Nostalgia Nook: Animorphs

When I look back, I’m still surprised I started reading “Animorphs.” Even at the age of 11, I was well on my way to reading mostly historical fiction. But at the same time, I was reading Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” And I was devouring my mother’s old Nancy Drew novels. So I had a slight interest in science fiction and mysteries. I think this interest drew me to Animorphs, a blend of both!

While I never finished the series, there will be some SPOILERS!
The books tell the story of Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie and Tobias. One night while coming home, they decide to cut through an abandoned lot. A UFO lands and an injured alien stumbles out. He tells them that earth is being invaded and they need to fight the conquerors. The alien gives them a tool to use in their fight, making them touch a magic box. They receive the power to absorb an animal’s DNA in order to turn into it. But they have to turn back after two hours time or they are trapped in that form forever.

So, who are these alien invaders? They are called the Yeerk. They take over by enslaving the races on the planets they wish to conquer. How do they do this? By implanting themselves in their brains. The people/aliens they use are called “hosts.” Some are willing, most aren’t. Every so often, the Yeerks need to go soak up the rays of their sun to survive. Their hosts make up excuses and go to a location where the Yeerks have set up a pool for this purpose. When the kids get inside, they soon learn who was willing and who wasn’t by observing who fights back once free of the Yeerk. Jake, for example, is happy to see his brother is an unwilling host.

Using their powers, the friends band together to fight back the invaders. Along the way, they gain allies in other alien rebels fighting the Yeerks. And they still have to survive being teenagers.

Each book is narrated by an individual character in first person. It allows us to feel as if we are in the adventure. And it provides something else. A first person narrator can easily be an unreliable one. You can’t always trust what they say. Think about Future!Ted in How I Met Your Mother. We can’t always trust everything he says. Like the goat story. And at times, it makes sense that the narrator may not be telling us everything. They are fighting against invaders and need to keep a low profile.

I liked the fact that the kids had to practice their powers. They didn’t master them immediately. They slowly progressed from morphing back naked to morphing with certain clothing, etc. And to hit home about that window of time they can stay morphed, Tobias remains trapped as a hawk for the majority of the series. However, he preferred that form. It was his freedom from family members who just kept shuffling him between their houses. It was a slightly dark subject but broached to a good degree for the intended audience.

Books narrated by Tobias are also some of the more interesting ones because he is stuck as a hawk. The other, K.A. Applegate, really understands animals and helps the reader see through the eyes of one. How it feels to fly. Or the hawk’s superior eye sight. And it’s not just in Tobias’ book. This is found in every book when the character transformed into an animal. It’s enough to qualify as supporting animals without being too preachy.

There are a number of themes explored in the series. The main ones are about free will and good and evil. And relationships are also explored. Jake and Rachel are cousins who grow closer as the series progresses. He also eventually falls in love with Cassie, who is Rachel’s best friend. Rachel for her part ends up falling for Tobias, who returns her feelings. Marco is Jake’s best friend and is okay with the other members.

I wish I could say more, but I grew out of the series. It happened a lot to me. I was an avid reader and tested a few reading levels higher than normal. So in middle school, I grew into and out of many series very quickly. But Animorphs was a reading stepping stone and was incredibly popular.

So popular, it got its own TV show. It aired on Nick and starred Shawn Ashmore (Jake), Brooke Nevin (Rachel), Boris Cabrera (Marco), Nadia Nascimento (Cassie) and Christopher Ralph (Tobias). It ran for two seasons and turned several books into TV scripts.

If you read the Animorphs series, you remember how exciting they were. If you didn’t, you can still catch up.

Next time: Doug