Group Re-Read: Week 2, #2 The Visitor

[Terenia]

Summary
If someone told you Earth was under a silent attack, there's a good chance you'd think they were pretty strange. If that same person said Earth's only means of defense depends on the actions and powers of five kids, you'd probably start to look for a quick exit. Guess what? It's all true.
Rachel and her friends knew they were in for some pretty strange stuff from the very beginning. How often do you run into a dying alien who gives you the power to morph into any animal you touch? But that was before they knew what they would be up against. Now they know. And they know what they have to do. And they know what they have to do. Before it's too late...


Discussion Questions
1) In both this book and #1 it is narrated as if the Ani's are writing this down in a journal of sorts in the future, telling their story. At what point in the war do you think they're writing all of this down? Why do you think that?

2) As this is our first time with her as a narrator, discuss Rachel's character at this early point in the series. How similar/different is she from the gung-ho adrenaline-junkie slightly psychotic warrior we see at the end of the series?

3) What do you think about Rach morphing elephant to scare off the creepy dude?

4) What do you think about Chapman and Ms. Chapman and their decisions? What do you think about Chapman now versus the Andalite Chronicles teenaged version of Chapman?

5) Do you think Melissa should have played a bigger role in the series overall?

6) The Ani's are only on their second official mission. Tobias has only been stuck in morph for about a week. What do you think about their 'performance' as the Animorphs so far?

Please feel free to answer my questions or bring up your own. I swear I won't be hurt if you think my questions are dumb. Next week we will be reading #3 The Encounter.

[morfowt]

Discussion Questions
1) In both this book and #1 it is narrated as if the Ani's are writing this down in a journal of sorts in the future, telling their story. At what point in the war do you think they're writing all of this down? Why do you think that?

2) As this is our first time with her as a narrator, discuss Rachel's character at this early point in the series. How similar/different is she from the gung-ho adrenaline-junkie slightly psychotic warrior we see at the end of the series?

3) What do you think about Rach morphing elephant to scare off the creepy dude?

4) What do you think about Chapman and Ms. Chapman and their decisions? What do you think about Chapman now versus the Andalite Chronicles teenaged version of Chapman?

5) Do you think Melissa should have played a bigger role in the series overall?

6) The Ani's are only on their second official mission. Tobias has only been stuck in morph for about a week. What do you think about their 'performance' as the Animorphs so far?

1. I'd say like between books. like the things in book 1 were written sometime between when book 1 really happened and when book 2 really happened. It's the only situation that would make sense to me.

2. You could almost say they're two different people. Right now to me, she sounds like any normal brave person in a war like this. she doesn't have that ruthless like side that she shows every now and then later on.

3. Cool. Dangerous, but cool.

4. Well hard to hate a person who sacrificed themselves for their kid. I honestly can't imagine them being the same people, even if the ellimist changed his emotions and stuff.

5. No, I don't care what anyone else says, no. she was fine the way she was.

6. um...kinda neutral actually.

I'd like to know why Marco and Cassie both used osprey. I kinda wished they each had a different bird morph.

[wolfev]

Melissa might have worked if they added her later on but not too early. Its hard to say but I think she might have worked if she had something to say. Maybe give her a chronicles book but then have her die or something.

[Terenia]

I dunno if a chronicles would work for her...although it would be nice to know more about the chapman's. I just think it's kind of interesting how KA works Melissa in at random times...like in th alternate universe in the one megamorphs book.

1. I'd say like between books. like the things in book 1 were written sometime between when book 1 really happened and when book 2 really happened. It's the only situation that would make sense to me.

Huh. That makes a whole lot of sense. I never thought of that before. Kudos!

[Liz]

I thought it was interesting how in TAC we see Chapman as this sleaze who'll sell out his planet in a second, and then in #2 he's this noble guy who sacrificed everything for his daughter.  I kind of wish Chapman had gotten more development in the series.  After #2, he's just shown as another one of Visser Three's lackeys for the most part.

[Yorick Brown]

I wonder if Applegate should have made Melissa an Animorph

[Chad32]

I'm sure Rachel started hanging out with Mellisa more. It wouldn't make sense not to. She just did it "off screen" as it were. It might have been nice to give her a cameo or something in some of Rachel's narrated books. I don't mind that she wasn't given a major role.

It would have been interesting if Marco started dating Mellisa. That would probably be the best way to give her a large role in the series. Jake living with a Controller, and Marco dating someone who lives with two Controllers.

That's all I have to say.

[Gafrash]

Really wishing I had a hold of these books again... Haven't read this book in a long time, too!
Anyone remember what Chapman's (present day) physical description is meant to be like??

[morfowt]

I remember he was bald or partly bald.

[Slushie Man]

1) In both this book and #1 it is narrated as if the Ani's are writing this down in a journal of sorts in the future, telling their story. At what point in the war do you think they're writing all of this down? Why do you think that?

I say each Animorph is constantly writing stuff down in their journals/diaries as the events happen, like each day kind of thing.

2) As this is our first time with her as a narrator, discuss Rachel's character at this early point in the series. How similar/different is she from the gung-ho adrenaline-junkie slightly psychotic warrior we see at the end of the series?

We start to see the beginnings of that here, but she's still a bit more timid and casual at this stage, but we do start seeing the beginnings of who she becomes later.

3) What do you think about Rach morphing elephant to scare off the creepy dude?

It was hilarious. Although she did almost get caught by Chapman, but she heard it all from Marco and Jake anyway, and in the end it was all good.

4) What do you think about Chapman and Ms. Chapman and their decisions? What do you think about Chapman now versus the Andalite Chronicles teenaged version of Chapman?

Well back then, he was a brooding know-it-all self-obsessed teenager, hardly older then 15 at most. Now he's a full-grown adult with responsibilities and a family. Just about anyone on Earth will do whatever it takes to keep their children safe, no matter how they were like as teenagers.

5) Do you think Melissa should have played a bigger role in the series overall?

I do. When i was reading this book, I kept thinking to myself that I wish Melissa had become more of a recurring side-character, like Tom. She's in a really good position to make an interesting character.

6) The Ani's are only on their second official mission. Tobias has only been stuck in morph for about a week. What do you think about their 'performance' as the Animorphs so far?

They still have a lot of bumps to iron out, especially Jake with his refusal to leave Rachel (Come on man, you almost got stuck as a tick), but their second mission was a lot more successful then their first was, so already they're starting to learn a bit here and there.

[wolfev]

What exactly was the point of this book? Why was there a filler book as the second book? Also, why was Melissa so big if she wasn't going to be a central character? This kinda bothers me. They should have had her be an auxillary or something in the end.

[Slushie Man]

Well I understand the point of the book. It was to show how the Yeerk invasion was affecting others who weren't controllers, or know about them. Just the average every day nobodies. It was also to humanize Chapman as well, so the reader can sympathize with him. It's probably my least favorite book in the series so far, but I diffinitly wouldn't call it pointless.

[morfowt]

I probably would call it pointless. of course they'd affect non-controllers. they affect the whole world.

[Slushie Man]

Yes, but I'm talking about on a more personal level. Good writing shows, not tells, us things. That's my main beef with some movies, like they tell us how evil a character is or something, but that character doesn't actually DO anything evil in the movie, so we don't get that properly portrayed to us. Same basic concept here. Yeah, they tell us all the time stuff like that, but showing it is far more effective.

Plus, with a series with 50+ books, of course some are going to be filler. Filler books are a great opportunity for characterization, which is exactly what this book, as well the the next one, do.

[morfowt]

#3 isn't filler, but talk more about that when we get there.

Just to show us, isn't enough not to be called pointless, in my opinion. Wouldn't it being filler, mean it's pointless, or am I misunderstanding the meaning of filler?