Hello again bookworms!

The moment is finally here. The end to my reread of the Animorphs saga!

I started this journey about a year and a half ago, and I’m so glad I made this decision. It’s been a real trip down memory lane, and nostalgia is some powerful stuff. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and today I’m reviewing Animorphs #54, The Beginning.

Blurb:

No one ever thought it would come to this. 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 and the other Animorphs have secretly fought a desperate battle. Secretly held the Yeerks at bay.

But those days are over.

It’s come down to the final battle between the Yeerks and Animorphs. And no one knows who will win, lose, or live…

GoodReads

The Review:

I gave this novel four stars.

This book is in multiple POVs and takes off from the cliffhanger of #53. Staring down Tom (Jake’s Controller brother) as he readies the Blade ship to annihilate them, can the Animorphs’ last contingency plan save them from certain death?

I’ve been waiting a long time for this, and overall I’m pretty pleased with how this last book went.

I’ll be honest (and the slightest bit spoilery), most of this book is set after the final showdown in space with Tom. I went in thinking the battle would drag out, but was pleasantly surprised. During and after the battle feel like separate stories, but I understand why they were bundled together. The battle was very action-packed and riveting. After that, I greatly enjoyed seeing the fruits of the Animorphs labor and the changed world that resulted. There’s not much I can say, but the continued character development was nice to see and I love the direction that Earth is going in.

One major quip with the plot was the ending and the fact that we really didn’t get one. There are certain ways you end a series and this was not the way to do it. For that I’m taking away a star on the rating. It honestly felt like a slap to the face after how long so many of us have been going to get a conclusion to it all. The author does thank the reader afterward, but I just wanted a better ending.

Moving on.

The characters felt true to themselves. Marco, Jake, and Cassie really took the spotlight, although Ax had his moments too. Jake definitely had the most depth here, and after all he’d been through I understood how it affected him so much. I can’t say which Animorph died, but I definitely had a good cry with this one. I won’t ever forget these great teens and the sacrifices they made to help their world survive the Yeerk infestation.

There are plenty of other works by Applegate, so I’ll definitely have to look into those in the future.

But as for this series, it is done and over with. I greatly appreciate the spark to my imagination that these books gave me as a kid and how that helped shape me into who I am today.

Definitely a series worth reading!

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!

Have a great day!

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