Book #361 of 2021:
The Conspiracy by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #31)
Kudos to Laura Battyanyi-Wiess, our first repeat ghostwriter: this Animorphs novel is possibly Jake’s strongest outing as narrator yet, and I love that it springs from such a simple premise. The hero’s great-grandfather has died, and his dad is insisting the family take a four-day trip for the funeral. That’s a problem for the Yeerk infesting Jake’s brother Tom, who wouldn’t be able to survive that long away from the local Kandrona rays, but their father refuses to let him stay behind. As the younger boy realizes, there are only two options for the enemy lurking in his home: he will need to either enslave the person standing in his way with a parasite of his own, or else murder him outright. And the Animorphs can’t intervene directly, lest the aliens start to wonder why they’ve taken an interest in some random human civilian.
It’s a highly charged situation, and a great followup to Marco’s plotline of the book before, struggling with the decision to kill his mother who’s a high-ranking Controller herself. Despite how he faltered a bit in the pivotal moment there, he is clear-eyed about his friend’s dilemma now, standing up to Jake when he’s preparing to rush in and get them all killed by revealing his morphing ability and finding clever ways to delay the danger, like using his gorilla morph to set off car alarms outside the Sharing meeting where Tom has brought his target. The team’s usual leader, meanwhile, is frozen in panic, unable to think of a plan or call the shots on the mission with a parent’s life on the line. It’s a good reminder of how these kids are deeply traumatized by their experiences and still so, so painfully young.
The tension increases as their scheduled departure approaches, with the desperate foe arranging a drive-by shooting of the house while the man who’s an unwitting threat to him is out watering the grass (prevented in the nick of time by Jake “accidentally” spraying the car with the hose and calling out in recognition to the Controller driver, his assistant principal Chapman). Even the protagonist’s inspired strategy to then divert attention from Tom’s plight by kidnapping that important Yeerk figure is simply a temporary solution at best, as the slug in his brother’s head is hardly going to meekly starve to death and let his host body escape with information on the invasion just because he’s been forced to leave town. Later Jake sees him with a knife and understands his father likely has scant moments left to live.
The crisis is ultimately averted and the status quo restored. Tom remains a helpless captive in his own mind, the group’s identities are protected, and Jake’s dad stays free for now, although he still can’t be told the truth about either of his sons. But it’s been an emotional wringer and fierce effort merely to maintain that equilibrium, which has had no impact whatsoever on the wider guerilla war against earth’s invaders. Just another day in the life of an Animorph.
[Content warning for body horror, gore, and gun violence.]
★★★★☆
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