Spring 2020 (Feb);

Book 6 returns us to the beginning of our POV wheel, with Jake, leader of the Animorphs, keeper of Marco's Big Secret, and anything-but-secret-boyfriend of Cassie.

This book is early in the series but I felt out kid (like many kids do) copped out of making the hard choices the situations put in front of him needed him to make. As a reader this frustrates me, for wanting to see more realistic handling of what is in front of then, but at the same time I wouldn't expect a child to step up to that plate immediately.

I was really raptly interested in the chapters devoted to being in Jake's head, while he was trapped with the Yerk in his head, controlling his body, shuffling through his memories. It was a little too convenient for me to say the one Yerk of hundreds in the pool that managed to get in his head was the one from his brother (so Jake could be horrified about his brother's terror and horror and defeat). But aside from that I really liked it.

Finally getting a little more one or on with the bad guys aside from the mini-clashes, or chases, or two-seconds of grandstanding before the kids all managed to flee safely. That was exciting and chilling all at once, giving us the inside to how all the parents, siblings, friends, and etc dealing with controllers are inside their own heads. I was really pleased to see this happen so early and give more context.

I'm definitely keeping a list of the glimpses of things we're getting without explanations, too. Snide comments without explanation; dreams; appearances of things. (Yes, I totally reread that red-eye thing three times because it came out of nowhere suddenly and obviously is going to be important in the future.) ( )

The end chapter was legit disturbing. Good tho. ( )

Fun fluff with moments of seriousness. ( )

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Did I already say these were super dark? The team commits their first war crime by executing hundreds of the enemy in an unarmed and defenseless state. Furthermore, they feel little to no remorse afterward as team leader Jake has been captured and turned.

The last third of the book was very well done as the alien parasite slowly starves to death and Jake gains insight into the life of the creature that has taken over his body. ( )