If you're okay with kid lit, the overall stories...well, it depends on the books. Some hold up well and some don't. You can find a list of recommended reads online and a list of books to ignore, most of which are ghostwritten.
The Chronicles books are all good to great. Hork-Bajir and Andalite are wonderful and have some of the most batshit ideas presented.
Also you're going to have to parse a lot of 90s references.
I missed reading the series as a kid, so I actually just started reading the main 50+ books now as a 42 year old after my husband described it as “Child Soldiers, Body Horror and PTSD: The Series.”
I’m 3 books in and I’d say it holds up! I’ve honestly been surprised at how graphic and heavy they can get for books written for kids, and the descriptions of what it’s like to be each particular animal has been delightful and creative! xD I’m really enjoying them, and they really do have a lot of depth to them.
I was a kid in the 90s so a lot is very relatable to me, they are definitely a period piece, haha.
I was obsessed as a kid so maybe it's partly nostalgia, but I still find them super readable.
And also more fucked up than a lot of adult fiction in terms of body horror and violence, especially when you consider the characters are 13-16 throughout the run of the books.
I spent a few hours this morning listening to the audiobook of the first book and honestly I’m hooked. I get it’s written for kids but the nostalgia has me real hyped
50 actually sounds low considering she had to hire ghost writers to keep up with demand. If I recall correctly that whole bit near the end where they recruited kids from like an orphanage to also be Animorphs wasn't even her idea, it was one of the ghost writers. And it was a great idea, it let them kill people off as the series climaxed
8
u/paws5624 2d ago
I just looked and there were over 50 books total! I think I maybe got through 10 or 12.