Book Number: 1
Written by: Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant
Pages: 188
Narrator: Jake
Synopsis
Jake and Marco are two teens walking home from losing money at an arcade who eventually meet up with Jake's cousin Rachel and her friend Cassie, and some loser named Tobias who is the new kid in town and just follows Jake because he's the only one who's been nice to him so far. They take a shortcut through a construction site because that's not creepy at all and there is no way a murderer is lurking around in there.
Well, there isn't. There are a few aliens though.
A space ship crash lands in the construction site right in front of them, and a dying blue centaur-like alien with a scorpion tail stumbles out. Claiming he is Prince Elfangor of the Andalite race, he warns the five kids that their world is being invaded by an alien race called the Yeerks, a group of space slugs that climb in through the ear and control the brain. (Autocorrect alert, my messaging keeps trying to switch the word "Yeerk" to "Jerk," which I think is hilarious. "We're being invaded by a bunch of JERKS!") They've already enslaved other races, like the bladed dinosaur Hork-Bajir and ugly giant insectoid Taxxons, and now wish to enslave mankind because there are so many of us and we'd make great cannon fodder.
Without much time to spare, Elfangor comes to the sudden realization that he's telling this to a group of kids and they can't do shit about it. So he has Jake grab some cube from his space ship and has them each touch it.
Come on. Just touch my cube. You know you want to.
The cube gives them each the power to change into whatever creature they can acquire the DNA from by simple touch. AKA from now on they can all morph into animals. But they can only stay morphed for two hours, otherwise they'll stay trapped in their form.
Soon after, another ship comes and Elfangor makes the teens hide. Out of the new ship comes Yeerk controlled Hork-Bajir and Taxxons, led by an Andalite controlled by a Yeerk named Vissor Three, the only Yeerk who has successfully captured an Andalite body. Vissor Three gloats some exposition for a little bit and then morphs into a space monster and swallows Elfangor whole. Hiding off to the side, the kids are soon spotted by a Hork-Bajir and are forced to run. Evading capture, they each make it to their homes and try to convince themselves they're in some nightmarish dream.
The next morning, Tobias visits Jake and claim that he's done it: he successfully turned into an animal, in this case his cat, Dude. Jake, trying to convince himself this was all a dream, doesn't believe him, so Tobias turns into a cat right in front of him.
I'd be like, motherfucker, if you shed on my shit, we can't fight aliens together.
Tobias morphs back, completely nude because they can't morph clothes because of course not. Clothes have nothing to do with DNA. Tobias gets dressed and they hunt down Jake's dog, Homer. Jake acquires Homer's DNA and then turns into a dog. Now convinced this is all real, Jake and Tobias head over to Cassie's house to meet the others, where they find Cassie has morphed into a horse and has figured out a way to morph clothing. See, using pure Saturday morning cartoon logic, the book series works around the problematic underage girl nudity by saying that it's possible to morph skin-tight clothing like a leotard, just not loose, normal duds. This 100% makes sense.
They are soon visited by a police officer who questions them about a group of teens who were "setting off fireworks" at the construction site and are in a lot of trouble. This is a great look for the police department, going from house to house and going "You got any leads? Because we don't know shit." They all say they know nothing about it, because this police officer obviously has a Yeerk in his head. The officer invites the kids to a group called "The Sharing," because that's what every kid wants, a strange adult inviting you to a secret meeting. "C'mon! Share with me! I'll share with you!"
After the cop leaves, the whole situation begins to feel too real and they debate what to do about the whole thing. Rachel and Tobias want to fight, Jake and Cassie feel uneasy, while Marco wants no part of it, claiming his dad already lost his mother, so he can't lose Marco too. Jake and Marco head to Jake's house to play video games and try to take their mind off things. Once there, they're questioned about the kids that were playing with fireworks again, this time by Jake's brother Tom. When they plead ignorance again, Tom invites them to "The Sharing."
Once Tom leaves the room, Marco points out the obvious: Tom's a Controller (a person controlled by a Yeerk).
Jake is pissed about this. TAKE IT BACK, DICKWEED! But, you know, no shit? The writing here is not exactly subtle, and if Jake's in denial about it, he's an idiot. Soon after, Tobias enters the room as a hawk, which he acquired at Cassie's veterinarian ranch. He really likes the hawk morph, because flying is amaze-balls! (This is called foreshadowing. Take note of this.) They fill Tobias in on Marco's suspicions, and they decide to check out the Sharing, believing it could potentially be a front for a Yeerk Pool, a rejuvenation pool that Yeerks have to go back to every few days or they shrivel up and die. They go downstairs and tell Tom they want to come to a meeting.
The gang goes to a beach bonfire type meeting where everyone in the Sharing hangs out. They don't think anything's too suspicious on the surface level, but Jake decides to snoop further. He turns into a dog and follows members around to the super secret meeting inside the super secret club, where he discovers that their Principal, Mr. Chapman, is a Controller as well. Thinking maybe following Chapman might lead to some intel the Yeerks, Jake decides to spy on him the next day during school. He morphs into an anole lizard and follows Chapman, who leads him into a secret entrance underneath the school in a maintenance closet.
Now believing that the Yeerk Pool is underneath the school, the group of "Animorphs," as Marco calls them (because of course they ham-fistedly entered the title of the series into the book like that), they decide they need "more firepower" and acquire more dangerous morphs at a zoo called The Gardens, where Jake acquires a tiger, Marco acquires a gorilla, and Rachel acquires an elephant. They then agree to meet up at the school that night when Sharing members agree to gather, including Tom. They do so, but Cassie doesn't show up. They soon discover that Cassie has been abducted by the policeman Controller that was questioning them earlier, intending to turn her into a Controller. Jake, Marco, and Rachel then decide to sneak in, posing as Controllers, while Tobias watches over as a hawk.
They successfully infiltrate the Yeerk Pool cavern under the school, which is much bigger than they thought (like, city wide). They start to form a plan when they are seen by someone who notices they aren't supposed to be there. They manage to evade capture long enough for Jake to morph into the tiger, Marco the gorilla, and Rachel the elephant, where they rampage and make all hell break loose. They try to free as many humans as they can, including Cassie and Tom, and escape from the cavern, with Cassie joining them in horse morph.
Soon they are confronted by Vissor Three, who does a bad guy "Well, well, well..." speech, concluding that they are surviving Andalites from Elfangor's ship, having not seen these human kids turn into animals. He then turns into another space monster that shoots fire at them. In the ruckus, Tom and most of the other humans are recaptured, Tobias is separated from the group, and the Animorphs are forced to retreat.
All in all, they managed to save one woman from the Yeerks in this highly successful mission. I have to say I'm very curious what happened to her, because to my knowledge, they just say they freed her, then there is no mention of her ever again in the entire series. How the fuck does this woman go back to her normal life after seeing the inside of an alien slug infestation? Are you really expecting me to believe the Yeerks weren't looking for her after this? Whatever happened to this nameless woman, I assure you she's either 1) paranoid as fuck and is in hiding for the rest of her life, 2) recaptured and turned into a Yeerk again, or 3) found and straight up disintegrated because she knows too much. Job well done, Animorphs! You did it!
Anyway, Jake returns home, feeling like a failure. The next day, Tobias flies in through his window in hawk form, having successfully escaped the Yeerks. Except there is one problem: he stayed in hawk form for more than two hours hiding from the Yeerks and now is trapped as a hawk forever.
And on that happy note, this first adventure ends.
Soon after, another ship comes and Elfangor makes the teens hide. Out of the new ship comes Yeerk controlled Hork-Bajir and Taxxons, led by an Andalite controlled by a Yeerk named Vissor Three, the only Yeerk who has successfully captured an Andalite body. Vissor Three gloats some exposition for a little bit and then morphs into a space monster and swallows Elfangor whole. Hiding off to the side, the kids are soon spotted by a Hork-Bajir and are forced to run. Evading capture, they each make it to their homes and try to convince themselves they're in some nightmarish dream.
The next morning, Tobias visits Jake and claim that he's done it: he successfully turned into an animal, in this case his cat, Dude. Jake, trying to convince himself this was all a dream, doesn't believe him, so Tobias turns into a cat right in front of him.
I'd be like, motherfucker, if you shed on my shit, we can't fight aliens together.
Tobias morphs back, completely nude because they can't morph clothes because of course not. Clothes have nothing to do with DNA. Tobias gets dressed and they hunt down Jake's dog, Homer. Jake acquires Homer's DNA and then turns into a dog. Now convinced this is all real, Jake and Tobias head over to Cassie's house to meet the others, where they find Cassie has morphed into a horse and has figured out a way to morph clothing. See, using pure Saturday morning cartoon logic, the book series works around the problematic underage girl nudity by saying that it's possible to morph skin-tight clothing like a leotard, just not loose, normal duds. This 100% makes sense.
They are soon visited by a police officer who questions them about a group of teens who were "setting off fireworks" at the construction site and are in a lot of trouble. This is a great look for the police department, going from house to house and going "You got any leads? Because we don't know shit." They all say they know nothing about it, because this police officer obviously has a Yeerk in his head. The officer invites the kids to a group called "The Sharing," because that's what every kid wants, a strange adult inviting you to a secret meeting. "C'mon! Share with me! I'll share with you!"
After the cop leaves, the whole situation begins to feel too real and they debate what to do about the whole thing. Rachel and Tobias want to fight, Jake and Cassie feel uneasy, while Marco wants no part of it, claiming his dad already lost his mother, so he can't lose Marco too. Jake and Marco head to Jake's house to play video games and try to take their mind off things. Once there, they're questioned about the kids that were playing with fireworks again, this time by Jake's brother Tom. When they plead ignorance again, Tom invites them to "The Sharing."
Once Tom leaves the room, Marco points out the obvious: Tom's a Controller (a person controlled by a Yeerk).
Jake is pissed about this. TAKE IT BACK, DICKWEED! But, you know, no shit? The writing here is not exactly subtle, and if Jake's in denial about it, he's an idiot. Soon after, Tobias enters the room as a hawk, which he acquired at Cassie's veterinarian ranch. He really likes the hawk morph, because flying is amaze-balls! (This is called foreshadowing. Take note of this.) They fill Tobias in on Marco's suspicions, and they decide to check out the Sharing, believing it could potentially be a front for a Yeerk Pool, a rejuvenation pool that Yeerks have to go back to every few days or they shrivel up and die. They go downstairs and tell Tom they want to come to a meeting.
The gang goes to a beach bonfire type meeting where everyone in the Sharing hangs out. They don't think anything's too suspicious on the surface level, but Jake decides to snoop further. He turns into a dog and follows members around to the super secret meeting inside the super secret club, where he discovers that their Principal, Mr. Chapman, is a Controller as well. Thinking maybe following Chapman might lead to some intel the Yeerks, Jake decides to spy on him the next day during school. He morphs into an anole lizard and follows Chapman, who leads him into a secret entrance underneath the school in a maintenance closet.
Now believing that the Yeerk Pool is underneath the school, the group of "Animorphs," as Marco calls them (because of course they ham-fistedly entered the title of the series into the book like that), they decide they need "more firepower" and acquire more dangerous morphs at a zoo called The Gardens, where Jake acquires a tiger, Marco acquires a gorilla, and Rachel acquires an elephant. They then agree to meet up at the school that night when Sharing members agree to gather, including Tom. They do so, but Cassie doesn't show up. They soon discover that Cassie has been abducted by the policeman Controller that was questioning them earlier, intending to turn her into a Controller. Jake, Marco, and Rachel then decide to sneak in, posing as Controllers, while Tobias watches over as a hawk.
They successfully infiltrate the Yeerk Pool cavern under the school, which is much bigger than they thought (like, city wide). They start to form a plan when they are seen by someone who notices they aren't supposed to be there. They manage to evade capture long enough for Jake to morph into the tiger, Marco the gorilla, and Rachel the elephant, where they rampage and make all hell break loose. They try to free as many humans as they can, including Cassie and Tom, and escape from the cavern, with Cassie joining them in horse morph.
Soon they are confronted by Vissor Three, who does a bad guy "Well, well, well..." speech, concluding that they are surviving Andalites from Elfangor's ship, having not seen these human kids turn into animals. He then turns into another space monster that shoots fire at them. In the ruckus, Tom and most of the other humans are recaptured, Tobias is separated from the group, and the Animorphs are forced to retreat.
All in all, they managed to save one woman from the Yeerks in this highly successful mission. I have to say I'm very curious what happened to her, because to my knowledge, they just say they freed her, then there is no mention of her ever again in the entire series. How the fuck does this woman go back to her normal life after seeing the inside of an alien slug infestation? Are you really expecting me to believe the Yeerks weren't looking for her after this? Whatever happened to this nameless woman, I assure you she's either 1) paranoid as fuck and is in hiding for the rest of her life, 2) recaptured and turned into a Yeerk again, or 3) found and straight up disintegrated because she knows too much. Job well done, Animorphs! You did it!
Anyway, Jake returns home, feeling like a failure. The next day, Tobias flies in through his window in hawk form, having successfully escaped the Yeerks. Except there is one problem: he stayed in hawk form for more than two hours hiding from the Yeerks and now is trapped as a hawk forever.
And on that happy note, this first adventure ends.
Observations
I'm not going to bother doing any sort of critique of these books, because it's pointless. Their relevance is mostly stuck in the 90's, and judging them from an adult perspective is nonsensical. That doesn't mean I can't point out thoughts I had while reading it!
Why was Animorphs popular? Well, there a lot of things that were trendy at the time that Animorphs played into. 90's teens were very big into the "we're all alone and nobody gets me" vibe. I'm sure all teenagers from every era have that, but it seems that 90's teens were the most emo and paranoid about it. I'd point out one of the more popular horror movies at the time, 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer, as an example of something playing up that "Can't trust anyone but myself" melodramatic paranoia and cashing in huge off of the modern stylistic trend of it. If you want to understand moody 90's teens, that's the movie you want to watch. It's not a good movie, but it exemplifies our mindset.
Animorphs is not so different. It's a bit moody, as it plays with that idea of "everyone is out to get me" and puts a full blown Invasion of the Body Snatchers twist on it. It just plays to a younger audience with some other trends that would appeal to them, what with aliens and superpowers and whatnot. It takes that teenage paranoia trend and merges it into a more kid-friendly superheroes fighting back trend to create something that will appeal to an audience in the middle ground section.
Characters are kept as simple archetypes. One's a leader, one's a fighter, one's a pacifist, one's a jokester, and one's a rogue. There is very little about these characters defining them other than these traits. One thing that makes this work in its favor is that all these years later, I still remember theses characters. They're easy to remember because they're so simple, and yet reading them again was like welcoming back old friends.
And yet, there are certain things that as a kid you blindly accept about their characteristics, though they feel odd reading them all these years later. The one thing that felt glaring to me was the romantic pairings, because tween books gotta have a romance. Jake pretty much blurts out in narration that he like-likes Cassie, which is honestly something no 13-year-old-boy would tell, exposition or not, to a total stranger. That being said, his feelings for Cassie don't come into play in the book, so it's really just some weird confession. A smarter play would be just keeping things to simple observations Jake makes about Cassie, like his narration that he "likes her hair short" or the like. That gets the point across without beating the reader over the head.
But then again, they try to play it subtle with the other romantic pairing, which is Rachel and Tobias, and it's just awkward. There are little points in the book that hint of their excessive feelings of the like-likes without bluntly stating it, but this pairing is so cringy because Rachel and Tobias don't share a lot of dialogue together in this book, and when they do, it's always that hint of "SIGNALS." For all intents and purposes, these two have just met during an alien invasion, and they have already decided they're into each other. Someone turn the hose on them.
Okay, rant over. I like Rachel and Tobias. I think they were my favorite Animorphs growing up, because my favorite characters usually are the "fighter" and the "rogue." It's just...yeesh.
Anyway, in less anal observations...this whole Animorphs thing is hopelessly 90's isn't it? I mean, it's not just that this book came out in the 90's, it's that it seems intent on dating itself so suddenly with many current and trendy pop culture references and the like (Xena, Warrior Princess will be mentioned a few thousand times by the time the series ends). I became stuck at a part early on because Tobias had a cat named "Dude." I had to remind myself that in the 90's, surf lingo was still commonplace, though by the time this book came out it was really starting to fade. Then I find out that Jake's dog is named "Homer" and I'm like "GAHHHHHHHH! 90'S!" I know The Simpsons was at peak popularity in 1996, but naming your dog "Homer" just seems like animal abuse today.
Random thoughts: When Rachel turns into an elephant in the climax, it's played as a surprise reveal. Something I didn't notice as a kid is that she is portrayed as an elephant through description only for a fairly long period of time ("leathery skin," "tusks," "big feet"), and someone only says the word "elephant" a few pages later. As a kid, I understood what the animal was without them saying the word, because who doesn't know what an elephant looks like, but still this seems weird to me. Also, Cassie being captured by the police officer is surprisingly vague. We don't really where or when she got caught, or why the cop specifically decided she was the most suspicious of the group. But then again, Cassie is black, so I guess cops just naturally think she's done something wrong.
Interesting story points: The Animorphs lose their first battle, so it's cool that they aren't instantly good at fighting aliens. Tobias is also a big loss they have, being careless and trapping himself in a hawk morph. While it's neat they're hitting us with the "power is dangerous too" idea, Tobias's fate might have been more effective after a few more books, making it less of a "kicking them when they're down moment" and after further character development more of an "Oh shit, we lost one of our own!" moment that's more focused on his own tragedy.
Interesting story points: The Animorphs lose their first battle, so it's cool that they aren't instantly good at fighting aliens. Tobias is also a big loss they have, being careless and trapping himself in a hawk morph. While it's neat they're hitting us with the "power is dangerous too" idea, Tobias's fate might have been more effective after a few more books, making it less of a "kicking them when they're down moment" and after further character development more of an "Oh shit, we lost one of our own!" moment that's more focused on his own tragedy.
One last note I want to make, and this involves revisionist history and retcons, is that when I read this way back in the day, I remembered that during the first morphing scene, when Tobias turns into a cat, there was a moment when Jake could communicate telepathically with Tobias as a cat even in human form. I took note of this because it was something they dropped in later books as something they could only do while morphed. This Kindle edition rewrote that scene so that Tobias can't hear Jake's thoughts in that scene.
You George Lucased it, ya' pricks!
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