Back to Before (Animorphs Megamorphs #4)

It's what you would guess from the title. After a terrible battle, the Animorphs part ways and go home, discouraged and exhausted. Jake is visited by one of those omniopent beings who offers him a chance to change everything- to go back in time and walk the other way, not through the construction site on their way home from the mall where they met the Andalite that gave them morphing power, so long ago. Jake takes it.

Then things get very weird. The Animorphs are just kids going about their ordinary lives- except the Yeerks are still here, and obviously taking over. Ax is still in the crashed ship on Earth under the ocean, which he escapes by morphing a shark; when he gets to land and figures out that humans are the most intelligent show more species he morphs a person, but gets put in a mental health institution- only he doesn't realize that's what it is at first. Eventually he gets out of there- but doesn't necessarily cross paths with the kids right away. Meanwhile, Tobias isn't really friends with the group, Jake has no idea why his brother sometimes acts strange and almost gets roped into the Sharing. The kids start to notice that very strange and frightening things are happening in their town- especially when an alien space ship shows up and some of them are shot at with laser beams when they try and figure out what's going on. That's the strangest part- it wasn't them going about ordinary lives trying to avoid the chaos. It was them feeling compelled to do something about the alien invasion, even though they'd never been given that directive by Elfangor. In particular they also start to have a sense that something is off- they seem to faintly remember things that haven't happened, know names they shouldn't, have glimpses of things that aren't possible- like Jake envisioning his hands turning into tiger paws, and Cassie thinking there ought to be a hawk perched in the barn rafters when they gather there to talk. This was strongly reminiscent of my favorite Ursula K. le Guin book- The Lathe of Heaven.

Well- this story didn't really change much in the fight against the aliens. It just shows how horrible things would be if the kids weren't doing their best to stall the alien takeover- one of the Animorphs gets taken by the Yeerks, two of them get killed, and Ax isn't part of their team at all. The aliens are basically steamrolling the human race while people hesitate wondering if this is real, or a hoax, or what their governments are going to do about it- and it's already too late. Of course, in the end the one who granted Jake the choice to go back comes and undoes it all so they're back in their rightful time and place, with their morphing power again. Kind of makes it feel like a cop-out. But also highlights how important the battle they're fighting is, even if they feel helpless and don't see any progress at all.

from the Dogear Diary show less

After a grisly battle, the Drode offers the Animorphs' leader an escape from the terrifying pressure. He'll reverse the decision to start the Animorphs. Now, there's no morphing, no missions, and no knowledge of the Yeerks. That is, until very strange things begin to happen and Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco and Ax are forced to confront their new reality.

It does a great job of telling the story of Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco and Ax if the four kids had not gone by the construction site that fateful day. Tobias' story is particularly moving. I loved what happens with Rachel and Marco.

What happens to Ax on his own make perfect sense.

Favorite quote:

"The cookies formed by two thin, round, black discs with a layer of adhesive show more white substance between them are the finest accomplishment of your species!”

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill show less

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.