Animorphs Re-read #2

[frameacloud]

Animorphs #2 - The Visitor

Summary

Rachel’s loyalty is tested when one of her old friends becomes the Animorphs’ key to infiltrating the Yeerk pool. Then it turns out that something is different about her friend… what happened to her?

Prompt

There are a few times in this book where the Animorphs use their morphing powers to scare some random creeps. These people probably aren’t Controllers, so they’ve never heard of morphing. Write a short story (or draw a picture) about what the phenomenon seemed like from their perspective.

Questions

- It was risky for the Animorphs to abuse their morphing powers by using them out in the open, in front of strangers. It put them in a lot of danger, but in some ways it was worth the thrill. If you had that ability, what are some situations where you would be tempted to do the same? What else could Rachel have done when that stranger started following her?

- We get a glimpse of a creature that predates upon Yeerks. We only learn a little about the Yeerk home world over the course of the series. What else can we hypothesize about their ecosystem, based on this other species?

- How have things progressed, developed, and changed since the first book? The characters have done a lot of growing up already, under such tough circumstances, even though they’ve still got a long way to go.

Rules

- Common sense: be nice, be literate, be mature. If you can’t handle that, we’ll ask you to leave.

- Start on topic. If your conversation takes you into the land of ferrets and their evil quest to take over the world, run with it. But please at least start off talking about the book or subjects at hand.

- The questions and prompts are optional. Do not feel obliged to keep your comments only to what we have posted. They are a guide, a starting point, not a limitation.

- There is no time limit.

- Don’t delete your comments, unless it’s for the purpose of fixing typos.

- Keep your discussion to the current or previous books.

Comments

[tygerwulfe.livejournal.com]

Ah, the first book in the series I read... Lots of fond memories from this one.

One of my favorite scenes in the whole series is from the beginning of this book when those jerks start shooting at them and Rachel carries off their gun, while Marco throws away the beer can. I love that.

As to the questions... If I had the ability, I would definitely be tempted to use it when I was being picked on or when I was afraid or being followed. I love that Rachel did what she did, but at the same time, I kept thinking "what if that guy's a controller!" he obviously wasn't, but the thought was still there.

I think I could keep myself in check if I knew that ANYONE could be a Controller.

[fiiishy.livejournal.com]

lol well, they are middle schoolers :-P I Remember all the brilliant decisions I made back then! And now, actually **shrug**

[julygreen.livejournal.com]

Yes! The rednecks were hilarious, and I love that Marco nabs the beer can.

[chickwith-stick.livejournal.com]

Animorphs: The radio drama makes this book - which I never really enjoyed so much more fun. If you haven't, you need to go download the installments for it.

[oneinnabun.livejournal.com]

Rachel's reason to fight at the end of this book really touched me. I probably teared up at some point during some reread. Loneliness and feelings of abandonment do that to me.

The characters seem really naive in this book compared to later ones. I wish I could think of a specific example, but the best thing I can think of is when Marco sarcastically says that they're a huge threat to Visser Three. Remember the days when they thought the Andalites were saints and were coming to save them?

I'm sorry if I'm making no sense/am blatantly wrong. It's late and I should be in bed.

[deslumbrar.livejournal.com]

Ah, book #2. This one breaks my heart for several reasons.

It's pretty much the last time we see Melissa. For me, she sort of represents the last peer contact Rachel has outside the Animorphs. Book #2 shows in a suprisingly intimate way that there are people not in their immediate families that are worth protecting. Rachel's and Melissa's relationship always hits me hard, because I know first-hand what it's like when a good friend is suddenly distant. The scene where Rachel-as-Fluffer curls up with Melissa as she cries just wrecked me.

Because it's early in the series, the enemy doesn't have an identity yet. All we (and Rachel) see are Chapman and his wife lashing out at their Yeerk captors, so at this point the focus is much more on the victims (humans) and the faceless, numberless threat of the invaders. This was demonstrated on a larger scale in book #1 with the trip down to the Pool. I like the contrast book #2 gives, with the action narrowed to the Chapmans' home.

Knowing how drastically Rachel's personality changes later on, it's sad to see her as a balanced, normal girl who hasn't been eaten up inside with violence. It's been mentioned already that she's a little reckless, but it really makes me wonder if her penchant for battle existed on its own or was brought about through the war.

There were (and still are) times when I would have pulled a Tobias and used morphing as an escape mechanism. There were other instances when I would have used it to scare someone, like Rachel does. As for the guy following her, I'm not sure what other choice she had. A Controller wouldn't have been following her in the first place, and better to scare the guy half to death than try to outrun him.

[convents.livejournal.com]

Personality-wise, I think Rachel's penchant for battle existed but was dormant and the war was the one thing that dragged it out of her. I don't think one option had influenced her 'recklessness', I think both the war and the possible recessive penchant acted together. It's kind of like the nature vs. nurture.

Consider this, if she had never been apart of the war something else would've activated her liking for battle/violence. The war just sped up the process.

[kon-no-yume.livejournal.com]

"The scene where Rachel-as-Fluffer curls up with Melissa as she cries just wrecked me."

That scene really got me too. It shows how there are people being affected by the invasion that we didn't even think about - the family and friends of controllers. I tear up every time I read that scene.

[beachbeagle.livejournal.com]

By this book, reality of the situation has started to hit. Tobias is trapped as a hawk. Tom is a controller. All of the Animorphs don't know if they can trust anyone but each other.

This one, to me, shows how their normal lives are forever going to be thrown out the window. They change a lot later on in different ways, and even if the ending had been different they would never have gotten their normal lives back.

[beachbeagle.livejournal.com]

Oh. I missed one other question I had a response to. I admit that using the morphing power would be tempting, but I think the reality of the threat would keep me from using it in a public place. I admit it would be tempting to use the powers for fun, but not of a sort that would put the fight in danger.

I admit when Rachel used it to scare off the guy following her that there may not have been another choice, and it's not like the guy was going to remember the incident well enough for it to affect her if he ever got infested.

[starsong24.livejournal.com]

I think I'd be tempted to use my morphing powers on stage, although I don't think I'd ever be stupid enough to do it.

Definitely the mugger situation was one that required it. I think, though, that I'd try to use a feline morph -to avoid ripping my clothes. Plus the claws would be handy.

Does anyone know where I can fine the inside cover for book 50?

[abreathinthefog.livejournal.com]

Do you just want to see a picture of the inside cover?

[starsong24.livejournal.com]

Yes, please! Do you know where there is one?

[abreathinthefog.livejournal.com]

I can take a digital one of mine (but I won't scan it because I don't want to break the binding!)
Will that work?

[starsong24.livejournal.com]

...yes, please.

[abreathinthefog.livejournal.com]

Hope this helps. If you click on the picture it will (hopefully, if I did it right) take you to the link where you can make it bigger. The words on the sign above the door aren't distinguishable in real life, in case you were wondering. If you want I can try to take another picture w/o my finger, haha.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/laurapher/DSC03041.jpg)

[starsong24.livejournal.com]

That's great. Thanks!

I wonder if she's next to the school for the blind or the Rehab Centre.

[sleepall-day.livejournal.com]

You know, when I first read this, I remember thinking "Wow, what an original concept" at the part where Chapman was struggling to talk because he had been under Yeerk control for so long, and wasn't used to moving his own body. It was a really scary thought. But then, later on I thought, they don't have the Yeerk in them every three days! And the way that scene happened made it seem like he was just perpetually under control for a long time. Ah, well, you know what I mean, right?

[beachbeagle.livejournal.com]

I agree. If they get control again every three days, even for just a short length of time, then it shouldn't be so hard to control your body. You do it every three days when you beg them not to stick the thing back in you.

[convents.livejournal.com]

Yeah but remember Chapman and his wife are controllers to protect Melissa. Maybe he just had to struggle because he was subordinate for so long and if he hadn't been so 'relenting' then the Yeerks would go after Melissa.

[frameacloud]

Maybe that's it. It's because he's a voluntary controller. In the first book, they said that, while their Yeerks were out in the pool, the involuntary controllers had to be held captive because they kept trying to escape. Meanwhile, the voluntaries would just sit quietly.

It might be awfully easy to forget how to rebel and take control of one's own life...

I had a hypothesis about the Gedd, the species that the Yeerks always controlled on their home world. The Andalites thought the Gedd and Yeerks had a symbiotic relationship, not a parasitic one, because the Gedd were barely conscious while the Yeerks were out. I imagined that maybe the Gedd are so passive, so mentally empty and physically wonky, is because they have been enslaved for so long that it ruined them. Being out of control of their bodies and brains all the time made them that way. Maybe, before they were all captured by the Yeerks, the distant ancestors of the Gedd were a people who could think and move on their own.

It's a scary thought.

[convents.livejournal.com]

You make a good point.

Considering the duration of the enslavement on the humans, as well as the Gedds, could have contributed to a forgotten functioning that they normally had, especially for the voluntary controllers. After an extended period of time of not being able to control oneself, any living organism will rely on whatever factor is doing it for them and will eventually become dependent upon that source, and there's a large possibility that the Gedds could've functioned completely on their own beforehand. Then again, they may have evolved as being as we've perceived them (being physically impaired, etc).

[kooshinni.livejournal.com]

To be honest, one of the main reasons as to why I love this book is the description of their first experience as birds. I got so excited when I read it the first time because I could actually imagine what it must be like. And of course, Cassie's morphing but keeping the wings until the very end. Beautiful stuff, and also the first indication that Cassie has a very special control over her morphing.

[acts_of_tekla]

Cassie's first demonstration of morphing control is in book 1, when she demorphs from horse and looks like a centaur for a moment.

I totally agree about the flying. I think it's the only time any of them expressed concern about flying.

[julygreen.livejournal.com]

It was totally dodgy of them to use their powers as they did, but pretty understandable.
For Rachel, it was potentially a life or death situation, so I give her a pass on that. And to have seen the guy's face!

I really wish that Melissa Chapman had been brought back into the story at some point. KAA is generally good at introducing plot points and then later following through on them, so I was surprised when this was just dropped. Melissa would have been a great recurring character.

[acts_of_tekla]

That's true, and it would be another way to show how Rachel changed over the course of the series. Come to think of it, she must have dropped gymnastics at some point. I can't recall any mention of it beyond the teens.