I have just finished reading Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson, the 3rd book of the series, Maximum Ride. This 405 page fiction action packed book had me on the edge of my seat, through every twist and turn I could not put the book down. James Patterson’s books have sold more than 300 million copies. The author has wrote many books such as the Women’s Murder Club, Alex Cross, and the Witch and Wizard series. He holds the Guinness world record for being the first person to sell one million e-books. This book was published on May 29, 2007. It was rated a 4.9 out of 5 stars by Amazon. My friends all recommended this book to me and I want to finish the series. The reason that I read this book was so I could carry on in the series.

 

Maximum Ride is a 14 year old girl who is 98% human and 2% bird, equipped with wings that were attached to her by an evil organization called the school. Max was a test tube baby, her DNA was mixed with a bird and now you have a mutant bird freak, as she countlessly reminds us. She also has others like her, they are her flock. Each one is unique in their own way out of the 6 bird kids. Max needs to put a stop to the school and be free from the people tracking her down trying to catch her. When she finds out that the bigger picture is saving the world, she will need a whole lot of other kids to put a stop to the school’s madness.

 

I loved the way that the author had a scene where people are trying to convince her that her life’s one big crazy dream, no explanation needed. The thing that I liked is how resistant Max is to believing it, even after the scientists showed her a wound that had disappeared. Even after showing that her dog wasn’t beside her she still doesn’t believe it.

If I were the author I would have had more description of the kids that are saying they will help. I also might have had a passage dedicated to the point of view in their life, showing how much they want to fight for the flock. If I saw how willing the kids were to fight I would have liked it a bit more.

I understood why one of the main characters actually has a blog on the internet. It is to connect more to modern times and to show how fast something on the internet can spread. When Fang (a member from the flock) actually sends out an urgent message to everyone they come running to save Max and her group of misfits.

I really liked the way the author played out this passage because it really made me stop and think.

 

 

“No. You don’t understand ,” she went on briskly.” You’re at the School, Max, because you never left it. Everything that you think you’ve experienced for the past five months has all been a dream.” I gazed at Anne in admiration.”Gosh,” I said.”This is a totally new tally tack. I truly did not expect that.” Looking around at the flock, I asked, “Did anyone expect that?” They warily shook their heads no.

I nodded at Anne. “You’ve got me. Good one.”

Why was she doing this? why was she trying so hard to spin the story?” (pg.118)

 

 

I really didn’t know what to believe when I read this passage, but then I figured out the truth which I am not going to spoil. I rate this book a 9.5 out of ten because I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this series to anyone who wants more or wants to be sucked into the books world, anyone who wants to feel like they are actually there along the plotline. This book had me leaving from ELT to the next class and feeling the actual tone of the novel. The main character addresses the reader so much I actually felt as if I was her friend. Read this book, it won’t disappoint you.

Sincerely,

Johanna