#6 The Capture

Narrator : Jake.

Personal Ranking : S.

Review

This book is a huge banger. Honestly I love it.

In the first book, we knew that Tom was a Controller, but we really didn't have the time to understand the weight of this event on Jake ; this book is here to make us feel it in depth.

First of all, there's a reversal of power dynamics within Jake's family (around page 38) : the real, important conversation isn't the one of the parents, it's the one Jake and Tom are having. The parents lose their authority, as Jake understands also that he can't rely on them : he's becoming the authority figure, as he rises as the leader of the Animorphs.

Second, Tom makes a proposition to Jake : to join the Sharing. He says : « Tu pourrais faire partie d'un truc super, au lieu d'être juste un ado » (« You could be part of something amazing, instead of just being a teenager »)(around page 39). I have 2 things to say about that.

1) Technically, this IS Animorphs's premisse as a book series ! By the first chapter, the book already wants the reader to feel involved in this universe, to feel like the Yeerk invasion is happening in real time, instead of just being a teenager. Maybe I'm reaching, but to me, this is a way of saying : no, actually, you don't want to be a part of this dangerous universe, it's a trap. But I'm probably reaching.

2) Of course, Jake doesn't want to join the Sharing. But, since he becomes a Controller himself, it feels like he accepted this proposal against his will. Especially since the Yeerk in his head is Tom's. We see in Jake's fantasm that a part of him wants to see his brother be proud of him, so maybe, in an unconscious way, he wishes to be a Controller to be like his brother.

Jake's dream of becoming a tiger to kill his brother makes you feel the weight of his guilt of not being able to save Tom. And it's like a fear of his own animality, of his own capacity to be ruthless and to do what needs to be done. In a way, this fear isn't unlike Rachel or Tobias's fears of letting themselves be violent.

There are so many elements that feel like foreshadowing : the dilemma of killing or not Tom is already there ! in the first chapter ! and also, probably my favorite foreshadowing is the fact that Jake decides to kill around a hundred Yeerks in the pool without even thinking about it. When you know what happens in the last books, this sequence feels like the seed of what Jake will become.

And you can already sense Cassie and Jake's tension, that will lead them to go astray ! Around page 144, Jake says he doesn't feel pity for the Yeerks he killed in the pool, which surprises Cassie. The Yeerk immediatly thinks it's because she has doubt about him being a Controller, but to me, it feels like Cassie is astonished to see Jake being so ruthless, even with his enemies.

Unlike in the Predator, in this book Ax is really useful. Without him, the team would have probably not realize that Jake was a Controller.

Double identities are common in Animorphs. Just like Rachel saw herself in Melissa, Jake sees himself in Tom : a potential of what he could become if he doesnt fight. And, like in #2, Jake gives a hidden message to Tom. It allows the reader to feel what it is to be a Controller, and to some extent, you can pity the Yeerk in his last moments.