Book Review
Maximum Ride:
The Angel Experiment
James Patterson
With 13 days remaining until Christmas, I’m getting a little
stressed out. I’ve done all of my
shopping with one exception: I
still have to buy for the readers on my list. And I can’t just buy any book and hope it’s good. Nope…not me. I can’t give a book unless I both know it’s a good book, AND
know that the intended reader will identify with it in some way. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading!
One of the recipients on my list is a 14-year-old girl who
is a voracious reader. It’s been a
while since I’ve read any YA novels, so I honestly didn’t know where to
start. And then someone suggested
James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series.
I was familiar with Patterson and I’d read several of his novels, but –
though I was aware the series existed – I wasn’t aware that the target audience
was young adult readers. With my 14-year old friend in mind, I picked up Maximum Ride:
The Angel Experiment.
Had a I realized in advance that this series was strongly
based in science fiction, I can assure you I would never have even considered
reading it, even as an advance screening for a gift. After all, I’ve often proclaimed that I’ll read anything
except science fiction. It’s just
not a genre I enjoy…or so I thought.
It would seem that I should rethink my aversion to science fiction,
because I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the
remainder of the series.
Maximum Ride is a 14-year-old girl who isn’t your normal
teenager. She and her friends have
been experimentally mutated by “The School” and have an avian bone structure
and wings like a bird. At first
glance, they look like any other group of kids…except for the 13-foot wingspan
they keep carefully concealed under a windbreaker to avoid notice.
Four years before the opening of this book, Max and her friends
were secretly liberated from “The School” and have been hiding from the Erasers
– creatures genetically mutated into wolf-like half-humans, created for the purpose
of hunting them down and either killing them or returning them to "The School." Max and her friends have been located
by the Erasers, and now they’re on
the run for their lives. Whether
they escape unscathed is something you’ll have to discover for yourself by
reading the book.
As an adult, I must admit I was surprised at how much I
enjoyed this book. While the
target audience is young adults (probably grade 5 and above) I found that the
twists and turns made it completely enjoyable for adults to read as well. The short chapters would be especially
attractive for young readers or busy adults, as they allow the reader to pick
the book up for a quick read and then put it down without investing a full half
hour on a chapter.
Maximum Ride was a truly outstanding read and will
definitely be in the “to open” pile for my young friend on Christmas morning. I may even consider it for one or more
of my adult reading friends.
For more information about the Maximum Ride series of books,
visit the author’s website dedicated to this series by
following this link.
~ Catherine H. Armstrong
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