The Beginning (Animorphs, No 54)
by K.A. Applegate
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Book Summary Information
Author: K.A. ApplegateEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06-01
ISBN: 0439115280
Number of pages: 159
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The Beginning (Animorphs, No 54)
Book Review: Great ending to a classic series
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been almost six years since this series ended and I am now a college student, and yet it still resonates with me as much as it did back when I was a middle school student. Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax are always characters that will hold a special place in my heart. Throughout the course of the series, I felt like I got to know them as if they were real. I love the intricate, mature, and exciting story K.A. Applegate told about their battle to save Earth throughout the series.
This is the stunning conclusion to my favorite book series of all time. The long war against the Yeerks finally comes to an end, and while the Animorphs and their allies are victorious in saving Earth, what is the price they pay?
The way K.A. Applegate chose to end this series has been a source of controversy among the fans ever since its publication in May 2001. Rachel is killed, Jake and Tobias sink into depression, and the series ends on a cliffhanger. No doubt this book is quite depressing on many levels, and in no way would you describe it as a happy ending.
However, I would not have it any other way. I am an English major with aspirations to become a secondary-level English teacher, and so I appreciate maturity and character depth and development. As the author herself has stated, Animorphs is and always was a war story. War is not clean. People make tough decisions, people are killed, afterwards some aren't always able to "shake it off" and move on, and sometimes the events that lead to the end of one war at some point down the road trigger another war. Thus, after writing an entire series in which the characters had to face very real moral dilemmas and had to deal with the reality of losing their youth and innocence as a result of becoming soliders, it would have been untrue to the mature spirit of the series to end it with everyone left happy, unscarred and giving each other high fives.
Let me tell you, Rachel's death scene is powerful, and beautifully written. I have read it dozens upon dozens of times since the book was published, and it still hits me six years later with its force. The scene of her funeral is even more powerful. That last image of Tobias flying away with the urn containing her ashes...gets me every time, still.
The character development after the way, as well, I also felt was believable. It would only be natural that Jake, after being such a good leader with the ability to make snap decisions during the war, would not be able to fully function after the war, finally getting the chance to second guess himself and the decisions he made. Rachel was the only person who ever truly loved Tobias, and so he will never be able to get over her death. It made sense for Marco and Cassie, on the other hand, to be able to do well and even prosper, and I was glad to see that Ax was finally able to step outside of his Elfangor's shadow and become an Andalite hero in his own right.
As far as the cliffhanger goes, I love it. I don't always like cliffhangers...I usually like the type of ending that gives you a sense of closure, and yet there is still an open-ended sense that gives you the knowledge that the lives of these characters will continue beyond what we are seeing or reading. This is not that type of ending, however, I feel it is written superbly. A lot of fans believe that the ending ("Ram the Blade ship") means that all of the Animorphs are dead except for Cassie, but K.A. has established, and I believe, that she did not intend for that perception at all. Instead, they are on the verge of a new war, a new adventure. So even though the books have stopped, we can know that the characters' stories will continue on in some way, and it is up to our imagination to determine what that is!
So I really feel like #54 was a fitting end for the Animorphs series. I hope someday, in some way, to introduce this series to my future students so that they can enjoy the superb reading experience I had when I was their age...and so that they can not only learn a lot about the animal kingdom, but also see examples of well-developed characters and mature plots and moral dilemmas that can incite great thoughts and discussions.
So thank you K.A. Applegate. Thank you Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax. Thank you for the wonderful memories, the great stories, and for giving all of us a reading experience worthy of all of these classic books.
Summary of The Beginning (Animorphs, No 54)
The extraordinary conclusion to the best-selling Animorphs series. Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax know that even if they could have warned people in the beginning, no one would have believed their story. A story about an invasion of parasitic aliens. So, for all this time, Jake, the other Animorphs, and Ax have secretly fought a desperate battle. Secretly held the Yeerks at bay. But those days are over. And there are no more secrets. It comes down to the final battle between the Yeerks and Animorphs. And no one knows who will win, lose, or live . . .Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic Books
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