I was fourteen when The Animorphs debuted, and it never crossed my path. It’s possible I was outgrowing its target age range (though I think teens did read and would still read this series). But it’s more likely that I didn’t read it because I thought I didn’t like science fiction. I thought this despite the fact that A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite rereads, despite loyally watching SeaQuest DSV (even if my loyalty was more for the Jonathan Brandis of it all than the scifi), and despite enjoying the Not Quite Human series by Seth McEvoy. I blame media gaslighting for my misconception of my fandom. As a girly girl, I was not expected to like sci-fi and so I didn’t like sci-fi, even though, get this: I loved sci-fi!
Thankfully I eventually got out of that frame of mind and became a HUGE fan of the genre! Especially when I became a YA librarian, where I fell down The Hunger Games rabbithole of DYSTOPIA. At some point, I believe it was on Tumblr, The Animorphs’ good reputation crossed my path by way of author Katherine Applegate’s response to disappointed readers with its difficult ending. I thought it was very bold of an author to say (paraphrased), “This is a series about war, and war doesn’t end happily even for the victors.” I’d read The One and Only Ivan and thought it was exceptionally cool that an author could write a mass-produced tween series like Animorphs only to pivot later to award-winning, quietly powerful literature like Ivan. I thought to myself, there must be more to this Animorphs series than fourteen-year-old Liz perceived.
At some point I thought it would be fun to read the series, at least the start of it. Then, when I found out it has over 50 books, I thought it would be a fun reading challenge. And as the main series is made up of roughly 54 books, I thought it would be a fun weekly reading challenge – read the Animorphs series in one year, one book a week (doubling up here and there to make up for the extra few volumes).
For some reason I decided 2025 is the year to do it, despite the fact that I will be marketing my own debut novel as well as planning a small wedding. I blame the election for making me desperate to seek whatever joy I possibly can in the coming year.
Wow, this is supposed to be a book review, not a memoir! Anyway, I’ve read the first two books in the series so far, and I am excited for the rest of the journey! The series has the formulaic feel of a Baby-Sitters Club, which is both nostalgic and a little worrisome. (How will I feel about this formula at book thirteen, thirty-four, forty-seven? will I even make it that far?) But Applegate, at least at this point, does a good job of infusing her recaps into the opening chapters organically. I am assuming ghostwriters take over eventually, so we will see how that holds up.
I find all of the characters likeable and fairly distinct. I think I’d like to have gotten to know Tobias a little more before he became a perma-Hawk, but my next read is his first narrative entry, so maybe that will change. I enjoy casting people in my books, and I cast this one with some 90s favorites (we’ll see how well they hold up; I hate when I cast someone only to find they are supposed to look totally different a third of the way into the book). OK, so JTT is Jake, Julia Stiles is Rachel, Dante Bosco is Marco, Jonathan Brandis is Tobias (yes, I was a little sad that I cast my most beloved teen idol as the kid who is human for all of one book LOL!), and a tomboy Tatyana Ali as Cassie. YES, I AM A NINETIES KID.
The best part of the books so far, imho, is the descriptions of morphing and being inside the animals. These provide a wide range of plot and emotion, from comedy (Tobias as a cat, asking to play with string) to horror (Jake compulsively eating a spider in lizard form) to heist-narrative (Rachel as a cat stalking Mr. Chapman), etc. This element stands out so much, I wonder if it was an impetus for Applegate to create the series – the different animals alone make for such compelling variety in the books.
Things I expect I will struggle with is getting into the Yeerk/Andaline/space-gobbledygook of it all. While I have enjoyed entries in the Star Trek and Star Wars cannons, I tend to struggle with expansive world building (high fantasy is another tough read for me because of this). I have a hard time distinguishing all the different creatures. I need flashcards. That being said, some revelations in book two made these relationships more interesting, so maybe I’ll be eating my foot come book twenty-seven or whatever!
Wish me luck! Animorphs enthusiasts, I’d love to hear your favorite book in the series, how you’re enjoying the graphic novel adaptations, and who you’d cast in a movie version (90s era or otherwise)!
