| For Jake's mother in the TV series, see Nikki |
Jean Berenson is a writer, the mother of Tom and Jake, and the wife of Steve Berenson.
Biography
Family Life
Jean is the granddaughter of Grandpa G, a World War II veteran. She has siblings.[5] Growing up, whenever she was upset, her mother would always tell her that she had no idea what unhappiness was since she was a child, a sentiment she disagreed with.[6] In her adult life, Jean became a writer[4] and married a pediatrician[5] named Dr. Steve Berenson.[1][2] In 1981,[note 1] she gave birth to their first son, whom they named Tom, with a second and final child, a son named Jake,[4] born in 1984.[note 2] The family lived in a nice neighborhood[7] in California[8] where they raised their children Jewish.[9][10] Circa 1996, when Jake was twelve,[note 3] he purchased the comic Spider-Man #3 for her as a birthday gift, which Jean was not a fan of.[11]
One Saturday morning in 1997,[note 4] she let a boy named Tobias into her house after he stated he was Jake's friend. She then led him up to Jake's room before knocking on her son's door to wake her up. When Jake let Tobias enter his room, Tobias thanked Jean before went back downstairs. She then put a waffle in the toaster before engaging in a phone call. Two days later, on Monday evening, Jean enjoyed a chicken cacciatore dinner with her family, where she asked Jake where he had been all afternoon and evening. When he responded that he had been hanging out with Marco, she accepted his answer and reminded him to eat his broccoli.[4]
Jean finds Jake behind the fridge
On another Saturday morning, Jean and her husband Steve left their home in the morning to go play tennis. However, Steve twisted his ankle early on, causing the pair to return home. Jean then went into Jake's room to retrieve an ACE bandage before going into her bedroom. Shortly after, she went down into the kitchen where she noticed that the fridge had been pushed out and that Jake was behind it. She questioned Jake on his behavior and pointed out that he had a Roach Motel stuck to his hair, but chose not to ask further questions. That night, Steve ordered dinner consisting of broiled chicken, potatoes, and veggies from Gourmet Express, as well as cheesecake for dinner from Santorini's, all of which he had delivered to the house. Jean spent this time watching the news, where she saw reports of the park clean-up that Tom was participating in. As Tom came home later that evening, Jean inquired about the cleanup and whether he had eaten, and told Tom that Steve had Gourmet Express delivered for dinner. At the dinner table, Jake insulted Tom's intelligence before remarking on his constant presence at The Sharing. When Tom merely glared at Jake in response, both Steve and Jean felt an uncomfortable silence and tried to fill it. As Jake excused himself to do homework, Jean reminded him to come downstairs later for cheesecake. Later that night, she sat in front of the television with her family as they ate cheesecake.
A week later, Jean and Steve were stunned when Jake started eating a lot of food and playing with his words as he spoke. Jake did this for the next few nights as well, eating six pieces of chicken along with corn and potatoes while also eating a pie meant for the whole family. However, on Tuesday night, Jean and Steve noticed that Jake had reverted back to his normal behavior. Jean asked Jake if he was feeling okay, and Jean and Steve shared a concerned look when Jake replied that he was just distracted, with Steve bringing up Jake's recent eating habits.[11] As a result of Jake's change in behavior, Jean and Steve took Jake to a psychiatrist.[9] Not too long after, Jean spent a month asking her husband to clean the garage, although he never got around to it. On a Saturday night, Jake came home around midnight, which caused both Jean and Steve to reprimand him for staying out that late and worrying them. Jean grounded Jake for two weeks, where he was not allowed to watch television or play Sega and had to do all the dishes and take out the trash; additionally, Jake was to be home by 5 P.M. for those two weeks and had to also clean out the garage.[12]
Talk with Jake
- "You know, when I was your age and feeling upset, my mother, your gram, would always just say, 'You don't know what unhappy is, you're just a kid.' Like anything a kid would feel would be less difficult or painful than what an adult would feel."
"That's probably true."
"No, it isn't." - ―Jean and Jake[src]
To be added
Saddler's Death
To be added
Grandpa G's Death
To be added
Infested
- "Jake's parents, Jean and Steve, didn't make it out in time. Their chances of escape were slim from the beginning. See, Jake's older brother, Tom, has been a human-Controller since the early days of the invasion. Even with the enemy under his own roof, Jake had managed to protect his parents from the Yeerks. And from their own son, their own first child. Because Tom wouldn't have hesitated to kill either one of his parents if the Yeerk mission required their deaths. Jake had done an almost superhuman job of protecting his parents. Both from death and a fate worse than death. Infestation. Until the last time. When the Yeerks finally took them."
- ―Cassie[src]
After the Yeerk Empire discovered that the Animorphs were mostly humans and not all Andalite bandits, and managed to discover their identities as well, the Animorphs had to evacuate their families. While the Animorphs were collecting Cassie's and Rachel's families to relocated to the Hork-Bajir valley, the Yeerks captured and infested Jake's parents.[3]
Freedom
Following the end of the Andalite-Human-Yeerk War, Jean and Steve were freed from Yeerk control. Jake moved back home with them, although by 2003 he had moved out.[8]
Personality
- "Experience maybe doesn't make you smarter, but it means you can think, 'Hey, I had something like this happen once before, and I survived.'"
"Okay, I'll ask: What's the second great weapon?"
"You are, Jake. Because as your mom, I can look at you and think, 'Oh, man, as bad as I feel right now, as bad as things may be, at least it isn't as bad as being a teenager.'" - ―Jean and Jake[src]
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To be added
Appearances
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- The Invasion
- The Encounter (mentioned)
- The Predator (mentioned)
- The Capture
- The Andalite's Gift (mentioned)
- The Alien (mentioned)
- The Secret (indirectly mentioned)
- The Forgotten
- The Threat
- The Conspiracy
- The Resistance
- The Diversion
- The Ultimate (mentioned)
- The Beginning (mentioned)
Trivia
- In the TV series, Jean is named Nikki.
- In earlier promotional items such as the Animorphs Alliance handbook and Jake's Animorphs ID card, Jake's mother is referred to as Nikki.
- Jake's mother is mentioned many times in the series, but she is not called by name until The Ultimate.
Gallery
.jpg "Berenson Residence (GN6).jpg (1.16 MB)")
Notes
- ↑ #1: The Invasion reveals Tom is in high school and is of legal driving age, putting his age at 16 at the minimum. In Megamorphs #4: Back to Before, set at the same time as #1, Jake says Tom would be grounded for “years” until his 18th birthday, meaning Tom is not 17 yet; as such, his age would be 16 during #1. As the first book is set in 1997, this puts his birth year as 1981.
- ↑ The Andalite Chronicles takes place in 1976 and states it is 21 years before Elfangor met the Animorphs, meaning the Animorphs met Elfangor in 1997. In #53: The Answer, Jake states they were 13 when they met Elfangor, placing their year of birth as 1984.
- ↑ Jake is thirteen in The Capture, set c.1997, and he mentions this event as being "last year"
- ↑ The Andalite Chronicles explicitly states that it is set 21 years before Elfangor met the Animorphs and 10 years after the Yeerk exodus, which The Hork-Bajir Chronicles explicitly reveals to be in 1966. This sets The Andalite Chronicles in 1976, which then places the events of #1: The Invasion in 1997.