Book 14: The Unknown
Publishing Date: January 1998
Narrator: Cassie
My rating:
The Yeerks appear to be infesting horses out at Zone 91, a poorly disguised parallel of Area 51 (which is in Nevada but we all know the Animorphs are in California!). What are the Animorphs going to do about it? Why, morph horses, of course!
This is one of the better books in the Applegate-written section of the series purely for its comedic value. We don’t expect Cassie to be the funny one, but she’s run over by a tank as a cockroach and then runs in a thoroughbred race. There are plenty of funny moments in this book as Cassie’s naivety comes to the fore – she gives a fake name as “Cindy Crawford” and a fake phone number of “12345678”. Also, Rachel buys her a new outfit, which actually makes other boys notice her, and makes Marco go slightly insane (but did we ever expect anything else?)
This is the first book after Tobias has been given his morphing power back, and it demonstrates how awkward it must be for a hawk to go to human places to acquire animals (a racetrack for the horses). Tobias also grumbles a lot about how poor the morphs are in comparison to his own body, or grumbles about being left out.
The Yeerks want to know if the rumoured alien technology held at Zone 91 is a threat to them or their invasion, and although they never actually find out what it is, Ax knows and informs the Animorphs. The Yeerks are still desperate enough to attack humans in broad daylight (well, night time, but in a public place) to force an infestation, and Cassie is the one to come up with a plan and foil them. Don’t underestimate her. She may be a tree hugger but she’s also one of the most ruthless Animorphs. It’s dangerous, because she’ll look all innocent with her big wide eyes until you realise you’ve lost a major battle in the war and have to retreat.
Cassie is a badass and should not be underestimated.
Join me for a review of Book #15: The Escape next week!
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About Nemo
A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.
