animorphs
For the TV series episode of the same name, see The Stranger

"We do not impose our will on sentient species. The decision is yours. I have chosen you to decide, because only you, of all free humans, know what is happening. You must decide — to stay on Earth and fight a battle you are certain to lose. Or to leave this planet behind and form part of a new colony of humans."
―Ellimist to the Animorphs

The Stranger, published in April 1997 and written by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant, is the seventh book in the Animorphs series. It is the second book narrated by Rachel.

Synopsis

1997 Official Website Synopsis:
Okay. Rachel and the other Animorphs have finally found the new entrance to the Yeerk pool. They've even figured out a way to sneak in. The infamous roach morph. But they didn't count on roaches being a Taxxon delicacy. This time escape doesn't look so good.

And then everything stops. Everything. The feasting Taxxon, the human-controllers, the Hork-Bajir. Time. Now Rachel, Cassie, Marco, Jake, Tobias, and Ax are in for their wildest trip ever. They're going to get the chance to decide whether they want to stay on Earth and fight the Yeerks. Or go to another planet. And the guy giving them the choice says he can save them. Now all they have to do is make the choice...

2012 Reprint Website Synopsis:

Rachel isn't the kind of girl who backs away from a fight. When her dad asks her to move across the country with him, it hurts, but Rachel won't desert her friends in their fight to save the world. But then the Animorphs are contacted by a very old, very powerful alien being that knows about their struggle. He's called the Ellimist, and he presents them with a choice: They can abandon the planet with their families and be taken to safety, or they an stay to fight the Yeerks -- and lose.

1997 U.S. Back Cover Synopsis:
Okay. Rachel and the other Animorphs have finally found the new entrance to the Yeerk pool. They've even figured out a way to sneak in. The infamous roach morph. But they didn't count on roaches being a Taxxon delicacy. This time escape doesn't look so good.

And then everything stops. Everything. The feasting Taxxon, the human-Controllers, the Hork-Bajir. Time. Now Rachel, Cassie, Marco, Jake, Tobias, and Ax are in for their wildest trip ever. They're going to get the chance to decide whether they want to stay on Earth and fight the Yeerks. Or go to another planet. And the guy giving them the choice says he can save them. Now all they have to do is make the choice....

2012 Reprint Back Cover Synopsis:
Rachel isn't the kind of girl who backs away from a fight. When her dad asks her to move across the country with him, it hurts, but Rachel won't desert her friends.

But then the Animorphs are contacted by a very old, very powerful alien being that knows about their struggle. He's called an Ellimist, and he presents them with a choice. They can abandon the planet with their families and be taken to safety, or they can stay to fight the Yeerks—and lose.

1998 UK Back Cover Synopsis:
Marco and Tobias have made a big discovery. A new way into the Yeerk pool – the centre of the Yeerks' power. If the Animorphs can just get in there and do some damage, the Yeerks could be in real trouble.

All they have to do to get in is morph into cockroaches – if they can bear it. But they've reckoned without the Taxxons who guard the Yeerk pool. The hideous Taxxons who just to love to eat cockroaches...

Plot

On Sunday evening, Rachel goes to the City Arena to attend a circus with her father, Dan, and her two younger sisters, Jordan and Sara, as part of their fortnightly father-daughters outing. Rachel, who believes she is too old for the circus, brings Cassie along with her. At the City Arena, the two girls witness Josep, an elephant trainer, using a cattle prod on his elephants before the show. After the circus, Rachel, dragging Cassie with her, goes to the elephant pen, where she morphs into her African elephant and confronts Josep using thought-speak. She threatens to kill him if he does not stop abusing his elephants, and when he relents, she tosses him through the air, causing him to travel twenty feet before landing on the roof of a circus tent. Rachel then demorphs so that she and Cassie may leave.

The next day, on Monday, Rachel goes to the woods after school with Cassie, Jake, Marco, and Tobias in order to meet with Ax. Marco then reveals that he and Tobias have spent the last week following "Chapman" around the city and have subsequently discovered a new entrance into the Underground Yeerk Pool Complex, located within a dressing room inside The Gap at their local mall. The Animorphs decide to use this entrance to return to the Yeerk pool once more, although instead of attacking the pool, they intend to secretly infiltrate and perform reconnaissance in order to learn the location of the Kandrona, the device that generates the Kandrona rays that a Yeerk must feed on every three days.

Rachel returns home to discover that her father is coming over for dinner to discuss something. Shortly after he arrives, Dan informs his daughters that he has accepted a job in another state about a thousand miles away, and that he is leaving soon; additionally, Dan asks Rachel to move away with him, a decision that begins to burden Rachel as she struggles with the decision to either hurt her mother or her father along with hurting the Animorphs if she chooses to abandon them and the war effort to move to another state. That night, Rachel flies to The Gardens and acquires a grizzly bear to serve as her new battle morph.

On Tuesday evening, the Animorphs, minus Tobias, head to the mall and make their way to The Gap, where they enter the dressing room in intervals in order to morph into cockroaches. A human-Controller soon arrives and opens the mirror that leads into the Yeerk pool, and the Animorphs enter the passageway to descend into the complex. They soon reach a lunchroom, but before they can begin eavesdropping, they are spotted by a Taxxon, who snags them all with its tongue. However, before the Taxxon can eat them, time is frozen and the Animorphs find themselves being automatically demorphed. The Animorphs exit the lunchroom and emerge into the Yeerk pool's general area, where Rachel spots Tobias, who has been reverted back to his original human form. Tobias explains that he was flying around when he was suddenly transported into the Yeerk pool and transformed into a human, and the person responsible for this soon reveals himself to be an all-powerful being known as the Ellimist. The Ellimist informs them that they will lose the fight against the Yeerk Empire and that humanity will become extinct. In order to prevent this extinction, he offers to save the Animorphs and their families, along with other humans of genetic diversity and some animal species, and relocate them to another planet; however, if they refuse his offer, Tobias would be trapped as a red-tailed hawk again while the others would return to being on the Taxxon's tongue in roach morph. The Animorphs are told they have to make their choice immediately, but Jake, Marco, and Rachel notice a dropshaft. Everyone but Cassie refuses the deal, and the Ellimist restores them to their original positions prior to his interference before telling them that he would speak to them again if they survive.

Rachel morphs into a and fights a -

Rachel morphs into a grizzly bear and fights a Hork-Bajir-Controller

As time is restored, the Animorphs demorph as the Taxxon begins to digest them, and Ax uses his tail blade to slice open the Taxxon from the inside. The Animorphs emerge out of the Taxxon's remains in the busy lunchroom and are chased by both human and Hork-Bajir-Controllers. The Animorphs yell out loud, with Rachel using Jake's name, as they try to flee; Marco and Cassie successfully use the dropshaft to escape, but Jake stays behind when he notices that Rachel and Ax have been cornered. Rachel morphs into the grizzly bear in front of the Controllers and gives in to the bear's rage; while this tactic causes her to successfully defeat many of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers, she nearly kills Jake, who had morphed into a tiger, in the process. Jake, Rachel, and Ax manage to make it to the dropshaft and the Animorphs successfully escape from the Yeerk pool.

The next day, on Wednesday, the Animorphs meet up at Cassie's barn after school to discuss the Ellimist's offer. Marco, who had previously voted to refuse the Ellimist's deal, switches his vote; this leaves Tobias and Jake as the dissenters and Cassie and Marco in agreement. Due to Ax abstaining from the vote, Rachel is given the burden of breaking the tie and subsequently making the decision for the entire group, and by extension, humanity. However, before she can do so, the Ellimist sends the Animorphs to the future, where they witness what their world would look like if the Yeerk Empire won: the school has been destroyed, the trees are dying, the sky is yellow, the air quality is in decline, and their mall has been converted into a Taxxon hive. Deciding to go Downtown, the Animorphs notice that most of the buildings, such as the City Arena, have been destroyed to make room for a surface-based Yeerk pool, although the EGS Tower is still standing, with its top two floors replaced with a glass dome.

The Animorphs encounter the future version of Visser Three, who is now Visser One, as well as Rachel's future self in her twenties, who has been infested by a Yeerk. When Visser One accidentally admits that the Animorphs he knows of and infested consisted of six humans, Rachel realizes that the future they are in is an alternate timeline. Before they can attack the two Controllers, the Ellimist sends the Animorphs back to their original timeline. Rachel votes to accept the Ellimist's deal, but with Ax's decision to support Jake counting as a vote, the decision is tied once more. Jake then flips his vote to break the tie and informs the Ellimist that they accept his offer, although nothing happens.

The next day at school, Rachel and Cassie are in history class when their teacher, Ms. Paloma, tells them about how World War II may have unfolded had the United States entered the war earlier, and how they cannot know for sure due to the butterfly effect. Cassie and Rachel wonder why the Ellimist did not whisk them away despite them accepting his offer, and they realize that he did not want them to, with Cassie deduces that the Ellimist had actually wanted them to notice the dropshaft during their first encounter so that they could use it escape. On Friday night, Rachel goes to sleep and ruminates on her trip to the alternate future, and how the Yeerk pool had been built around the EGS Tower. She then wakes up around 3 A.M. on Saturday with the sudden realization that the Kandrona is held on the top floor of the EGS Tower. Flying out of her window, she gathers the other Animorphs for an emergency meeting to relay her discovery, and the Animorphs decide to attack the EGS Tower immediately.

, , and enter the freight elevator to reach the top of the

Rachel, Jake, and Marco enter the freight elevator to reach the top of the EGS Tower

At 5:10 A.M., the Animorphs arrive outside the EGS Tower, and assuming their battle morphs, storm the building while Tobias remains outside. Rachel, Jake, and Marco, due to their size and weight, take the freight elevator to the top floor while Ax and Cassie use the regular elevator. Upon arriving at the top floor, Rachel and Jake take out two of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers, with Rachel also running through one human-Controller, while the remaining human-Controllers flee. As Ax and Cassie join them, Rachel charges into the room the human-Controllers fled into, only to be met by eight Hork-Bajir-Controllers. The Animorphs engage in a bloody fight to the death with the Hork-Bajir-Controllers, sustaining severe injuries, such as Marco having his stomach sliced open while Rachel's left paw is severed. During the fight, Rachel shoves a Hork-Bajir-Controller out of a window to its death, and the destruction of the window allows Tobias to swoop in and rake the eyes of another Hork-Bajir. The three remaining Hork-Bajir then flee, and the Animorphs demorph before they can bleed out.

Upon spotting the Kandrona, Rachel is asked to remorph, this time into elephant, in order to push the Kandrona out of a window, in which she succeeds. As the Kandrona falls down sixty stories and smashes onto the concrete below, the Animorphs rejoice in their victory. The Ellimist, speaking telepathically to them, divulges that a new Kandrona will be installed in three weeks; Marco wonders whether their actions were a waste, although Ax assures him that it was not since the Yeerk Empire would have to rely solely on their mother ship's Kandrona, and that many Yeerks will perish. The Animorphs then morph to birds and fly out of the EGS Tower.

Two days later, on Monday, Rachel takes the bus to her father's apartment, where Dan is packing his suitcase. Having informed her father of her decision to stay, Dan tells her that she can always change her mind. As they leave the apartment to head to the taxi waiting outside, Dan asks Rachel to come with him to the airport, although Rachel declines. As the taxi drives off, Rachel looks up at Tobias flying above, and nods her head when Tobias asks her to join him.

Appearances

Protagonists

Supporting Characters

Antagonists

Other Characters

Locations

Organizations

Items

Other Mentions

Characters

References

Major/Highlighted Events

Morphs

Morpher Morphs acquired Morphs used
Jake — American Cockroach, Siberian Tiger, Unspecified Avian Morph[note 1]
Rachel Grizzly Bear African Elephant, Great Horned Owl, American Cockroach, Grizzly Bear, Bald Eagle
Cassie — American Cockroach, Wolf, Unspecified Avian Morph[note 1]
Marco — American Cockroach, Silverback Gorilla (Big Jim), Unspecified Avian Morph[note 1]
Ax — Human (Main), American Cockroach, Northern Harrier[note 1]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bird morphs are used to fly out of the EGS Tower, although the exact morphs are not specified. Ax's only avian morph is a northern harrier, leaving him without any other options. While it is likely the others used their bird-of-prey morphs, some of them could've also used owl morphs due to the time of day; seagulls are also possible, albeit extremely unlikely.

Trivia

Goofs/Inconsistencies

2012 Relaunch Differences

Original Edition 2012 Relaunch
Cassie laughed. "I've handled skunks plenty of times and never been sprayed."
"Yeah, well, that's you, Dr. Doolittle." 		Cassie laughed. "I've handled skunks plenty of times and never been sprayed."
"Yeah, well, that's you, Dr. Dolittle."
Ax nodded. <Yeerk pools are generally very large and elaborate. They are an important part of Yeerk life. The centers of their lives, really. The pools are, for the Yeerks, what forests and meadows are to Andalites.> Ax nodded. <Yeerk pools are generally very large and elaborate. They are an important part of Yeerk life. The centers of their lives, really, almost like a religion. The pools are, for the Yeerks, what forests and meadows are to Andalites.>
I went up to my room and locked the door behind me. I couldn't breathe. I kept clenching my fists and wanting to pound something. I think I would have cried, but I was just too angry.
"Rachel?" It was him. He knocked lightly on my door. "Can I come in?"
I couldn't say no. It would have sounded like I was upset. "Sure. Why not?"
He came in. "I'm guessing you're a little upset," he said. 		I went up to my room and locked the door behind me. I couldn't breathe. I kept clenching my fists and wanting to pound something. I think I would have cried, but I was just too angry.
"Rachel?" It was him. He knocked lightly on my door. "Can I come in?"
I couldn't say no. It would have sounded like I was upset. "Sure. Why not?"
I unlocked the door, and he came in. "I'm guessing you're a little upset," he said.
The next evening, as planned, we all arrived at the mall separately. I hooked up with Cassie at the food court. The next evening, as planned, we all arrived at the mall separately. I met up with Cassie at the food court.
"I saw Jake and Ax down playing video games," Cassie said. "Poor Jake. Ax is a little unpredictable when he's in human morph. While I was watching, he tried to eat a cigarette butt out of an ashtray." "I saw Jake and Ax down playing video games," Cassie said. "Poor Jake. Ax is a little unpredictable when he's in human morph. While I was watching, he tried to eat a stray cigarette butt off the floor."
We all hooked up later that afternoon at Cassie's barn. We all met up later that afternoon at Cassie's barn.
"Come on, Rachel," Marco said kindly. "Take it easy. Come on, you're Xena—"
"NO! No, I'm not some stupid TV character." 		"Come on, Rachel," Marco said kindly. "Take it easy. Come on, you're Xena—"
"NO! No, I'm not some stupid old TV character."
The mall was still standing. Even the sign that said "Sears" could still be seen. But holes, perfectly round and about six feet across, had been drilled into the sides of the four big department stores. There were six or eight holes in the Penney's. The mall was still standing. Even the sign that said "Sears" could still be seen. But holes, perfectly round and about six feet across, had been drilled into the sides of the four big department stores. There were six or eight holes in the JCPenney.
The glass tube was raised above the ground about twenty feet, like the monorail at Disneyworld. The glass tube was raised above the ground about twenty feet, like the monorail at Disney World.
<Maybe...> Tobias began. <Maybe if some of the human race survives on some other planet... Maybe it will be like when they brought wolves back to live in the National Forest. I mean, maybe someday we can return and take Earth back.> <Maybe...> Tobias began. <Maybe if some of the human race survives on some other planet... Maybe it will be like when they brought wolves back to live in national parks. I mean, maybe someday we can return and take Earth back.>
"Because events are intertwined in ways we cannot always see, Cassie. Sometimes small things can make huge differences. You know, they say that a single butterfly, beating its wings in China, may affect the way the wind blows here in our country. A single butterfly beating its wings may make a tiny change that becomes a bigger change that becomes a tornado. The world isn't like math. It isn't just one plus one equals two. It's more complicated than that." "Because events are intertwined in ways we cannot always see, Cassie. Sometimes small things can make huge differences. You know, they say that a single butterfly, beating its wings in China, may affect the way the wind blows here in our country. A single butterfly beating its wings may make a tiny change that becomes a bigger change that becomes a tornado. The world isn't like arithmetic. It isn't just one plus one equals two. It's more complicated than that."
At five-ten in the morning, the EGS Tower's windows were almost all dark. At 5:10 in the morning, the EGS Tower's windows were almost all dark.

TV Adaptation

The Stranger was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV series, which aired on Nickelodeon and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. The seventh book in the series was covered by the twelfth episode, "The Stranger", along with the fourteenth and fifteenth episodes, "The Leader" (Part 1 & 2). The TV episodes did not follow the books faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, the events in the war against the Yeerks, and added plot lines that were not present in the books.

Changes from Book to Episode

Gallery

Elfangor eye closeup andalite chron "Someone took a picture of me? Not cool. Do you see what I'm wearing? I'm Spandex-boy. Totally not cool."

The image gallery for The Stranger may be viewed here

Books
Numbered Books #1 The Invasion • #2 The Visitor • #3 The Encounter • #4 The Message • #5 The Predator • #6 The Capture • #7 The Stranger • #8 The Alien • #9 The Secret • #10 The Android • #11 The Forgotten • #12 The Reaction • #13 The Change • #14 The Unknown • #15 The Escape • #16 The Warning • #17 The Underground • #18 The Decision • #19 The Departure • #20 The Discovery • #21 The Threat • #22 The Solution • #23 The Pretender • #24 The Suspicion • #25 The Extreme • #26 The Attack • #27 The Exposed • #28 The Experiment • #29 The Sickness • #30 The Reunion • #31 The Conspiracy • #32 The Separation • #33 The Illusion • #34 The Prophecy • #35 The Proposal • #36 The Mutation • #37 The Weakness • #38 The Arrival • #39 The Hidden • #40 The Other • #41 The Familiar • #42 The Journey • #43 The Test • #44 The Unexpected • #45 The Revelation • #46 The Deception • #47 The Resistance • #48 The Return • #49 The Diversion • #50 The Ultimate • #51 The Absolute • #52 The Sacrifice • #53 The Answer • #54 The Beginning
Megamorphs #1 The Andalite's Gift • #2 In the Time of Dinosaurs • #3 Elfangor's Secret • #4 Back to Before
Chronicles The Andalite Chronicles • The Hork-Bajir Chronicles • VISSER • The Ellimist Chronicles
Alternamorphs #1 The First Journey • #2 The Next Passage
TV Tie-Ins Meet the Stars of Animorphs
Graphic Novels #1 The Invasion • #2 The Visitor • #3 The Encounter • #4 The Message • #5 The Predator • #6 The Capture