The Reunion (Animorphs #30) - K.A. Applegate
Brought to you by The Moonlight Library!Marco discovers his mother, the host body is Visser One, is still alive. He concocts a plan to murder both of them and take out Visser Three as well. But can Marco be trusted not to be too emotionally attached to this mission?This book is Marco’s shining light. It’s the best Marco book of the middle series in my humble opinion, because his ruthlessness really shines in this. There is a lot of internal angst, obviously, but we’re treated to a show of “I want to kill you, no, I want to save you!” coupled with how our gutsy narrator sees ‘the bright clear line’ from point A to point B, and the truth behind his ruthlessness to get there.Marco’s not my favourite Animorph but because he continually fights to keep his emotional detachment in this novel, it is one of my favourites. We don’t necessarily learn a lot about the other characters, but we see Marco’s struggle first hand, and it’s an exciting novel to read and watch the scenes play out: particularly how Marco lays the trap for Visser Three to fall into quite neatly, even with unexpected turns.It’s also one of the rare Animorph books that makes me cry – and yes, I do cry over everything. But the ending is powerful and still, even after 15 years, left me gobsmacked. I think I felt the emotional impact a lot more powerfully this time around because I am older and I have experienced loss, the kind of loss that Marco grieves. I have a better understanding of the struggle he’s going through with loving his mother and wanting to free her.