Meet Max, an innocent young 14 year old girl, living in the shadows of her enemies. No parents. No grandparents. Just her, and her unrelated ‘Flock’ she lives with. Max and all the members of her ‘Flock’ – Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel are just like normal teenagers living a normal life, except, they all have a secret… they all have wings and can fly! Does this sound like the book you would want to read? Then of course this is the book for you!

Things are quite normal in this so called ‘Flock’ Max belongs to, but of course there is always a bad side to things. They are being hunted down by the wolf/human mutants they call ‘Erasers’. They have to now live under cover and protect themselves because anyone could be a traitor.

I was glued to this book from start to finish by the way that James Patterson described the characters and by how he made it look like we could interact with them throughout the book. The pictures and descriptive language used in the book made it easy to understand and visualise all the scenes in my imagination as though I was there. The story continued fantastically with enough mystery and wonder to keep my full attention.

I recommend this book to people aged 12-16 and in between if you like the mysterious and wonder type of book with a full on twist at the end, then of course this is the book for you. If you really enjoyed this book, then I recommend the rest of the ‘Maximum Ride’ series and the rest of the James Patterson collection. I’d rate this graphic novel ‘Maximum Ride’ a 4.5 out of 5.

By: Phoebe G., Year 9

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Maximum Ride Vol.1

Fourteen year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it’s like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the “flock” (Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel) are just like ordinary kids but with extraordinary powers: they have wings and can fly. It my seem like a dream until the youngest out of the folk is kidnapped and taken back to where everything began, a place they like to call ‘The School’. The school, the place were everything started, is a laboratory full of scientists and test subjects. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel are just six extraordinary kids and after many years of being experimented on, they are all now prepared to take revenge. After the youngest, Angel, is kidnapped by erasers, they go on a life-threatening quest to find her and discover new secrets.

Maximum Ride, as you may already notice, is the lead character in the book. This book shows that Max is very loving and mature for a 14 year-old girl who is looking after her family, ‘The Folk’. When Angel gets kidnapped, she doesn’t hesitate to go after them and fight back for she is always the first one to pull her wings out to rise up in the sky and take the chance.

The categories in this book are Thrill, Heart-filled, Adventure and Fantasy. I liked this book a lot for there was always something different about to happen which kept me on my toes and wanting to know more. I would recommend this book for high school ages. This is a very easy read and has great imagery.

By  Jordan G, Year 9

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Don’t you wish you had wings? To fly, high in the sky with the wind in your hair, to have the feeling of complete freedom? Wouldn’t living a life with wings be glorious? Well for Max and her flock, having wings was what put them all in danger. Max, a 14 year old girl and the oldest of her winged family of six, lived high in the mountain range, hiding from all those who wish to harm them. One bright, peaceful morning, the six of them went out into the field to pick fresh strawberries but the peace did not last long. Ari and his Erasers attacked the flock and kidnapped the youngest, Angel. Now Max, Fang and Nudge leave to travel far distances to find Angel and bring her home safely. Iggy and Gazzy are left at home where they are meant to be safe but end up getting themselves into a lot of mischief with the Erasers. What will happen to Iggy and Gazzy? Will Max, Fang and Nudge find Angel? Or will it be too late?

I enjoyed reading this book because I enjoy the fantasy genre and I am able to relate to the strong family bond they have. None of them are related by blood yet they still look out for each other and care about each other as if they were blood related. I rate this book 4 out of five stars and I recommend it to people between the ages of 11 to 18 who enjoy reading a fantasy genre.

By: Amy B, Year 9