Jake's in a terrible place this time around. Not only does he have to deal with the fact that he's known forever, that his brother (who's basically his idol) is infested, but now circumstances are contributing to him having to worry about his father becoming infested

Tom can't leave the area for long trips since he can't be outside the range of the Yeerk Pool, not without starving and freeing a very unwilling host who wouldn't just march back to get a new Yeerk

We've seen Jake have to deal with stress before, numerous times, but there's more at stake for him in this encounter than ever before and he seems to be breaking down for real for the first time

It just makes you want to weep for him, want to reassure him, and maybe want to shake him briefly all at the same time

We'll be back on Friday for a full-book discussion!