I am surely in the toils.

This book earns its reputation for being silly and inconsequential, yes. But BOY HOWDY does the series need a light book as of #24. The series-altering gut punch of the David Trilogy, then the hork-bajir crisis in #23, are just behind us. The epic kids-vs-gods plot of #26 and #27 is coming up. Hork-Bajir Chronicles is just behind, and Megamorphs 3 ahead. Comic relief is meant to be a literal term — when done well, it gives the audience a chance to let out a breath and relax their shoulders before the tension starts ramping back up.

Interesting that Cassie lists humans' attractive qualities (to yeerks) as "Humans, with fingers more delicate and capable than any taxxon or hork-bajir or gedd. Humans, who could be fed almost anything... Humans, who exist in numbers far greater than all those species combined. We are the perfect host bodies." (p. 3).

Also: I love how the helmacrons serve as a sort of character checkpoint. The kids are so casual about a second alien invasion because they've gotten so good at fighting the first. Arguably the helmacrons are a serious threat to Earth — their shrinking ray could in theory do a lot of damage to a lot of humans, and they know the Animorphs' identities — but the Animorphs themselves are jaded enough to respond with a collective eye-roll rather than fear.

Rachel with the makeshift weapons! Morphing is for Tobias and the others; she has a baseball bat, and a brick, and another brick, and two perfectly good fists. Also, Jake shamelessly cowering behind Rachel and her brick supply. Hard same.

"Tobias turned, but he was shrinking fast. He was already down to about hummingbird size... «Well, this is unfortunate,» he said" (p. 40). Most Tobias response ever. Shout-out to Sisi Aisha Johnson for her bone-dry delivery on this line.

[ID 2 of 3: a screenshot of a Thread by daturpin that reads “For no reason at all I have started making a Flock camera bird feeder for crows” attached is an image of a 3D modeling program, that shows a bird feeder modeled after a Flock camera in the process of being made. End ID 2 of 3.]