Retro Book Review

In this Retro Review, I will be covering K.A. Applegate’s Animorphs #1 The Invasion.

As a kid (or an adult) have you ever wondered what it would be like to turn into any animal that you touched? Well, now you don’t have to wonder anymore because the Animorphs series covers that plus a gamut of other unanswered questions like, “What would it be like to have an alien slug-like creature slide into my ear and invade my cranium and take over my body?” And “What would genocide look like if it was caused by children?”

The first book in the series, The Invasion, introduces us to five “normal” late 90’s teenagers; Jake (the leader and popular guy), Rachel (the preppy pretty one), Cassie (the nerdy farm girl), Marco (the “funny” guy), and Tobias (the sweet emo loner.) They have an alien encounter in an abandoned construction site late at night while walking home from the mall. The alien, mortally wounded, warns the teens that there is an evil slug-like alien called the Yeerks that is hell bent on taking over the universe and its next stop is Earth. The alien gives the teens the “gift” of morphing. In short, after touching any living creature for a few moments (to acquire its DNA) they will be able to morph into said creature. The catch, however is that they must not be in morph for longer than 2 hours or they risk staying in that animal form forever.

Before the alien, who is introduced as an Andalite named Elfangor (think blue centaur with no mouth, extra eyes on stalks on the head and a scorpion tail) can really explain the ins and outs of morphing, more alien ships arrive and Elfangor tells the children (using thought speech – telekinesis) to run. We are then introduced to the main antagonist of the series, a Yeerk named Visser Three that is in control of an Andalite body. After a short celebratory speech for catching war prince Elfangor, Visser Three morphs into a humongous and terrifying alien beast and consumes Elfangor. The teens make their escape and begin their journey to saving Earth and stopping the Yeerks.

This first book starts the theme with each book being narrated by a different member of the Animorphs. This book is in Jake’s point of view. The story starts quickly and we are literally dropped in the pit of alien lore in the first several chapters. Each book is relatively short and a quick read. Since the characters are given little information about their enemy the Yeerks and about the morphing technology, we the reader, are forced into the same boat, so to speak, with the characters. Because of this, it makes the reader feel like they are a part of the Animorphs team and are on this long journey together.

Just like many Scholastic books from the 90’s, this is a product of its time. So, be ready to be inundated with 90’s pop culture and technology references. Like any superhero story and/or teen drama, each character follows a typical trope. Eventually, some of the characters get really annoying really fast (*cough cough* Marco) and it isn’t just because they are a teenager. Even as a kid in the 90’s that was an Animorphs fan, I felt the down side of the series (in the beginning at least) was that the characters stayed too close to their assigned tropes. It gets a little aggravating after a while when some of these characters make stupid decisions just because they are the “funny” one.

The Invasion, has a solid 1st, 2nd, and 3rd act with one of the coolest endings of a starter series book I have ever read. The author doesn’t shy away from putting these kids in danger and the tough decisions these kids have to make create some of the tensest and heartbreaking scenes I have ever read in a children’s book.

So far, the series comes out of the gate looking strong.

Check back soon for my Retro Review of the second book in the Animorphs series, book #2 The Visitor.