Book #217 of 2021: The Reaction by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #12) Another goofy one-off premise, this time involving Rachel’s allergic reaction to the DNA of a crocodile she acquires. (At least the Sario Rip of the previous novel’s time-travel eventually comes up again; the idea of a morphing allergy and the ensuing ‘hereth illint’ …
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Book #211 of 2021: The Forgotten by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #11) In the first half of this story, the Animorphs are investigating a spaceship crash site, eventually embarking on a plan to steal the vessel and fly it to the White House. It’s one of those tossed-off elements that the series never really thinks …
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Book #205 of 2021: The Android by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #10) I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a series-best Animorphs volume, but it’s one of the stronger entries for sure. It’s also the rare case of an item in this franchise with an unambiguous, straightforward title: this is in fact a …
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Book #199 of 2021: The Secret by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #9) This is perhaps the classic example of a disposable Animorphs volume, one which doesn’t really move the plot forward or tell us anything new about the characters or their universe. The crisis du jour is so quintessentially 90s too: the Yeerks are illegally …
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Book #193 of 2021: The Alien by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #8) The first Animorphs book narrated by Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a roaring success. (Strictly speaking, his viewpoint was introduced in the previous volume, Megamorphs #1, but it feels richer here where it doesn’t have to share space with any others.) We get new terminology for …
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Book #187 of 2021: The Andalite’s Gift by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs Megamorphs #1) The first Animorphs release outside of the main series is this ‘Megamorphs’ title, which is supersized both in literal page count and in including all six potential narrators, rather than just one. (Even Ax the resident alien gets a voice, right …
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Book #181 of 2021: The Stranger by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #7) My favorite book of this adult reread yet. The action is exciting and the dilemmas are clearly defined, and that’s even before the surprise pivot into a genuinely unexpected development around a third of the way through the text (much earlier than the …
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Book #175 of 2021: The Capture by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #6) The big hook to this sixth Animorphs volume — the premise alluded to on the front cover and plainly stated on the back — doesn’t actually occur until about two-thirds of the way through the text. Spoiler alert: it’s that Jake himself is …
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Book #169 of 2021: The Predator by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #5) The fifth Animorphs novel gets a lot of its impact and forward momentum from a twist reveal near the end, of the sort I’m reluctant to spoil in a review despite the passage of decades. Suffice to say, we learn further details about …
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Book #163 of 2021: The Message by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #4) Cassie’s first Animorphs novel is an absolute delight. Plotwise, it pushes the narrative further than any volume since the premiere, adding in one final teammate to join the group of morphing teens. (I’ll avoid spoilers beyond that here, but this new ally will …
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