Little, Brown and Company. 2005.
ISBN: 9780316067959
$7.99. Paperback. 464 pages.
Readers Annotation
Maximum Ride is a girl with wings on a mission to save her flock from the scientists at the Institute.
Plot Summary
Maximum Ride is a genetically enhanced 14-year-old. She and five others escaped from the Institute with help from a sympathetic scientist named Jeb. Max and her flock all have wings and can fly. As they travel around trying to remain incognito, they begin to experience newfound supernatural talents. Mutant wolf men called the Erasures hunt the children relentlessly. They discover along the way that Jeb, the man they thought of as a father figure, and who helped them escape is responsible for hunting them with the Erasures. As the flock tries to find their reason for being, one of them is captured. Little Angel, only 6-years-old is returned to the institute. The kids rescue Angel, and set off on adventure after adventure, where they are nearly caught each time, but manage to escape. In the meantime, Max develops a little voice in her head that tells her what the gang should be doing. It tells her that she should be focused on saving the world and not locating the parents of the flock.
Critical Evaluation
This series is extremely popular with younger young adult readers. The book is thick, and the chapters are broken down into tiny chunks (think short attention spans). There is little character development. The book is all about action. There is so much action that scenes become redundant, and seem to be repeating. At one point I though I was rereading the same chapter. While the idea behind the book is entertaining (kids with wings), the prose is limited. Some critics have said that the book reminded them of a video game. Maybe this is true, but it reminded me of those two-minute stories that you can read in one sitting while on the toilet. I’m not really sure what my young friends see in this series of books, but I know that I won’t get suckered into reading another one.
Information about the author
James Patterson is a prolific writer that has had many books on the NY Times Best Sellers list. You can find out more about his many adult series, and the Maximum Ride series on his website at http://www.jamespatterson.com/index.php.
Genre
Science fiction, fantasy, action, adventure
Curriculum ties
None
Challenge Issues
Violence
Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its content.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Experiment-Maximum-Ride-Book/dp/0316067954/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260260450&sr=1-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens that have read it.
Booktalking Ideas
I will not booktalk this novel because I do not like it.
Reading Level/Age
Young adult
Why I included this title
Recommended by a teen.
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