My name is Tuckerscreator. I can't tell you my real name. It's too risky. Some scammer might use it to hack my bank account or credit card. All I can tell you is that I'm writing this liveblog of every single main series Animorphs book. In this second book, we get our introduction to the second member of our heroes, Rachel. If Jake is going to become The Leader, Rachel is going to become The Big Guy.
Check out the slightly improved cover of this installment! Creepy painting there. Rest assured that the covers will vastly improve starting with number 3.
Alright, so the book opens with an excitingly fun scene of the kids having fun in their raptor morphs (no, the bird kind of raptor, not the dinosaurs.) They love being able to dive through the sky, float on thermals, and feel the total freedom of the open sky. Aww, now I wanna fly, but can't. I guess I'll have to stick with ''How To Train Your Dragon'' for that
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Also, I want to point out this one passage:
This passage isn't going to be important for a while. Not yet. Not even in this book or for several books. But I just going to tell you to store in the back of your mind for much later. Let me put it away for now.
After the flight, and dealing with some pesky hunters ("2nd Amendment, losers!")*, the team lands back down and we get a feel for the group dynamic. We also get to learn a lot more about Rachel.
So Rachel shows herself to be quite a sensible girl. And I'm glad of that. I would have hated reading a book where she acted like a Miss American Airhead. She also shows herself to be involved in gymnastics, but not a prodigy at it. She's merely good, doesn't like the class, and knows she can't become a professional gymnast because she's too tall. Alright, good, we're averting the Mary Sue.
Now, the group's attempt to invade the Yeerk Pool in the last book went very badly, and they sure don't want to go back in there again. The secret entrance was moved lately anyway. But they know the pool is powered by a device known as a Kandrona, and their assistant principal Chapman is known to be a Controller. Rachel is friends with his daughter, so she hopes by getting close to her she can follow Chapman and find out the location of the Kandrona.
Hopes. Melissa isn't being very friendly to her anymore. But is it because she's sensed the change in her parents? Or is it because she's become a Controller as well. I'll admit, I sympathized more with Rachel and Melissa's estrangement more than Tom and Jake's. Maybe it's because I can relate more to not understanding why a friend is suddenly distant, and not a brother, since my brother and I have more this kind of relationship. So during this, I see that Rachel is very conflicted about this situation with Melissa. She's both wary of her, sorry for her, and feels guilty for seemingly exploiting her. Once again, Applegate's skill and describing emotions shines through.
But then comes Rachel's encounter with a creepy street dude who wants her. Oh great, the obligatory Attempted Rape scene. Inserted in works to show the lead girl is beautiful, she kicks butt, and all men on the street want her. Rachel turns into an elephant and freaks him out. Female empowerment. Yayy.
But in fact that's not what the scene's for, and there turn out to be consequences. The actual point of the scene is not empowerment but Rachel having to learn she can't be frivolous with her morphing. The other Animorphs call her out for misusing her powers like that and risking blowing their cover. Rachel is nearly caught by Chapman and Melissa, further unnerving them. Also, Rachel has to walk home in the rain without shoes. Eh, she can get used to it like I did.
The Melissa plan isn't going well, so the kids soon think up another plan: infiltrating the Chapmans' house by morphing their cat Fluffer McKitty. Ouch, I think I need insulin from hearing that name. But Fluffer is really a mean beast, and catching him results in Rachel getting slashes (from Fluffer's claws) and PTSD (from morphing a terrifying shrew and being hunted by the cat-predator). Two books in and we've already got post-traumatic scarring in each! My, this is going to be fun.
WOW. And meanwhile I had a cat like this. Fluffer's mind seems very different from Dude the cat when Tobias morphed him the previous book, who was more in the vein of this cat. (Apologies for the swearing.)
Okay, enough links! Eh, one more obligatory one. (I can't let myself keep searching "cats" on YouTube...)
Inside Chapman's house, she discovers his hidden room where he secretly speaks to Visser Three about the invasion's progress. Given that the entrance to it is a steel bank vault-esque door with a palm-activated lock, hidden behind a plain wooden door, one has to wonder what Melissa would think it was for if she ever stumbled on it. Anyway, Visser Three doesn't say anything too interesting or new. He just yells at Chapman to find "the Andalite bandits"* and shows if he doesn't he'll eat him. So much a cannibal for a guy with no mouth. And yet, we do hear one important detail: that the Yeerk in Chapman made an agreement with him to infest him with permission, but that infesting Melissa would violate that. Also interesting is when Visser Three sees Rachel as a cat, briefly attacks it, and is impressed by how brave it is when he's so much bigger. It's an interesting trait that gives him, slightly elevating him from any generic evil villain.
But then the meeting ends and we read perhaps the most important part of this book: Rachel's comforting of Melissa (still as a cat), who doesn't understand why her parents are now colder to her. Observe:
As can be read on the series' page, Rachel gradually degenerates due to her love of battle. By the end of the books she's gone far enough to qualify for the epitome of Blood Knight. But here we see the reason why she initially keeps fighting is just for the sake of her friend. It's going to be tragic to mark when she'll forget that.
But Rachel's empathy for Melissa is not entirely a strength. She insists to the rest of the team that she needs to go back and spy on Chapman again, though they pick up that Rachel's not telling them everything. Unbeknownst to her, Jake hitchhikes with her on the second visit as a flea. This time, though, Visser Three immediately picks up that the cat visiting their meeting again can't be a coincidence. Immediately he makes Chapman capture her, and Rachel is taken to the construction where Visser Three waits to kill her. I can't say much about the action scene where the rest of the team comes to rescue her. Though I can say there is a certain bit of tension that comes from knowing the team juggernaut has been captured. It was kinda unnerving waiting for an elephant to burst in and save Rachel in only to remember that can't happen; she is the team elephant! So thus it's more of a relief when the gang does finally arrive and repay her rescues.
But more importantly, we learn about the real Chapman's agreement with his Yeerk, and a little bit about the ability of host resistance. Hearing his Yeerk tell his partner that he's going to take Melissa to the Yeerk Pool now causes him to force control of his body again for a moment, with a self-battle that weakens his Yeerk enough to actually set that plan aside for later. Later, the Yeerk tells Visser Three that the real Chapman might force a struggle during a public event if Melissa is infested, which would get him fired and thus lose the Yeerks a key position. And we also hear Chapman himself speak how he took in this parasite to protect his daughter, and that he'll never stop fighting them if they don't leave her alone.
After the rescue, Rachel sends Melissa an anonymous note saying her parents still love her, but more than they can show. Melissa seems better that day but I honestly I felt that was a little contrived. Why not tell Melissa the truth about her parents? They know she's not a Controller. She could end up being a valuable ally, just as Jake is because of Tom. Sure, she wouldn't have morphing powers, but they could work with that. In fact, in one of the alternate universe books she actually is part of the team. I really do think Rachel should have done more than just a vague note.
.Eh, Yeerks can replace fighters. Not much progress. But though they don't bring it up, I think they accomplished something less concrete but still just as important.
This book, The Visitor, is about love. It's about Rachel learning to fight against the Yeerks not just because she has to, but because she's seen the tragedy it causes to families. It's about seeing ordinary fellows like Chapman managing to delay the invasion in tiny but substantial ways, even without morphing powers. Here we don't progress much in plot but we do in character development. The latter is essential for writing a deep story. For the former, well, we've still got 52 more books for that.
Now I want to hug a cat. RIP Noche.
Going back to my chart in the beginning, here's what I got.
Thus we finish Animorphs book Number Two! Tomorrow comes book Number Three: The Encounter. I'll leave you with this to guess our next protagonist.
