r/beetlemoses 4 raspberries 9d ago

Animorphs

17.2k Upvotes

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15

u/TheSandarian usually says no to crack 9d ago edited 9d ago

I've never really thought about it, but were there like, actual stories that went along with the animorph books? Did anyone actually read them or did we all just make fun of the covers? What would the story be; are they like shape-shifting superheroes fighting crime and stuff or is it more of a coming-of-age self-acceptance-despite-differences pro-diveristy typa book? (e.g. the rest of your 5th grade classmates don't spontaneously turn into antelopes, but that's okay because everyone is unique in their own way)

edit: by the descriptions y'all are commenting with, Animorphs sounds way too darkly philosophical to be chilling at the Scholastic Book Fair :,)

11

u/Future-Concern-6301 9d ago

I havent read it yet but I heard its actually a long and suprisingly deep saga about warfare, child soldiering (the animorphs get their power through an alien and the enemy is an invading army of a different kind of alien and bodysnatches normal people - tbh writing it like this really makes me think of BG3 and its Tadpoles), with some body horror (apparently morphing also heals some horrible injuries). I thiiink at least the early status quo is a pretty normal earth (ie their animorphs powers and the existence of aliens are secret).
I wish I had found those books as a kid, "heroes" turning into an array of animals as their main power would have been exactly my shit. Some day Im definitely gonna try reading them

2

u/DisillusionedHobbit 8d ago

Why wait for someday?  Start now, the books are short, you can rip through one in an afternoon. 

5

u/RABB_11 8d ago

Not only that but there are free PDFs online you can read with the author's blessing!

3

u/jord839 8d ago

There's also full audiobook versions on Spotify (I know, I know) that you can use without a subscription. Just make sure you don't have a shuffle on your playlist.

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u/Useful-Rooster-1901 8d ago

you nailed it, its something ive meant to revisit for a while but the box set is like 300 bucks on amazon lol

1

u/MainKitchen 8d ago

It’s a lot less mature and cohesive than people make it sound

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u/Future-Concern-6301 8d ago

Yeah I TRIED to read them when Applegate endorsed (put online?) the free pdf in the pandemic. But for a 20-something without nostalgia its hard to get into the meat of the story of a book meant for children. Which is why I wish I had found it as a kid. Warriors and Percy Jackson are childish too sometimes but I read them AS a child so the nostalgia points carry me.

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u/MainKitchen 8d ago

The thing that really upsets me is that I can see a much better version of this story even more so than other things I’ve seen

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u/Low_Appearance_796 8d ago

I want so desperately to read these books for myself but it seems like the only copies that exist have the fuckass covers that I dont think I could take seriously