Rachel*

Age – 12-17**

Family –
Dan (father)
Naomi (mother)
Jordan (sister, younger)
Sara (sister, younger)
Tom, Jake (cousin)

Main morphs –
battle – grizzly bear
bird – bald eagle

Appearance – tall, blond hair, blue eyes, considered to be ‘very beautiful’ Jake says she has a ‘very clean, very wholesome look.’

Personality –
Before becoming an Animorph, Rachel was more-or-less a normal teen. She practiced gymnastics, went to the mall, and was an above-average student. She was confident and forthright and generally didn’t mind what other people thought. She loved shopping and fashion and was best friends with Cassie.

As an Animorph, Rachel was still confident and out-spoken and enthusiastic about the war. She believed that they were fighting to save the human race, that it was their duty to fight, but more than the others, she enjoyed the fight. Rachel preferred action over deliberation and would often rush into things without thinking first. She depended more on her emotions and gut instincts than planning or logic. She was competitive and hated to be weak, suppressed, restrained, or defeated. All these qualities combined to make her reckless, head-strong, and sometimes ruthless and dangerous. While others describe her as recklessly brave, she often struggled with the fact that she enjoyed the fight. She often thinks that she shouldn’t love the war, that she’s loosing her humanity in the violence, and feels a sense of guilt that makes her angry or confused. The two sides of her personality, emotional and militant, mean that she will swing back and forth between being cautious and reckless, although reckless is the more dominant side of her personality. However, in the end, she is a warrior and she’s willing to do what has to be done. She can ignore her emotions in order to perform the most grisly acts of war, including the suicide mission the ultimately ended her life.

Relations –
Jake – Rachel and Jake are cousins. Before becoming Animorphs they had a casual friendship, but weren’t particularly close. They generally get along and agree with each other on the ‘tough’ decisions. Jake was often the one who would calm Rachel down if she went too far in a battle but as the war progressed and Rachel got more ruthless, Jake had to keep tighter control over her. Rachel resented the control and often tried to push the limit with him. Jake also knew that Rachel would do things the others couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do and used her for that. Rachel suspected her was ‘using her for killing,’ but never brought up the issue.

Tobias – Rachel and Tobias like each other. I’ll even give in and say something I almost never say for teens: they love each other. However, that love is desperate kind of love. They view each other as their last life-line to humanity. Rachel reminds Tobias that he is human when he gets lost in being a hawk and Tobias acts as a stabilizer to Rachel’s reckless, sometimes volatile nature. They support each other when debates arise in the group, but also have a tendency to try and protect each other. The later is more true for Tobias than Rachel.

Cassie – Cassie and Rachel are best friends and have been since before the series. They are different as night and day and though they care for each other, they tend to be divided on most issues. Despite this, they are also the first to support each other if picked on by the group. Rachel depends on Cassie as her ‘moral compass’ and Cassie sees Rachel as strong and draws courage from that.

Marco – Marco and Rachel are friends who act like enemies. They tease each other in a flirtatious manner, but don’t often have a serious fight. They generally agree on moral issues, but Marco is more cautious where Rachel is reckless and this generates most of the conflict between them.

Ax – Ax and Rachel are very similar, but don’t generally ‘hang out’ together. They are friends, made such by war and not by personal choice. While they agree on most issues, Ax tends to follow whatever Prince Jake says and doesn’t voice his opinions, so it doesn’t come up between them. Occasionally Ax’s superior attitude will annoy Rachel, but mostly they simply co-exist within the group.

*no last name given

**only Jake gives his age, saying that he was 13 when the war started and 16 when it ended, meaning he was in 7th or 8th grade when it stared and 10th or 11th grade at the end. Assuming that all the Animorphs were in the same grade, and depending on what grade they were in, ages could range from 12-14 at the beginning, and 15-17 at the end.