how old were the animorphs meant to be?

[Acalio-Laron-Jaham]

at the beginning in #1 'the invasion', and then in mid series like say book number 30 and then finally at the end, in book 54.

I always thought that they were all 13 in the invasion, in their first year of highschool.

[Darth Zakryn]

Jake said it himself in #54. The Answer, that he "was thirteen when he started. He's sixteen now" and I assume Rachel was perhaps a little older than that, because in #2. The Visitor she said it was "like a twelfth birthday or something," implying older age, perhaps 14. Marco and Jake were around the same age since they grew up together as friends.

As for Tobias... In The Andalite Chronicles Elfangor said it was the beginning of the early eighties, so around 1983 or so. As for Casse... I always assumed she was 12, just a little younger than the others.

But of course, that's only my opinion.

[Red]

Hmn, but Cassie and Rachel were best friends, implying they were in the same class/year. Did Jake&Marco and Rachel&Cassie ever have any classes together?

[LisaCharly]

IIRC, there's a scene in one of the earlier books where Marco states he's going to borrow Cassie's notes instead of Jake, because "Jake's are covered in doodles of jets and tanks", which implies they're all in the same class.

Edit: It's in #20.

[Aldrea Hammee]

Also, Jake states that Rachel is 16 in #53, so she is the same age as he is. Her 12th birthday in #2 would've been her second most recent birthday, unless she hadn't turned 13 yet, which I suppose is possible. I worked out once that #1 has to take place in April or May, so if she has a summer birthday she could still be a 7th grader with Jake and the others.

[roguebluejay]

Why does the invasion have to be in April/May?

[Darth Zakryn]

Yeah, good question. Why? And where in #53 did Jake say Rachel was sixteen? An exact quote please?

[11:11]

I can't find where they specifically mention Rachel's age, but on page 9 Jake says "I'm a sixteen-year old kid named Jake Berenson, and I am the leader of the Animorphs."

[goom]

yup, as they said the ages are 13-16.
we could give or take a year for each, but it should be around there.

[Aldrea Hammee]

Jake says something along the lines of, "Rachel's 16 years old, and she's seen more combat than a seasoned veteran." I will find the quote for you in a little bit.

As for April/May: In #4, Marco says, "When winter comes, we're gonna be some sad little Animorphs." So, by the time #4 takes place, the Anis have not yet experienced cold weather while fighting the Yeerk war. Therefore, #1 is during a warm, non-winter month. This could be anywhere from April to October. However, we can eliminate July and August because school is in session. We can also eliminate September and October. This is because, by MM #1, summer break is going on. A full year has clearly not gone by between #1 and MM #1, so we have to be in a warm month when school is in session that is not during the fall. That leaves April, May, or the first half of June. I eliminate June because I beleive it's a stretch that the Anis carried out 4 or 5 missions in only 2 weeks, before school ended. May is a stretch too, because that's like a mission a week, but it's possible. In conclusion, #1 took place in April or May, leaning towards April, due to the clues I've described.
Post Merged: October 18, 2010, 08:17:35 AMFound it. It's on page 42. "She was the goddess of war, my cousin was. 16 years old and a veteran of more battles than a WWII veteran."

[Red]

Found it. It's on page 42. "She was the goddess of war, my cousin was. 16 years old and a veteran of more battles than a WWII veteran."

*cringes at bad writing* Oh Animorphs, I wish I hadn't started to view you critically.

I am, however, impressed at the deducing skills here!

EDIT: This is all totally irrelevant, sorry!

[Aldrea Hammee]

I know. The sentence, it burns.

[LisaCharly]

Yeah, ouch. That sentence just...ouch.

[Darth Zakryn]

Wait... HOW was MM#1 summer break?! Remember, in #7 the Kandrona was due to arrive in three weeks, and MM#1 DEFINITELY takes place a few days after that, because in #8 Rachel says the Kandrona will arrive in another week.

So..... ??

[Aldrea Hammee]

But isn't Rachel going to camp? I know it's only a weekend, but that seems like a summertime activity.