In this book the kids learn that a Yeerk ship is regularly collecting water for the mothership from a nearby lake. The kids decide to morph into fish with the intention of being sucked up by the ship. Once inside the ship, they plan to turn off the cloaking device that lets the ship travel unseen through the atmosphere, thereby revealing the presence of the Yeerks to the public.

Unfortunately it doesn't happen according to plan, as the kids are unable to get out of the water tank inside the ship. Visser Three and co. also suspect that the hovering hawk Tobias is an Andalite, and set out to kill him with their Dracon beams. Tobias cleverly devises a strategy that instead sees the Yeerks destroy their own ship with their Dracon beams. Unfortunately a female hawk that Tobias had rescued a few days earlier is caught in the cross fire, amputated and presumably killed by a Dracon beam.

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Damn, I'd forgotten how compelling these books are! They may have been written for children, but I'm still on the edge of my seat everytime the kids have a near miss with Visser Three. I'm also enjoying the way each book is narrated by a different character; we get insight into each kid's fears and vulnerabilities.

Given that this book is narrated by Tobias, it's more of a tearjerker than the previous two. We see Tobias missing life as a human, struggling against his hawk instincts when he saves a female hawk, and grieving when said hawk meets its demise at the hands of the Yeerks. I never finished either the TV or book series so I have no idea how it ended, and I can only hope the Andalites were able to give him his body back <3