Book 38 to 45 - It Ends At the Beginning

chinchil1en
Jan 20, 2019
4 min read

Updated: Sep 29, 2019

Series: Animorphs

Author: K.A. Applegate

Genre: children's/YA sci-fi

Get it? Because the final book of the series is called The Beginning?

Ha ha ha....ha.

THE SECRET IS FINALLY OUT. Oh my goodness. It's about freaking time. The parents finally get involved (the ones that don't immediately get Yeerk-infested, at least), and after such a long slog of just waiting for this moment to come, the books finally breathe with life and tension again.

To honest, I am 100% Animorphed out, so instead of writing actual paragraphs I'm copping out and making a LIST. Because who doesn't love a good list?

5 Things To Love About the Animorph Books Now That - GASP - the Yeerks Are Beat

1. Kids with Disabilities Join the Fight as Aux Animorphs

Maybe this is controversial. Maybe not. Both viewpoints are represented in the novel. Unlike Cassie's dad, who is sickened by the idea of "[convincing] disabled children to participate in [the] nightmare", I am over the moon stoked that kids with disabilities are represented in the Animorph world, and not as helpless or as plot devices, but as key contributors to the fight on Earth (although my POV is sliiiightly influenced by being a reader, and not a character in the book...IRRELEVANT!

If you're not convinced, just read the scene where Timmy, the kid with cerebral palsy who has spent his entire life in a wheelchair, barely able to speak, morphs into a bird and can now use thought-speak to communicate:

<You want to know what hell on Earth is?> <What?> <Having a large vocabulary, an encyclopedic knowledge of musical theater, and a speech impediment.>

The reality is, as an able bodied person, I have zero say in the right-ness or wrong-ness of disability and its representation in media. But I can say that I am so SO happy that, in addition to touching on issues relating to women, POC, trauma, ethics, and many many others, society's view of disabilities is addressed and challenged in the Animorph books.

2. A Main Character Dies

Rachel's death has been alluded to for quite some time now and, much to my surprise at least, it actually happens. She dies. Jake sends her on a suicide mission, she goes, and a Yeerk-morphed-polar-beer fucking kills her. Did I mention that, at this point in the novel, the Animorphs are 16? Preeeetty heavy stuff.

I'm proud of Applegate, though, for doing it. Rachel is a preppy mall-rat on the outside, and a motherfucking warrior on the inside, and dying in battle to end the war is very fitting for her character.

3. We Get a Look at Where They Are Now - And Who Doesn't Love a Good "Where Are They Now"?

Instead of ending the series with the end of the war, we get a look at what the Animorphs' lives are like post-war. My favourite of all is Marco, Mr. I-see-clearly-from-A-to-Z, Mr. Funnyman. Marco is still Marco. His logical brain and defense in the form of humour have allowed him to continue to be the same ol' Marco. He still pokes fun at everyone, especially himself, and although he has the celebrity life he always wanted (ladies on his arms, face on TV, houses and pools and all that glam our) and whines as loud as he can, he's also quick to jump right back into the fray when Ax needs him. It's funny because Marco, by not really changing, is refreshing. He's not depressed, MIA, or trying to make up for the things he did in the war. He's traumatized, of course, but he's doing his thang and finding everything funny.

4. After All That Tension, Cassie and Jake Fizzle

You might wonder why this is one of the things that makes the end of the Animorphs excellent. The thing is, I love when authors don't give their characters the happy endings they've been working towards. And in this case, it makes sense - Jake is a wrought with guilt, and his trust in Cassie and her judgment is shook beyond repair. Cassie is stronger than anyone gives her credit for (including myself), and she's moving on, actually giving herself a chance to heal. She finds someone new.

Happy endings are not guaranteed, especially following a war. If only the Yeerks had never found our little blue planet...

5. It's the End

Simple as that. The war is over. The Yeerks are beat. WE DID IT!!!

And to Wrap it All Up...

ELLIMIST!!

I read this bad boy last, and it is an excellent way to say goodbye to the series. Ellimist has always been such an intriguing character, and the story of his evolution into the being the Animorphs interact with does not disappoint. This is the sci-fi I love: the melding of technology and biology - with a dash of cosmic whimsy - into something strange and powerful and beautiful. So cool, so different, and so very well executed.