I'm so sad that I'm already caught up on these adaptations, and I really hope Grine is able to release more volumes soon. Reading these has made me want to go back and re-read the original series so badly! We get to see a lot of the heavy, sad themes in the series come into play in The Encounter, because this is the first book where it really starts to sink in for Tobias that his life is permanently changed, and he struggles with accepting that for a while.
It's also the first instance where I think it fully sinks in for the kids that there's a good chance they're going to die during these missions, and there's even a scene where they say they'd rather die than be taken alive by the Yeerks. It's heavy stuff and totally reminded me of why, despite how young the characters and audience for this series are, K.A. Applegate never went too easy on us or shied away from discussing the reality of how difficult and scary it would be to rebel against such a powerful, sneaky force of enemies.
✨ Representation: Marco is Latino, Cassie is Black
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[violence, animal death, animal violence, animals eating one another, gun violence, mind control, war, kidnapping (hide spoiler)]
This was a pretty interesting concept! I love alien body-snatcher types of stories anyways, as they've freaked me out ever since I was a kid, but I doThis was a pretty interesting concept! I love alien body-snatcher types of stories anyways, as they've freaked me out ever since I was a kid, but I don't think I've ever read one where the alien could only take over a specific body part like this. I did find myself getting a little bored from time to time between the more action-heavy scenes, but I was into it enough that I'll probably continue the series!
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[parasitic infestation, violence, gore, murder, body horror, animal death (hide spoiler)]
I forever love all things Animorphs, so when I saw these graphic novel adaptations at my library, I checked them out so fast! This story is perfect for a graphic adaptation. The artwork is gorgeous and does justice to the freaky nature of the kids' shifting in a way that CGI never could, plus the aliens all look incredible (especially the Andalites, who are perfectly illustrated). Needless to say, I loved this - both on its own, and as a faithful adaptation to the original first book - and I highly recommend it, whether you're a life-long Ani-fan like me or someone brand new to the franchise.
✨ Representation: Marco is Latinx, Cassie is Black
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[violence, bloodshed, death, mind control, parasites, war, grief, mentions of family deaths, mentions of bullying (hide spoiler)]
“I hate this world. People are small. They’re ignorant, and they’re happy to stay that way. They make an effort to. They’ll spend time and energy finding ways not to learn things just to feel comfortable with their beliefs.”
I loved this so, so much. I don't have words to express how much I loved this. This series was so much fun and I'm devastated that it's over, but so happy to have experienced it. I am one of those readers who frequently finds herself disappointed with series finales, but this was one of the best, most satisfying endings to a trilogy I've ever read.
While the first book sucked me in with the plot and the second book kept me going with the characters, the third book was a perfect blend of the two that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. By this point in the series, I'd realized that I couldn't take anything at face value, so I spent much of the book guessing and theorizing, and I still didn't figure everything out ahead of time!
I'm going to miss this world and these characters very much, but I'm also immensely satisfied with where things wrapped up and the places these characters were in by the time it was all said and done. I would love to read more from this author very soon and I'm already planning on reading the short in-between stories soon, just for a little more time to spend in this world.
Again, these beings are too cute and wholesome and I never get tired of Strange Planet comics. Pyle is so good at taking even the most mundane human aAgain, these beings are too cute and wholesome and I never get tired of Strange Planet comics. Pyle is so good at taking even the most mundane human activities and making them seem magical and lovely through the beings' perspectives — and at the same time, he also excels at taking totally normal, everyday habits and pointing out how inherently ridiculous they might seem.
I love these little beings too much and reading Strange Planet comics always gives me such a delightful little boost of serotonin. ♥ I've been followiI love these little beings too much and reading Strange Planet comics always gives me such a delightful little boost of serotonin. ♥ I've been following the comics on social media for years, so I had read most of these already, but it had been a long time, and it added in a dose of nostalgia for the little references my family and I used to make to some of these ("tiny trash!").
“Scientists are like children: they always want to know everything, they all ask too many questions, and they never follow orders to the letter.”
This was incredible. As much as I loved Sleeping Giants, I may have loved Waking Gods even more. This is definitely not one of those trilogies that suffers from the "middle book slump" syndrome, because I would say this one kept my interest even better than the first book!
I think what stood out the most for me about this book was how invested I became in the characters. While they were funny and endearing in the first book, I became fully emotionally attached to them in this one, which made some of this book's twists and developments that much more painful and unexpected. I also absolutely adored how much more lore we gained regarding the aliens and the existence of these powerful creations they left behind, and the reasoning behind their choices. I won't spoil anything; I'll just say that, while saddened by the aliens' motives, it wasn't so difficult to understand why they held them, and I appreciated the fact that the author gave them a viewpoint that felt so unique and refreshing.
At the time I'm writing this review, I'm a little ways into the third book, and I'm hoping it may be my favorite yet!
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[violence, death, war, child death, injuries, medical trauma (hide spoiler)]
“I was smart enough to know it was wrong, but not brave enough to stop them.”
I've been meaning to read Sleeping Giants for ages, especially after hearing so many people compare this series to The Illuminae Files (which is one of my all-time favorite series), so I was excited when Misty and I decided to buddy read this! I'll go ahead and get this out of the way first: I don't think the Illuminae comparisons are totally fair, as the only real similarity is the fact that this book is primarily told through interviews and journal entries. It isn't the same sort of mixed-media as the other series, and the premise and writing styles are vastly different. I'm only mentioning this because I see the comparison so often, and Misty and I both agreed that we felt like it led to some mismanaged expectations that we had to adjust when first starting this book.
That said, I enjoyed Sleeping Giants immensely and it honestly didn't need the comparisons because it stands on its own just fine! It's such an entertaining and intriguing book, though I'll admit that there were some slow moments that lost me a little bit here and there. It started off by focusing more on the plot, but then shifted gears to heavily look at the relationships between the characters before bringing things back around to the plot with a twist I never would have seen coming. That twist alone was enough to raise this from a 4-star read to 5 solid stars from me, and has me on the edge of my seat to read the second book! I can't wait to continue this series and I highly recommend it for anyone who's looking for a unique sci-fi read with a heavy focus on characters.
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[violence, death, war, child death, injuries, medical trauma (hide spoiler)]
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