If the subtitle of this book weren't enough to
ensure an enthusiastic young adult audience, the thrill-a-minute
exploits of Max and her adopted brothers and sisters would.
In the first Maximum Ride book, The Angel Experiment, Max
and the Flock escaped the Erasers who were sent to kill them.
Now the delightful band of 2-percent avian, 98-percent human
children faces another treacherous predicament-going to school.
Max, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Gasman and Angel, ordinary children
until they were subjected to horrific experimentation that
turned them into mutants with the ability to fly, have escaped
the scientists again and have begun their assigned task to
save the world.
When Fang is injured and taken to a hospital,
it is discovered that he's not an ordinary boy-he has wings.
A compassionate FBI agent takes the Flock home, gives them
the mothering they've never known and enrolls them in school.
Although they've battled deadly foes, they find that coping
with teachers, homework, bullies, peer pressure, dating and
other school hazards can be just as challenging. Finding their
parents, discovery of superhuman talents, inner voices, unexpected
love and betrayal, all combine to produce a gripping tale.
Valentina De Angelis is believable as Max, giving
her just the right tone of sarcasm, while capturing Max's
innocent optimism. Patterson's writing is so effective that
his description of the emotional highs and lows that the characters
experience in this book evokes the sensation of swooping and
soaring that a bird must feel as it explores the sky.
This audio book is a wonderful mix of the supernatural
and the mundane, of terror and security, of comedy and tragedy.
The characters are enchanting and likable, and the roller
coaster storyline keeps the listener captivated from beginning
to end. I recommend this audio book for the whole family's
roadtrip pleasure.
by James Patterson and Valentina De Angelis (Narrator)
