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David, the newest Animorph, is not what he appears. His need to control the other Animorphs is all he thinks about. And the things he does are starting to break up the group. Rachel and the others know that time is running out. The newest battle against the Yeerks is the most important one yet. And it's not one that will wait. Winning this fight could mean slowing down the invasion. But no one knows what to do with David. Because the newest Animorph is more than just a little problem. He's.Tags
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"Just us, against a person who could become any animal he could touch. A person who could become any living, breathing thing. A flea in your hair, a cat in a tree, a bat in the night, and, when you were unprepared, when you were vulnerable, a lion or tiger or bear.
I was starting to realize why Visser Three hated us so much."
"You can never be sure whether the pretty blond lugging a pair of bulging Express bags through the mall is just another sweet, ditzy, harmless mall rat.
Or me."
*
The 'David Trilogy', comprising the 20th, 21st and 22nd 'Animorphs' books, holds a special place in my heart, and not just because 'Animorphs #20: The Discovery' was the first 'Animorphs' title I ever read. After sixteen years and countless rereads, this trio show more of books remain one of the absolute high points of what was probably my favourite series as a child. Just while flicking through 'The Solution' to find the quotes above, not having read a single 'Animorphs' book in at least 6-7 years and expecting the memories of this particular one's quality to have been exaggerated by nostalgia, I was surprised at the elegance of the prose, which is simple and concise but never childish or hackneyed, and the depth with which its themes are explored.
A lot is made of how dark 'Animorphs' was for a children's series, and that is certainly true, but far more striking than the graphic violence and the grim execution of its cartoony premise is the maturity and subtlety of its darkness, and the things these books have to say about the human condition, about war and violence and the loss of innocence, can be just as compelling to adult eyes. And 'Animorphs #22: The Solution" is one of the best examples of the series' thematic depth and compelling characterisation.
As a kid, I was drawn in by the violence, by gritty (for a MG series) elements like the apparent death of a main protagonist and the POV character's own homicidal urges (this book was heavily responsible for Rachel supplanting Marco as my favorite Animorph), and, of course, the horrifying and yet somehow unavoidable fate-worse-than-death delivered to the villain. As an adult, its the morally ambiguity of both the protagonists' and the antagonist's actions, Rachel's struggle to retain her humanity and justify her rage and ruthlessness to both herself and her fellow Animorphs, and what is probably the darkest and most unsettling moment in the entire series: the fate of poor Cousin Saddler, which becomes increasingly disturbing the older you get.
And holding it all together is the very best 'Animorphs' character: Rachel, the suburban mall-rat turned savage warrior. She's by turns hilariously snarky and disturbingly savage, and somehow utterly sympathetic throughout. Whereas later books saw Rachel going over the edge into absolute recklessness and brutality, this early in the series she's still a fundamentally good, loving, stable person, frightened by the darkness inside her and just how much she *enjoys* the fight. In many respects this is her turning point, where she comes to terms with just who (or what) she is and begins to embrace it, and it's always compelling.
I could rave about this book for days, praising such things as the creative, intense action set-pieces (such as the finale, which features a fight between the protagonist and antagonist morphed into rats that is just *brutal*), the hilarious little cameo from an inebriated US President (unnamed, but so obviously Bill Clinton), the characterisation of characters like David (an arrogant monster or a scared kid driven over the edge by his shitty luck? Ultimately, he is both), Jake (the most stable and "normal" of the protagonists, yet one who is becoming a ruthless commander and strategist in his own way) and Cassie (the empathetic "moral centre" who comes up with the plan to manipulate the bad guy into a truly terrifying fate), and the ending, where the main characters "win", but it's a traumatic and depressing victory for all of them.
Soon after this book, K.A. Applegate's increasing workload meantt ghostwriters would wind up writing most of the series from Book #25 onwards, and while there are still some excellent books in that much-criticized period, the quality would gradually but steadily drop until improving dramatically during the final nine books. 'Animorphs #22: The Solution" is both one of the best 'Animorphs' books as well as one of the last great 'Animorphs' books, and an excellent book in it's own right, even when judged against more "worthy", "adult" fiction. show less
I was starting to realize why Visser Three hated us so much."
"You can never be sure whether the pretty blond lugging a pair of bulging Express bags through the mall is just another sweet, ditzy, harmless mall rat.
Or me."
*
The 'David Trilogy', comprising the 20th, 21st and 22nd 'Animorphs' books, holds a special place in my heart, and not just because 'Animorphs #20: The Discovery' was the first 'Animorphs' title I ever read. After sixteen years and countless rereads, this trio show more of books remain one of the absolute high points of what was probably my favourite series as a child. Just while flicking through 'The Solution' to find the quotes above, not having read a single 'Animorphs' book in at least 6-7 years and expecting the memories of this particular one's quality to have been exaggerated by nostalgia, I was surprised at the elegance of the prose, which is simple and concise but never childish or hackneyed, and the depth with which its themes are explored.
A lot is made of how dark 'Animorphs' was for a children's series, and that is certainly true, but far more striking than the graphic violence and the grim execution of its cartoony premise is the maturity and subtlety of its darkness, and the things these books have to say about the human condition, about war and violence and the loss of innocence, can be just as compelling to adult eyes. And 'Animorphs #22: The Solution" is one of the best examples of the series' thematic depth and compelling characterisation.
As a kid, I was drawn in by the violence, by gritty (for a MG series) elements like the apparent death of a main protagonist and the POV character's own homicidal urges (this book was heavily responsible for Rachel supplanting Marco as my favorite Animorph), and, of course, the horrifying and yet somehow unavoidable fate-worse-than-death delivered to the villain. As an adult, its the morally ambiguity of both the protagonists' and the antagonist's actions, Rachel's struggle to retain her humanity and justify her rage and ruthlessness to both herself and her fellow Animorphs, and what is probably the darkest and most unsettling moment in the entire series: the fate of poor Cousin Saddler, which becomes increasingly disturbing the older you get.
And holding it all together is the very best 'Animorphs' character: Rachel, the suburban mall-rat turned savage warrior. She's by turns hilariously snarky and disturbingly savage, and somehow utterly sympathetic throughout. Whereas later books saw Rachel going over the edge into absolute recklessness and brutality, this early in the series she's still a fundamentally good, loving, stable person, frightened by the darkness inside her and just how much she *enjoys* the fight. In many respects this is her turning point, where she comes to terms with just who (or what) she is and begins to embrace it, and it's always compelling.
I could rave about this book for days, praising such things as the creative, intense action set-pieces (such as the finale, which features a fight between the protagonist and antagonist morphed into rats that is just *brutal*), the hilarious little cameo from an inebriated US President (unnamed, but so obviously Bill Clinton), the characterisation of characters like David (an arrogant monster or a scared kid driven over the edge by his shitty luck? Ultimately, he is both), Jake (the most stable and "normal" of the protagonists, yet one who is becoming a ruthless commander and strategist in his own way) and Cassie (the empathetic "moral centre" who comes up with the plan to manipulate the bad guy into a truly terrifying fate), and the ending, where the main characters "win", but it's a traumatic and depressing victory for all of them.
Soon after this book, K.A. Applegate's increasing workload meantt ghostwriters would wind up writing most of the series from Book #25 onwards, and while there are still some excellent books in that much-criticized period, the quality would gradually but steadily drop until improving dramatically during the final nine books. 'Animorphs #22: The Solution" is both one of the best 'Animorphs' books as well as one of the last great 'Animorphs' books, and an excellent book in it's own right, even when judged against more "worthy", "adult" fiction. show less
This book was really tense! It wraps up the "David trilogy." The newer Animorph is obviously a dangerous loose end. He quits the team for good, but his very existence is a danger to the others, not to mention he obviously intends to use his morphing powers for crime and gain, and now he wants to get his hands back on the blue box that grants those powers. It is really strange to see the Animorphs facing danger from one who wields their own abilities- you can see how they've managed to hold on so long against the alien enemy, even though small in numbers and only teenagers. David can easily threaten them, sneak in amongst them unseen, he could be anywhere, any time. He infiltrates Rachel and Jake's extended family in a very clever and show more disturbing way. It makes it doubly hard for the team to get rid of him- but also more determined to do so. They have to be very careful and smart to outwit one of their own- and meanwhile still have to put a stop to the summit where the enemy are trying to get at the heads of five different nations. Which they decide to do in a ridiculously straightforward fashion, since their last attempt using subterfuge didn't work at all. More significant to me than all the action, though, was the constant second-guessing Rachel (the narrator) did. She finds herself questioning why Jake specifically puts her in situations that call for threats, violence and even ruthless behavior, to get the better of David. She's angered and frightened by the knowledge that there is a dark side to her character that enjoys the challenge of a fight, and upset that the other members of the team might see her that way too. Also it becomes clear that Jake is starting to strategically use his friends as team members for their specific abilities- they don't always like what that entails or suggests about them.
There aren't really any new morphs in this book. David uses the snake, they all morph birds of prey at some point, they morph dolphins and a whale at one point- battling David as an orca at sea- he's trying to kill them off- and several of the Animorphs acquire elephant and rhinoceros forms to (literally) crash into the summit. Rachel morphs the rat in order to lead David into a trap. None of these were really described in detail- and I rather missed that. However it was nice to have far fewer of the drawn-out sound effects written in! (I think this is among the first of the Animorphs books that were ghost-written- most of the second half of the series weren't directly authored by Applegate).
from the Dogear Diary show less
There aren't really any new morphs in this book. David uses the snake, they all morph birds of prey at some point, they morph dolphins and a whale at one point- battling David as an orca at sea- he's trying to kill them off- and several of the Animorphs acquire elephant and rhinoceros forms to (literally) crash into the summit. Rachel morphs the rat in order to lead David into a trap. None of these were really described in detail- and I rather missed that. However it was nice to have far fewer of the drawn-out sound effects written in! (I think this is among the first of the Animorphs books that were ghost-written- most of the second half of the series weren't directly authored by Applegate).
from the Dogear Diary show less
Animorphs was a good series that kept me reading. Enjoyed these as a kid.
Fun fluff series that gets less and less fluff over time.
Well that was messed up.
A short comment for every book of the series until I get a chance to re-read them. All three of my sons and I loved this series and read every single book - I even bought every single book (most, but not all, used; some through school book sales). I'm excited to re-read them to see how the five main characters develop and to watch all the different transformations again.
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Author Information
448+ Works 89,841 Members
Katherine Applegate was born in Michigan on July 19, 1956. She writes science fiction, young adult romances, and pop-up books. She is the author of the Making Waves, Making Out, and Roscoe Riley Rules series. She writes the Animorphs, Everworld, and Remnants series under the pen name K. A. Applegate. She also writes under the pen names of C. show more Archer, Catherine Kendall and Elizabeth Benning. She has received numerous awards including a Golden Duck Award (Eleanor Cameron Award for Middle Grades) for The Message in 1997, the SCBWI 2008 Golden Kite Award for Best Fiction and the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award for Home of the Brave, and the 2013 Newbery Medal and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Illinois) for The One and Only Ivan. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Solution (Animorphs #22) (Animorphs #22)
- Original title
- The Solution
- Original publication date
- 1998-10-01
- People/Characters
- Rachel [in Animorphs]; Jake [in Animorphs]; Cassie [in Animorphs]; Tobias [in Animorphs]; Marco [in Animorphs]; "Ax" Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (show all 7); David [in Animorphs]
- Important places
- USA
- Dedication
- For Jeff Sampson and all his friends.
- First words
- My name is Rachel. And I was deep in this strange dream that seemed to involve me trying on dresses at my favorite department store.
- Quotations
- Just us, against a person who could become any animal he could touch. A person who could become any living, breathing thing. A flea in your hair, a cat in a tree, a bat in the night, and, when you were unprepared, when you we... (show all)re vulnerable, a lion or tiger or bear.
I was starting to realize why Visser Three hated us so much.
(pg. 26-27)
"It's not right, but I think it's probably normal," I said. "I mean, you don't want to think it could happen to you. So you have to come up with excuses. Ways it could never happen to you. You end up blaming the person who go... (show all)t hurt. Because then you don't have to think about what if it was you it happened to. You even start getting mad at the person it happened to. Like 'How dare he drag me down into this pit of darkness? He dare he get hurt and make me feel bad?'"
Jordan nodded. "That's just so wrong, though."
I shrugged. "Yeah, probably. But it's also how people are. You don't want to go around thinking, 'It could be me next. It could be my sister or mother or father.' You're going to do anything you can to put up a wall between you and the fear. You have to cut yourself off from it, tell yourself you're safe. Bad stuff only happens to people who are careless or stupid or evil."
(pg. 93-94)
Not for the first time, I looked at Jake and wondered what he had become. He was sitting there, looking like any other kid stuck in any other boring minivan. If you saw him walk down the street you might think, Oh, there's a ... (show all)nice looking guy. But you wouldn't see half of what there was to Jake.
But then, I guess that's true of everyone. You can never be sure whether the pretty blond lugging a pair of bulging Express bags through the mall is just another sweet, ditzy, harmless mall rat.
Or me.
(pg. 102) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He swears he'd heard a faint, ragged voice crying, "No! No!"
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