Read: Animorphs book 4 – The Message by K. A. Applegate

Uh, these Animorphs reviews get more spoilery by the volume, alright? It's just impossible to avoid. I'm trying to be subtle.

Since I'm sniffing and sneezing a lot today, and not really up for non-casual reading, I finished The Message. In this one, there's just so many ups and downs. Being a dolphin is great, but the usual threats to the Animorphs' lives are still a bit annoying to them I think.

So, there is, as the title suggests, a Message that Cassie and Tobias get. A broadcast of someone who's trapped under water and needs help. And sends telepathic messages. Hmm, wonder what kind of creature that might be.

This book is written from Cassie's perspective, and I really enjoyed that, but to be honest, I enjoy all of their perspectives. Anyway, Cassie, after hearing the call in her dreams, and one time fainting from it, has to decide if it is real enough to go looking for its sender. Well, Tobias could decide too, but being a bird, he decides to stay out of it for the most part, since he can't go on dangerous ocean missions and doesn't want to push the others into it.

We get some awkward talk about instincts and intelligence, but I really like that in the end, it is clear to Cassie that it doesn't matter if a whale is "smart", because whales are awesome and intelligence is not a good measure for a creature's worth. Also, I suuuper loved the magical "whale communicates with fake dolphin" bit. It was so nice!! Totally pulled me in.

When one of them gets injured in dolphin morph, it becomes clear that each time they morph, a new animal is made from the DNA they acquired and injuries don't carry over. That's nice, but made me wonder how age and stuff works? I don't know much about genetics, but many things about what an animal is like are not just a translation of genes to looks. Why don't the Animorphs ever end up as tiny baby elephants? Where do they store this additional information? I hope we'll find out.

The delightful Eliza moments in the last bit were sadly dulled by cisnormativity. Well, let's hope that trope made a one time appearance. Let Andalites Be All/No Genders (and wear boxers on their head).