Jake Berenson

Jake Berenson is a fictional character and primary protagonist from the sci-fi book series "Animorphs", written by K. A. Applegate. Until the second-to-last book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake.

Place and role in "Animorphs"

In the series, Tobias announces that Jake is the unofficial leader of the Animorphs, a group of teenage guerillas at war with a covert alien invasion. Although he originally does not want the role, Jake changes his mind after he learns that his older brother Tom is among the Controllers, people infested by Yeerks. Jake vows to free his brother and protect his parents, Steve and Jean. "If he defeated the Yeerks, freed humanity, rescued Earth, that was good. But that was just a bonus. His main goal was much simpler. To save his family. That goal was what had given him strength. That goal was what had kept him sane. Allowed him to retain a center of calm focus amid the awful chaos," notes Tobias in the 49th volume, "".

In the first book, Jake is the only character with preexisting ties to each of the other Animorphs. Rachel is Jake's cousin. There was a mutual attraction between Jake and Cassie which later deepened into a relationship. In the second-to-last book, Jake proposes to Cassie, but she declines. She consents to marrying him "after all of this is over". Ultimately, however, the two have grown too far apart for a relationship to work. Marco is Jake's best friend. Tobias was rescued by Jake from bullies sometime before the series began and had a mild case of hero-worship towards him. While Ax didn't appear until the 4th volume, "The Message", Ax quickly accepts Jake as his 'Prince' ('Prince' being a rank in the Andalite military hierarchy) and is deeply loyal to him. Jake's status as Ax's Prince led to a recurring joke between them:

Ax: "...Prince Jake."

Jake: "Don't call me prince."

Ax: "Yes, Prince Jake."

One of Jake's more harrowing experiences occurs when he is infested by a Yeerk, Temrash 114. Fortunately Ax realizes something was wrong (because Jake's face momentarily twists into an expression of disgust when he sees Ax), and the Animorphs tie Jake up for three days until Temrash dies of Kandrona starvation. Jake gets his first glimpse of Crayak when Temrash died. He is also left with partial memory imprints of Temrash and his former hosts: a Gedd, a Hork-Bajir, and Tom (who is now host to another Yeerk).

As the leader of the small band of guerilla warriors, his leadership, his choices and mistakes, and the responsibility he assumes are recurring themes in the "Animorphs" series. Despite his best efforts, Jake never attains his main goal for joining the fight: saving his brother from Yeerk infestation. After he fails to save both his parents and Tom from the Yeerks, he is left emotionally damaged and unable to lead. Before the final battle, Cassie manages to lift him out of it, but her success is short-lived. Rachel and Tom's deaths, Tobias's disappearance, and his potentially illegal order to kill over seventeen thousand defenceless unhosted Yeerks haunt Jake in the years to follow the war. At Visser Three's trial the defence accuses Jake of war crimes and mass murder. He slides into a deep depression, unable to come to terms with his actions and adapt to normal civilian life. Though it is not stated as such in the book, it appears that Jake is suffering from severe PTSD. Only what Jake sees as his second chance, the mission to rescue Ax, successfully brings Jake into the present.

After more than six months captaining the "Rachel", a state-of-the-art Yeerk ship named by Tobias, Jake encounters a Blade ship - one containing the last fugitives from the Yeerk empire. Ax's captor, a monstrous being of unknown origin known only as "The One", makes its unsettling appearance through a communication channel between the Blade ship and the "Rachel". Undaunted, Jake gives his final order, instructing the pilot to power up their engines and ram the larger ship. The command is an ironic one; decades ago, a young Elfangor had given the same order. It was this decision which rocketed him to princely status and a place in Andalite legend.

Relationships to the other Animorphs

*Rachel: Despite being cousins, Rachel and Jake are not particularly close. As the series unfolds he becomes increasingly concerned about her warriorlike nature, and she occasionally wishes to challenge his leadership.
*Tobias: At some point before the first book Jake saved Tobias from bullies, leading him to hero-worship Jake to a certain degree. Tobias has a great respect for Jake and almost never questions his decisions. After the war, Tobias is unable to forgive Jake for his part in Rachel's death.
*Cassie: Jake and Cassie are attracted to each other right from the start, and their relationship builds throughout the series. They finally kiss at the end of #26, and acknowledge the depth of their feelings for each other in subsequent narrations. A rift forms between them at the end of series due to Jake's depression, and his distrust of Cassie after she allows Tom to take the Escafil device. However, they do reconcile before the end and Jake asks Cassie to marry him in #53: she declines, but says that she will marry him "a year after this is all over". At this time, Cassie already (correctly) suspects that Jake had been irrevocably changed by the war: after it's over, he becomes too entrenched in depression and guilt to be able to pursue a romantic relationship. They do not appear to be close after the war, and Cassie moves on to a new boyfriend.
*Marco: Jake and Marco have been best friends for years and generally maintain a close relationship throughout the series, despite several tests of their friendship. Towards the end of the war Marco and Jake's friendship suffers (though admittedly, almost all of the Animorphs' relationships break down towards the end). In the post-war period, Marco is concerned for his friend and makes a plan with Cassie to try to get through to him.
*Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill: There is much mutual respect between Ax and Jake. While Jake at times keeps a certain distance from him, as he is Ax's commander, there is a strong bond between them.

Family & personal life

Jake is Jewish, on his father's side.cite book|last=Applegate|first=K.A.|authorlink=K. A. Applegate|coauthors=|title=Animorphs Megamorphs #03: Elfangor's Secret|publisher=Scholastic Paperbacks|date=1999|location=New York|pages=10, 171|month=May|id=ISBN0590036394]

His father, Steve Berenson, works as a pediatrician, and becomes a Controller late in the series. His mother, Jean Berenson, works as a freelance writer, also becoming a Controller late in the series. Jake has a brother, Tom Berenson, who is a Controller from the beginning of the series.

Jake's uncle, Dan (brother of Steve), is a news anchor. He is divorced and lives by himself. In #7, when he was moving out, he offers Rachel the opportunity to stay with him and fly back every weekend to see her mother and sisters, but Rachel declines. Jake's aunt by marriage, Naomi, is an extremely headstrong and contentious lawyer. When she is forced to hide in the Hork-Bajir valley, she tries to escape a few times. Jake's cousins include Rachel, a fellow Animorph (deceased), Jordan, who is two years younger than Rachel, and Sara, who is younger than Jordan. His other cousin, Saddler (by an unknown sibling of Dan and Steve, either his mother Ellen or his father George), received life-threatening injuries in book 21. David acquired and morphed the wounded Saddler, briefly masquerading as him and allowing his family to believe he'd miraculously recovered. The family would have suffered further grief when David became trapped as a nothlit, causing 'Saddler' to disappear without explanation. The real Saddler has never been seen again and is presumed dead. Cousins Justin, Brooke, and Forrest are siblings of Saddler.

Jake's great grandfather, Grandpa G, was the father of Jean's mother. Grandpa G was a veteran of World War II whom Jake admired and respected greatly. He died in book 31 and the family left town to attend his funeral. Grandpa G had a granduncle Isaiah Fitzhenry who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. Jake found and read Isaiah's wartime diary in book 47.

Jake's morphs

*Anteater
*Seal
*Polar Bear (named "Nanook")
*Howler
*Giant Squid
*Chimpanzee
*Eel
*Medieval Warhorse (cannot be used: "Sario Rip" morph)
*Hork-Bajir
*Squirrel
*Cockatiel
*Orca (named "Swoosh"),
*Beaver
*Anaconda

Toys

In 1999, four different Transformers toys of Jake were made. Two of the larger ones that were sold in stores turned into a Tiger and a Grizzly Bear, while the third was one piece of the Tyrannosaurus Rex made up of Jake, Cassie, and Marco figures. The smaller transformer was part of a Taco Bell children's meal promotion and turned into a lizard. [ [http://www.tfu.info/faction/animorph.htm www.tfu.info Faction Index - Animorphs ] ]

Footnotes