The Invasion
No. 1 in the Animorphs series
by K. A. Applegate
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Scholastic (New York): 1996. Paperback: 184 pages. ISBN-10: 0-59062-977-8 Suggested retail price: $4.99 (US) Tags: aliens; andelite; animals; Science Fiction; Youth Tactical strength: [6/10] |
Jake, Cassie, Marco, Rachael, and Tobias decide to cut through an abandoned construction site on the way home from the mall. An alien spacecraft lands near them as they cross through the site, and the kids meet the Andelite, a centaur shaped alien with a scorpion tail. The alien explains that Yeerks have started to invade the Earth. Yeerks have sluglike bodies and take over other species' bodies by inhabiting and controlling the host's brain.
The Andelite wants to kids to battle against the Yeerk invasion and gives them the ability to change into any animal after they "acquire" that animal's DNA pattern by touching the animal. Of course, there is a catch: if you stay in the morphed animal form for more than two hours, you get stuck in that form. Shortly after receiving this gift, Yeerk spacecraft land and destroy the Andelite and his ship.
The kids discover that Yeerks have already taken control of many of their friends and neighbors, including Jake's brother Tom. They decide to acquire the DNA of some large animals at the zoo and attempt to rescue Tom and others from Yeerk control.
Applegate creates an interesting world and puts her characters through several suspenseful situations. Her characters seem to act like real teenagers, with attitudes wavering quickly from invincible to "let the adults handle the hard stuff." She does handle some technicalities of morphing, such as what happens to your clothes when you morph. But she leaves unanswered questions such as what happens to your excess mass when you morph to a tiny creature, or where does the excess matter come from when morphing from a kid to an elephant?.
And unlike many of the teen books I read as a kid, Applegate doesn't try to sugar-coat the dark reality of her story. The kids must face the reality of an alien invasion with their immature understanding of tactics, strategy, and consequences.
