Book #7 in the series
Animorphs by K.A. Applegate.
Disclaimer: If you've heard of Animorphs and you're thinking "Aww, how
cute," maybe you should read my introduction to the first book
to see how wrong you are.
THE STRANGER
Animorphs #7
by K.A. Applegate
Summarized Plot:
The Animorphs come up with a plan to infiltrate the Yeerk pool and find and destroy the Kandrona to weaken the Yeerks. But during their plan, they almost get eaten by a Taxxon while in roach bodies. The only thing that stops it from happening is that a very powerful creature called an Ellimist stops time and appears to them, asking if they wish to continue fighting this war or come with him to another planet to be preserved since the human race is doomed to lose to the Yeerks. They choose not to take the Ellimist's offer, but when time begins again they use an observation they made during the pause to make escape possible. Later, when they have the chance to choose again, they're shown a vision of a grim future in which Tobias is dead and the other Animorphs are Controllers, but that experience also gives them a clue as to how to destroy the Kandrona. Ultimately they choose to stay and fight--and Rachel has to make a similar decision in her personal life as well.
About this book:
Narrator: Rachel
New known controllers:
- A guard and various employees at the EGS Tower
New morphs acquired:
- Jake: None
- Cassie: None
- Marco: None
- Rachel: Grizzly bear
- Ax: None
Notable:
- Rachel goes up to her room and locks the door behind her, only to have her dad knock and ask to come in right after she does so. When she says "Come in," he does so, with no mention of how he managed if the door was locked.
- Cassie is said to have "a look" she can give other people so they'll be shamed into listening to her. In this book we see it work on Rachel as it's worked on Jake in previous books.
- Now that the war has escalated somewhat and Rachel has become more reckless and violent, it's interesting to see how she feels about her attitude, from her narrative. She believes that she is not doing this for the thrill of battle; she gets off on being part of something that will help save the world. But she'd rather DO something than just talk about it.
- Cassie points out that she got a scar from helping a raccoon a long time ago. But morphing is supposed to reconstitute your body from DNA, and she's morphed since that happened. It's possible that things like tattoos, piercings and yes, scars, are supposed to be reformed with your body, but that wouldn't explain why in a much later book Tobias's mother was healed of old injuries (including scars) and had her vision restored, or why in another later book a teenager with damaged legs from an accident at age four would be repaired by morphing.
- Rachel's family life--with her divorced parents and two younger sisters--is highlighted in this volume. Seems everyone except Cassie has something dysfunctional happening at home, and Rachel's having to deal with her father either leaving her or taking her away from her home is part of her family drama.
- Ax says that humans smell like an animal from the Andalite home world called a flaar.
Best lines:
Marco: "I'm telling you, Ax and Rachel belong together. The two of you are sick. Someday you could get married while bungee-jumping into an active volcano."
Ellimist: "This is a very beautiful planet. A priceless work of art."
Marco: "You've obviously never seen our school."
Jake: "Don't give me your sarcasm, Rachel. You are acting really weird. That's everyone's business, because if you do something stupid, we could all end up paying the price."
Rachel: "I'm not some stupid TV character. I'm not some comic book, Marco. I'm scared of what almost happened to me last night. I'm scared just knowing that place exists down there. I'm scared about what happens to me."
Rachel: But how is the butterfly supposed to know when to beat her wings?
Next book: The Andalite's Gift, Megamorphs #1