido su vida hasta ese momento.
Este libro lo compré en una feria hace años basada sólo en la portada y no lo había no tocado, de hecho aún tenía la lámina protectora cuando lo abrí para leerlo. Pero estoy contenta con lo fortuito de la compra, pues me gustó mucho el libro.
Reboza de esa camaradería y sororidad de cuando las mujeres, con sufrimientos y alegrías en común, se juntan en un sólo sitio. La conclusión es esperanzadora y la prosa es muy bella. Aunque no he leído el original no sentí que la traducción le entorpeciera.
Mi historia favorita fue la de Mari. Amé su temperamento, el hecho de que hayan incluído la experiencia de una mujer pobre (que nota y reclama cuán distinto la tratan las otras mujeres por su estatus social percibido) y además sáfica. Esto último no me lo esperaba.
Tuve que buscar ciertos términos durante la lectura pero era de esperarse pues este libro fue básicamente mi iniciación a la cultura de la india, así que también agradezco la oportunidad para aprender. Aunque quizá no vendría a mal que las versiones internacionales trajeran un glosario.
Me encantó también la inclusión del recetario. Creo que culmina la idea de que este libro además de un intercambio de historias es también un intercambio cultural.
Este libro lo compré en una feria hace años basada sólo en la portada y no lo había no tocado, de hecho aún tenía la lámina protectora cuando lo abrí para leerlo. Pero estoy contenta con lo fortuito de la compra, pues me gustó mucho el libro.
Reboza de esa camaradería y sororidad de cuando las mujeres, con sufrimientos y alegrías en común, se juntan en un sólo sitio. La conclusión es esperanzadora y la prosa es muy bella. Aunque no he leído el original no sentí que la traducción le entorpeciera.
Mi historia favorita fue la de Mari. Amé su temperamento, el hecho de que hayan incluído la experiencia de una mujer pobre (que nota y reclama cuán distinto la tratan las otras mujeres por su estatus social percibido) y además sáfica. Esto último no me lo esperaba.
Tuve que buscar ciertos términos durante la lectura pero era de esperarse pues este libro fue básicamente mi iniciación a la cultura de la india, así que también agradezco la oportunidad para aprender. Aunque quizá no vendría a mal que las versiones internacionales trajeran un glosario.
Me encantó también la inclusión del recetario. Creo que culmina la idea de que este libro además de un intercambio de historias es también un intercambio cultural.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Incest, and Pedophilia
Incesto/Pedofilia/Relación entre un adulto y un menor de edad: Se hacen menciones de casos de mujeres que fueron casadas con familiares que eran mayores que ellas mientras ellas todavía eran menores de edad.
Aborto/Contenido médico: En la historia de Margaret, es forzada por su esposo a abortar en una clínica. La experiencia es narrada a detalle desde su perspectiva en primera persona. Luego, en la historia de Mari, nos cuenta cómo intentó abortar con resultados poco satisfactorios.
Acoso sexual: En la historia de Prabha Devi un hombre llega a su casa y la toca sin su consentimiento. No pasa a mayores.
Violación: Mari, la última mujer en contar su historia, rememora su violación. Igualmente detallado y en primera persona
×××××××××
Incest/Pedophilia/Adult-Minor rl: Mentions of women married off to familiars who are older than them while they were minors.
Abortion/Medical: In Margaret's story she is forced to abort in a clinic by his husband. The experience is recounted in detail and in first person. Later, Mari tells us about the time she tried to unsuccessfully abort.
Sexual assault: In Prabha Devi's story a man arrives at her home and touches her without her consent.
Rape: Mari, the last story, retells her rape. Again in detail and in first person.
The Capture by K.A. Applegate
♢ 6/62 OF THE ANIMORPHS REREAD
Warning for mild spoilers.
The introductions are over, we know the kids and their motives, the basis for their conflict and character arcs has been set, so in this book we, checks notes,
have Jake getting infested by the same aliens he and his friends are risking their lives to save Earth from and to force it out they have to starve it, which means Jake is trapped with a dying alien in his head. And there's 56 more books to go.
I love any narrative where we get a chance to see an outsider's perspective of our heroes. In Animorphs, this book is my favorite showcase of that. The upcoming David arc is another great example of it, but The Capture stands out to me since it's one of the early books and already we see how brutal these kids have to and can be and how much of a unit they already are.
One more reason to like this book: the direct threads connecting Jake's actions here to his future self in the endgame. It's in this book where he's first given the option of killing defenseless yeerks, and he goes and boils them alive. But the yeerks haven't been fleshed out and humanized by the narrative and the kids don't know the nuances of their enemy yet —the concept of seeing the yeerks as nuanced and sentient creatures is only a seed by the end of the book, so readers are characters alike have a surface level understanding of the enemy— so while on a first read you probably don't think much of it, it's horrific on a reread. And it makes Jake's actions in the future even more damning.
Jake being infested by Tom's former yeerk serves to solidify his motive of wanting to save his brother. As a narrative device it also shakes up the usual format of the books a bit and I enjoy that. It also gives us a glimpse of the symbiotic process (I would like to know even more about it please) and a first hand account of the experience as an unwilling host, in case the stakes and the scale of the situation the kids are fighting against wasn't clear enough.
This book marks the debut of other players in the war such as the Crayak and we also get hints that there's more to the Andalites (and their relationship to the Yeerks) than what our heroes have been told.
The descriptions of Jake trapped with the dying Temrash in his head are Haunting, and so is the bit with Temrash torturing Jake with Tom's holdover memories.
As for the audiobook: Loved it, as usual. Another voice that took me some time to get used to but that once I did I enjoyed. Particularly liked Temrash's voice and the Rachel-as-a-valley-girl imitation.
No highlights for the book because I don't even know where to start from. This book is simply a favorite.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
<You are fools,> the Yeerk said, having read my thoughts. <It is madness to fight when you cannot win.>
<Yes, it is foolish. It is crazy,> I agreed. <And it's why we will win.>
♢ 6/62 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.
Warning for mild spoilers.
The introductions are over, we know the kids and their motives, the basis for their conflict and character arcs has been set, so in this book we, checks notes,
I love any narrative where we get a chance to see an outsider's perspective of our heroes. In Animorphs, this book is my favorite showcase of that. The upcoming David arc is another great example of it, but The Capture stands out to me since it's one of the early books and already we see how brutal these kids have to and can be and how much of a unit they already are.
Jake being infested by Tom's former yeerk serves to solidify his motive of wanting to save his brother. As a narrative device it also shakes up the usual format of the books a bit and I enjoy that. It also gives us a glimpse of the symbiotic process (I would like to know even more about it please) and a first hand account of the experience as an unwilling host, in case the stakes and the scale of the situation the kids are fighting against wasn't clear enough.
This book marks the debut of other players in the war such as the Crayak and we also get hints that there's more to the Andalites (and their relationship to the Yeerks) than what our heroes have been told.
The descriptions of Jake trapped with the dying Temrash in his head are Haunting, and so is the bit with Temrash torturing Jake with Tom's holdover memories.
As for the audiobook: Loved it, as usual. Another voice that took me some time to get used to but that once I did I enjoyed. Particularly liked Temrash's voice and the Rachel-as-a-valley-girl imitation.
No highlights for the book because I don't even know where to start from. This book is simply a favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Murder
The Predator by K.A. Applegate
♢ 5/62 OF THE ANIMORPHS REREAD
With Marco we close the "introductory" books. Like his fellow Animorphs, Marco has a stereotypical role he fills (whiny comedy relief) which is how we and the other kids see him but that now that we get to access his inner world, is subverted; he's the most sceptic and cynic of the bunch, the contrarian who has more to lose than to gain if he does fight this war that he went into solely because of his loyalty to his best friend and an alien who died for him, and the humor? He learned it from his mom and it's his very deliberate main defense mechanism— much like fearlessness becomes Rachel's.
Around this time Marco's had way too many close calls (and will continue to have them if memory serves right) and despite how much he cares for his friends (which is to mean Jake), it is family (his depressed dad who's already coping very badly from the loss of Marco's mom) who must take precedence and whom Marco has to pick. He has to pull out.
So, how do you give this type of character a reason to stay and fight instead? And not only that, but with renewed strength? No spoilers, but you corner him and you make it personal.
Just like the rest of the introduction books, is a phenomenal foundation for what's in store for him.
Here we have motive and characterization and in no time we'll get to see how his archetype and the contradictions within him come together to form his contrasts as a character. He's outwardy clowny, sarcastic and aloof but he's also analytic (we see hints of it in his inner thought process during the plan they execute), manipulative (as we'll later see!) and self defines as ruthless.
Yet at the same time he puts all of that brutality he's capable of in service of his friends and family and that's something we already see in this book too. As mentioned before he's initially fighting for Jake and an alien he saw die for him (“And you're wrong, Rachel. That means plenty to me.” is his response when Rachel accuses him of not caring for the alien's sacrifice in book 4) and in fact we're introduced to him at a point in his life when he's being a caretaker to his own dad, a role he'll continue to fulfill one way or another because they sure as hell added "parentification" to his list of traumas.
(And put a pin on that because it's extremely relevant to understand the dubious choices he makes in later books.)
I also love that his contrarian nature contributes to the multiple philosophical debates these kids will have and that that same nature is depicted as an advantage to the group just like Cassie's kindness is:
It allows him to point out faults in the plans and err to caution even if that means he goes against the group, same as Cassie, but not punished for the individuality that shows— it helps that it reminds me of Eric from the Dungeons & Dragons tv series in that regard, so I'm going to assume that "not depicting dissident voices in a group as inherently wrong in children's media" was a conscious choice from the start when writing these books.
As for the audiobook: I'm deeply enjoying the audiobooks so far. Wish Marco's voice were higher in pitch but after listening to it a while I liked it.The narration of Marco seeing Eva alive made me Cry with how emotional his voice got, so good job.
In conclusion, in this house we love Marco.
Highlights: The horror comedy that was the lobster morph, the straight up horror of the ant morph and Marco finding an ant still stuck to him afterwards, Rachel's first public outburst and Marco using his goofy persona for damage control, the Visser 1 reveal, and the confirmation that basically all these kids are having ptsd nightmares now.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.75
I don't know why I was making jokes. I guess that's the way I am. When bad things happen, I tell jokes. But inside I felt sick. Like I had swallowed broken glass.
♢ 5/62 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.
With Marco we close the "introductory" books. Like his fellow Animorphs, Marco has a stereotypical role he fills (whiny comedy relief) which is how we and the other kids see him but that now that we get to access his inner world, is subverted; he's the most sceptic and cynic of the bunch, the contrarian who has more to lose than to gain if he does fight this war that he went into solely because of his loyalty to his best friend and an alien who died for him, and the humor? He learned it from his mom and it's his very deliberate main defense mechanism— much like fearlessness becomes Rachel's.
Around this time Marco's had way too many close calls (and will continue to have them if memory serves right) and despite how much he cares for his friends (which is to mean Jake), it is family (his depressed dad who's already coping very badly from the loss of Marco's mom) who must take precedence and whom Marco has to pick. He has to pull out.
So, how do you give this type of character a reason to stay and fight instead? And not only that, but with renewed strength? No spoilers, but you corner him and you make it personal.
Just like the rest of the introduction books, is a phenomenal foundation for what's in store for him.
Here we have motive and characterization and in no time we'll get to see how his archetype and the contradictions within him come together to form his contrasts as a character. He's outwardy clowny, sarcastic and aloof but he's also analytic (we see hints of it in his inner thought process during the plan they execute), manipulative (as we'll later see!) and self defines as ruthless.
Yet at the same time he puts all of that brutality he's capable of in service of his friends and family and that's something we already see in this book too. As mentioned before he's initially fighting for Jake and an alien he saw die for him (“And you're wrong, Rachel. That means plenty to me.” is his response when Rachel accuses him of not caring for the alien's sacrifice in book 4) and in fact we're introduced to him at a point in his life when he's being a caretaker to his own dad, a role he'll continue to fulfill one way or another because they sure as hell added "parentification" to his list of traumas.
(And put a pin on that because it's extremely relevant to understand the dubious choices he makes in later books.)
I also love that his contrarian nature contributes to the multiple philosophical debates these kids will have and that that same nature is depicted as an advantage to the group just like Cassie's kindness is:
It allows him to point out faults in the plans and err to caution even if that means he goes against the group, same as Cassie, but not punished for the individuality that shows— it helps that it reminds me of Eric from the Dungeons & Dragons tv series in that regard, so I'm going to assume that "not depicting dissident voices in a group as inherently wrong in children's media" was a conscious choice from the start when writing these books.
As for the audiobook: I'm deeply enjoying the audiobooks so far. Wish Marco's voice were higher in pitch but after listening to it a while I liked it.
In conclusion, in this house we love Marco.
Highlights: The horror comedy that was the lobster morph, the straight up horror of the ant morph and Marco finding an ant still stuck to him afterwards, Rachel's first public outburst and Marco using his goofy persona for damage control, the Visser 1 reveal, and the confirmation that basically all these kids are having ptsd nightmares now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Grief, and Death of parent
The death of a parent in the past is central to the plot. Hypothetical child death is discussed multiple times. The narrator's dad is in a depressive episode due to grief. There's mentions and references to the narrator going through parentification as a result of it.
Te llamo desde un muro by Marcos Ana
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Police brutality
Minor: Suicide attempt
El autor estuvo confinado a prisión por un poco más de dos décadas y su poesía tiene como trasfondo los horrores del franquismo. Nada explicito, pero no está mal tener en cuenta las advertencias de contenido.
The Message by K.A. Applegate
♢ 4/62 OF THE ANIMORPHS REREAD
Cassie's books are known being The Weirdest, but they're also the most poetic of the bunch. She is the emotional center of the Animorphs after all, the one most concerned with the moral consequences of the things they have to do to fight the yeerks, and the professed animal lover.
Her main conflict in regards to morphing is present in her first book and it's a shame that I find it to be, huh, too nonsensical to take it seriously (listen, I really Don't think that turning into a brand new copy of an animal puts you on the same level as a slug taking over a different species' brain and ridding it of free will as it watches helplessly) but something I adore about the series is that it's never condescending about Cassie's kindness and her moral concerns.
Instead it portrays them as her strength and defining feature, and ultimately what helps her Survive over the others— something that ties in with the anti-imperialist and anti-war message of the series. I love her.
Highlights: Cassie reaching out and comforting the rest of the team, that really good interaction with Marco on his balcony, anytime the whales appear, AX'S INTRODUCTION.
As for the audiobook: Very very happy with Cassie's casting. Particularly loved the voices she did for the other Animorphs (her Tobias' is spot on and her Marco is hysterical) and the way she narrated the bits where the animal instincts took over were So Fun.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I felt the terrible hatred surge in me again. But I didn't want to end my life that way. I would not die with hate in my heart. That would be one victory I could deny Visser Three.
♢ 4/62 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.
Cassie's books are known being The Weirdest, but they're also the most poetic of the bunch. She is the emotional center of the Animorphs after all, the one most concerned with the moral consequences of the things they have to do to fight the yeerks, and the professed animal lover.
Her main conflict in regards to morphing is present in her first book and it's a shame that I find it to be, huh, too nonsensical to take it seriously (listen, I really Don't think that turning into a brand new copy of an animal puts you on the same level as a slug taking over a different species' brain and ridding it of free will as it watches helplessly) but something I adore about the series is that it's never condescending about Cassie's kindness and her moral concerns.
Instead it portrays them as her strength and defining feature, and ultimately what helps her Survive over the others— something that ties in with the anti-imperialist and anti-war message of the series. I love her.
Highlights: Cassie reaching out and comforting the rest of the team, that really good interaction with Marco on his balcony, anytime the whales appear, AX'S INTRODUCTION.
As for the audiobook: Very very happy with Cassie's casting. Particularly loved the voices she did for the other Animorphs (her Tobias' is spot on and her Marco is hysterical) and the way she narrated the bits where the animal instincts took over were So Fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: Genocide and Grief
The Invasion by K.A. Applegate, Michael Grant
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wasn't too keen on the art style at first (I remember seeing around the internet the rejected pages from other artists and wondering why they'd gone with this style in the end) but after reading, it really grows on you— and I guess it's a better fit for their 8-12 year old target.
The spreads are beautiful and the only complaint I have about the character design is that they didn't give Marco his long hair.
As for the adaptation, it's a very faithful one. There's a couple of minor changes in relation to the books here and there (mainly the omission of the "idiot teenagers with a death wish" phrase which made me sad, not gonna lie) but I ended up happy with it. Hope it ushers in a new generation of Animorphs fans and hope we get to see the entire series in this format!
The spreads are beautiful and the only complaint I have about the character design is that they didn't give Marco his long hair.
As for the adaptation, it's a very faithful one. There's a couple of minor changes in relation to the books here and there (mainly the omission of the "idiot teenagers with a death wish" phrase which made me sad, not gonna lie) but I ended up happy with it. Hope it ushers in a new generation of Animorphs fans and hope we get to see the entire series in this format!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Minor: Child abuse
The Encounter by K.A. Applegate
♢ 3/62 OF THE ANIMORPHS REREAD
Tobias' books are about the search for his identity and personhood, about duality and finding yourself within it, about his role in the group (a theme for all of the animorphs!) and how he stands as a warning for the rest— and also for the reader to know that the stakes are real and will affect our protagonists, in case it wasn't clear from all the death and suffering they've already come across in only two books.
His narration is turned towards interiority and this one being the first, is the peak example of it, I think. It's after all one of those points where Tobias' identity is more fractured (what with Just being trapped in a hawk body and all) to the point of being suicidal, and the narration of his inner conflict is really really gutting— made even more poignant if you're listening to the audiobooks, whose narrator did a great job in carrying across Tobias' emotionality.
Highlights: The depiction of Tobias' relationship with Rachel, the Berensons being such battle axes As Usual, these kids deciding they'd rather die than be taken captive AND WE'RE ONLY ON BOOK 3, the entirety of the mall scene, and Rachel saying "a person isn't his body" and thus supporting the fact that you can 100% read Tobias as trans. TRANS RIGHTS 🏳️⚧️
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<Yeah. I know. That's how I know that you are wrong, Rachel, at least partly. I am a human, yes. But I am also a hawk. I'm a predator who kills for food. And I'm also a human being who... who grieves, over death.>
She was terribly sad. She's very human, my friend Rachel.
♢ 3/62 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.
Tobias' books are about the search for his identity and personhood, about duality and finding yourself within it, about his role in the group (a theme for all of the animorphs!) and how he stands as a warning for the rest— and also for the reader to know that the stakes are real and will affect our protagonists, in case it wasn't clear from all the death and suffering they've already come across in only two books.
His narration is turned towards interiority and this one being the first, is the peak example of it, I think. It's after all one of those points where Tobias' identity is more fractured (what with Just being trapped in a hawk body and all) to the point of being suicidal, and the narration of his inner conflict is really really gutting— made even more poignant if you're listening to the audiobooks, whose narrator did a great job in carrying across Tobias' emotionality.
Highlights: The depiction of Tobias' relationship with Rachel, the Berensons being such battle axes As Usual, these kids deciding they'd rather die than be taken captive AND WE'RE ONLY ON BOOK 3, the entirety of the mall scene, and Rachel saying "a person isn't his body" and thus supporting the fact that you can 100% read Tobias as trans. TRANS RIGHTS 🏳️⚧️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Body horror and Gore