#2: The Visitor

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Published: June 1 1996

Pages: 192

Chapters: 21

Narrator: Rachel

From the Back: "Rachel and her friends knew they were in for some pretty strange stuff from the very beginning. How often do you run into a dying alien who gives you the power to morph into any animal you touch? But that was before they knew what they would be up against. Now they know. And they know what they have to do. Before it's too late..."

Notable for its introduction of the darker, somewhat reckless, side of Rachel, this book fleshes out a number of major and minor characters and lays groundwork for a bittersweet romance that will play a major role in the books to come. We quickly learn that Jake 's cousin is smart and witty as well as beautiful, but also that she is in many ways insecure about herself. This is a side of Rachel that is not frequently seen in later books as she, even at this early point in the series, has already begun to transfer her insecurities into anger.

Another character often spoken of in this story is Tobias, the newly minted nothlit . Although Rachel is not one to readily accept help, Tobias is consistently at her call throughout the book, more concerned for her safety than she herself is. Knowing first-hand the dangers of staying too long in morph, Tobias frequently reminds Rachel of her two-hour limit and says that, if Rachel needs help getting somewhere safe to demorph, he's there. At this point in the series, all of this is kept between the two of them via private ThoughtSpeech and is therefore more-or-less secret.

Also featured prominently in this story is Rachel's former best friend - and favored Mary Sue of many a fanfiction author - MelissaChapman. Melissa is introduced to us as the daughter of Vice Principal Chapman, who is presumably the HenricChapman featured in TheAndaliteChronicles. She is described as a small, thin girl with "pale grey eyes and pale blonde hair and pale skin" and even warrants one of the author's occasional Tolkien references when Rachel likens her to a "solemn elf". Melissa goes on to worm into readers' hearts when it is revealed that both of her parents are HumanControllers enslaved by Yeerks who don't bother to even maintain a facade of loving Melissa, leading her to believe that her parents hate her and will get divorced. Rachel, whose parents have also recently divorced, is strongly empathetic and takes several risks in her quest to comfort her friend. However, despite this detailed back-story and character development, the author later expressed surprise at the character's popularity when asked a number of questions about Melissa on the popular AskKA forum (officially: According to K.A.), and claimed that Melissa had been intended only as a useful plot device.

((If someone wants to do a plot summary, they're more than welcome to.))