| Book Review | Jennifer Hairfield |
Maximum Ride:
The Angel Experiment
by James Patterson
We've all had dreams of flying like a bird, soaring the
skies without a care. Here's a group of kids who actually
can. Inspired from his own novels When the Wind Blows
and
Lake House comes a brand new series for teens called
Maximum Ride. The "bird-kids" are 98% human and 2%
bird and yes they can soar the skies. Because when mad
science marches on it creates new species. Along with the
"bird-kids" are the "Erasers," werewolf-like creatures who
love flying humans for dinner.
The six "bird-kids" grew up in a science lab/prison called
The School, like lab rats. One of the scientists' smuggles
the "bird-kids" out of The School to a hideout in the woods
for safety, but did he have alternative motives for his
actions? Each kid has a special gift: Angel, the youngest,
can read minds and breath underwater; the Gasman, Angel's
brother, can mimic voices; Iggy is better with his hands
then anyone since he's blind; and Max, the leader, gets
flashes of communication from a mysterious voice teaching
her what she needs to know.
The Erasers kidnap Angel and take her back to The School, a
secret facility in California. The rest of the "family" goes
after them to save their baby girl. It's a long trip with
many flight hours logged from the mountains to Lake Tahoe to
the subways of New York to The School's secret location. Not
everything is what it seems in this novel. The "bird-kids"
don't know who to trust besides each other. At every turn
they are always running from one thing or another.
By sheer luck and the mysterious voice guiding them they
make it to The School and find out some horrifying
information. But there's always a silver lining to a story
cloud, they also find information on their parents. But do
they actually get to meet them or do they have to start
running again? How long can peace and joy truly last for
this family? How are the bad guys finding them so quickly
wherever they go? Can their past help them unlock their
future?
James Patterson has created another great page-turner full
of intrigue and suspense. From start to finish this is an
adventure worth reading over and over again. Stay tuned for
Maximum Ride's next great page-turning adventure.