Throwback Thursday: Your Animorphs Required Reading List

Decades after it was first released, Animorphs remains a sci-fi epic on a scale unequaled by any other young-adult franchise (certainly any intended for middle grade readers). Across more than 50 books, author K.A. Applegate and her team of ghostwriters crafted a stunningly diverse cast of characters, from insecure ’90s teens to fascist centaurs from space, and threw them all into an intergalactic war with ramifications echoing throughout space and time.
Did I mention that this is a series about teenagers granted the otherworldly ability to transform into any animal they touch, a tool they use to protect the Earth in the aforementioned intergalactic war? It sounds silly, but the books treat the epic stakes with sincerity, and transform the series into something rather grand.
Though much of the series is sadly out of print, updated versions of the first eight books were published in 2010, and Animorphs novels can still be found on used book racks everywhere. Make sure you keep an eye out for these standout chapters of Applegate’s classic saga, and watch for her new book Crenshaw this fall.
#5: The Predator
It’s hardly necessary to read from the beginning (though you’ll likely want to go back); there’s enough recap in the front of every book to keep you up to speed. The Predator is a great one to start with because it gives you a sense of the series’ massive scale: the team rockets from morphing ants (a disturbing, dissociative nightmare) to battling aliens in low orbit. Plus, Marco’s character arc takes a dark turn, away from simple comic relief, and the political machinations between alien factions begin to coalesce into a compelling—and vital—plotline of their own.
#6: The Capture
Immediately after The Predator comes an installment that’s equally fascinating, for entirely different reasons. The Capture raises the stakes as high as they can go at this point: leader Jake accidentally falls victim to the Yeerks and is made into a slug’s slave—without his teammates’ knowledge. The traumatic events that follow serve as a testament to Applegate’s ability to literally torture incredible stories out of her characters.
#10: The Android
When reading a story about armed conflict, it’s important to differentiate between those waging war and those who fight for peace. Good and bad intent is a delicate line that’s frequently crossed over the course of the series, but one never toed by a single faction: the Chee. A race of pacifistic dog-androids that have existed on Earth since before the dinosaurs, the Chee become valuable allies of the Animorphs, but cannot take violent action themselves. Applegate does an impressive job presenting how vital it is to value peace and those who refuse to fight, even in times of great strife.
#13: The Change
Easily the series’ most tragic character is Tobias, who embodies the literal inhumanity of war (having been immediately trapped in hawk morph during the first book). While his first POV book (#3, The Encounter) is still in print, this out-of-print volume is where his arc flips into high gear. Tobias makes a discovery that has major plot and metaphorical implications, while fleshing out one of the series’ most enigmatic characters: the Ellimist, a godlike being that plays chess with the universe.
#15: The Escape
If it looks like this list is stacked in favor of books from Marco’s POV, that’s because it is—but only coincidentally! Marco happens to have one of the most compelling arcs in the whole series, forced to make some tough moral choices while also suffering through horrific near-death experiences, several of which occur in quick succession in The Escape.
#22: The Solution
What’s become known as the “David Trilogy” is an incredible climax to the initial run of the series, before it became largely ghostwritten. Scholastic’s current series tagline is “Saving the World Will Change You,” and The Solution shows just how true that statement is. If you can’t track down the entire trilogy, keep an eye out for its final act, in which the Animorphs must confront a traitor in their midst and determine his ultimate fate. Who are the most ruthless members of the team? It may not be who you think.
BONUS ROUND: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
Among all the special edition stories Applegate produced for Animorphs, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles ranks as my single favorite. As a standalone space opera, it’s virtually unmatched in young adult fiction; like theseries as a whole, it serves as a heady rumination on hubris, grief, trauma, and love during wartime.
Animorphs fans, which chapters of the series were your favorites?