The Message (Animorphs #4)

Spring 2020 (Animorphs Read 2020);

This time we head into our girl Cassie, who I already dubbed the heart and soul of this group with her heart and soul so big in who she is, how she makes decisions, and how she shores up/softens down everyone else. She's always been our peacemaker so it was lovely to get to be inside her head. I loved seeing her world, how much she loves things, how much she cares about people.

On my continual and constant Rachel-Read of the Animorphs, I love Jake & Cassie's eye-rolling affection for her massive stunts (looking at you, Rachel-Diving-Off-The-Railing) about how she's fearless and headstrong and they love her so much for it.

I think my only real disappointment with this book was that the last-second *"I show more never told you."/"Yeah, me, too."* between Jake and Cassie about their feelings in this book was almost exactly the same situation and basic wording/exchange that Tobias and Rachel had in a similar situation in the last book. I know these are the early setup couples, but I like a little more differentiation in how people portray and emote. Not just the same 'hey, I never told you' and 'I already know' responses from different people, different couples. I hope to see them grow into being very different in these things, too. show less

A Cassie-centric book that introduces Prince Ax (Elfangor's little brother). Cassie's moralism was an interesting insight into her as a person (as well as her growth throughout the book as she has to balance the greater good with individual rights) and Ax's illustrations of exactly what the Animorphs are fighting for added heightened tension to the underlying conflict.

Despite the amount of thinking about greater issues that went on in this book, it was very action-heavy at its climax (both the major and minor climaxes), but stilled allowed quite a bit of time for fun and games and just messing around with morphing.

In The Message, Cassie and Tobias begin to hear a strange call in their dreams — a cry for help that seems to come from beneath the ocean. Convinced that it’s important to their fight against the Yeerks, the Animorphs set out on a dangerous mission under the sea. With new morphs and terrifying underwater battles, the group must risk everything to uncover the source of the mysterious message.

This installment combines the fast-paced action and suspense of the Animorphs series with exciting new settings and challenges, making it perfect for middle grade readers who love science fiction, adventure, and stories about courage and teamwork.

Unlike, apparently, most people writing reviews on goodreads, I really like Cassie's PoV and think that her in-touch-with-nature-ness does in no way make her less relatable than, say, Jake's leadership qualities or Rachel's let's-do-it recklessness, especially since, just like for them, that's only one facet of her personality. That said, I'll just throw some notes I took in here and call it a day... or a review. Spoilers ahead.

Little things/details I loved:
- Rachel's little bulletin words with proverbs, now starrin Sun Tzu, reflecting her changed life
- Cassie and Jake just joking about Thanksgiving at Cassie's family's place and how her great-grandma rambles on and on
- the typical, adorable 80's/90's obession with whales and show more dolphins (and sharks as mean/evil... well, that one actually annoyed me) - And still: the moment the whales come to save the kids - the Little Ones - sends goosebumps down my spine
- Marco making it very, very clear that doing nothing is also a decision (see also: today's racism/various other -isms)
- the kids as seagulls constantly pointing out fries/candy bars/bags of potatoe chips - a genuinely hilarious comedy moment
- Awww, Ax. Instant woobie, instant favourite
- "Who is your prince?" / "I will fight for you, Prince Jake." I'd forgotten that Ax adresses him as such at first.
- "Ax? Don't talk to any strangers on the way home, okay?" show less

The team finds and rescues Ax the Andalite, one of the greatest characters in the series, on their first ocean mission. This one is a ton of fun.

I started out reading these just to see what I never read as a kid but now Im legit into them and need the next book imediatly.

Animorphs was a good series that kept me reading. Enjoyed these as a kid.