June 24

‘Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment’ by James Patterson

Maximum RideHave you ever wondered what it would be like to fly, soaring through the sky above everyone else grounded by gravity? For most of us, it would be a dream come true. For Maximum Ride (A.K.A. Max) it is the nightmare that will never stop. Max was taken away when she was just born to a laboratory filled with scientists and test subjects. Max and five other kids had bird DNA put in them, allowing them to grow wings. They also grew larger lungs, thinner bones, extra muscles and their hearts grew more efficient. This allowed them to fly without too much pressure. The children were living in dog cages until one day a scientist called Jeb Batchelder took them away from the lab (A.K.A. The School) and up into a house in the mountains. There, he raised them like they were his own children. He clothed them, taught them survival skills, how to fight and how to read. He acted like a parent to them; two years of raising them until he disappeared. They all assumed that he was killed. From then on, they did everything themselves.

“The flock” has six members in it. Max is the eldest, so she looks after everyone else as though it is life or death. Fang is the second eldest, and he is the silent one. Sometimes he likes to sneak up on Max. Iggy is third, and he is blind, but he can still hear everything and he can also cook and make bombs, even though he’s blind. Nudge is next, and she is a chatterbox. She likes to talk all day long. She also likes looking at things she’s not supposed to, which is a good thing. Gazzy is fourth, and he likes to eat food and fart. He tries to always act tough. Last is Angel, and she is the most special. She can read people’s minds and she is the most important to Max. These six are always getting into trouble with erasers. Erasers are humans that have wolf DNA in them, and they are always being sent out to capture the flock, and one day they get Angel. This is the moment where they go out to get her back from the horrible scientists.

Maximum Ride is an amazing book. It talks about trust and friendship. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, it was so intense. Once I started reading, I was always left with a question in my head, so I had to keep reading. I would recommend this book to kids aged 13-15, and kids who love a combination of action and fantasy. If you also love massive twists at the end of a book, than I would recommend Maximum Ride to you. I would rate this book 9.5 out of 10.

By Cooper, Year 8

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Posted June 24, 2015 by marjk in category Student Reviews

About the Author

Teacher-librarian at Aquinas College, Southport, Gold Coast, Australia

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