June 5

‘Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment’ by James Patterson

Have you ever felt the urge to just fly, to escape all your worries, doubts and problems and feel the wind rush through your hair?  For some, it would be a dream come true. For the Flock, it is all they have ever known.

The Angel Experiment is the first novel of the Intriguing Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, a series jam-packed with life-threatening adventures and a whole lot of saving the world. The main focus of this series is Maximum Ride and her flock, featuring Angel, Iggy, The Gasman and Nudge. Iggy is blind, although he still manages to keep up with the remaining members of the Flock. The Gasman and Angel are siblings.

The themes explored in this novel include good and evil, monsters, genetic engineering and superpowers. These apply to teenagers, as they excite and encourage teenagers with a good imagination.  The themes also make them aware of the less than honorable people in the world and the caution teenagers need to take when dealing with people of the said description.

The Flock has been assigned one task, to save the world, which in theory seems simple enough.  However, there is one particular group that makes the task much more complicated: the Erasers, blood thirsty hounds eager to track down the Flock and stop them in their tracks. Whilst saving the world, Maximum Ride acts as a motherly figure to the children aged six to fourteen. She is currently trying to locate the biological parents of each member of the Flock, rescue Angel from a bunch of crazy scientists in lab coats, protect her Flock and discover who she is in the process.

This novel is set in the future in various locations across the United States, including New York City and California. It was very enjoyable because it has the characteristics that all brilliant novels should have: adventure, intrigue, fascination and action.

Another reason I enjoyed it is because it appealed to my interests and made me think what living in an alternate universe would be like. I loved the characters, particularly Maximum Ride, as she portrays the image of fearlessness and knowing when it is the right time to be emotional and to be brave. This is a story that requires your full attention therefore you begin to deeply engage with the characters.

I would definitely recommend this novel to both boys and girls interested in Science Fiction and action packed books between the ages of ten and later teenage years.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and hope to see what the future will hold for the remainder of this series. This first novel is truly deserving of a five out of five-star rating.

Charlize O, Year 8.

……

With no home, no family, they are running for their lives. This is the incredible story of six kids, the oldest only being 13, running for their lives when captured by Erasers, (human werewolves) the  fastest predators around.

Does this captivate you? Are you the type of reader that would read the rest of this to see what’s about to happen?

The style is an action is a science fiction novel. I love this book because of the story it tells the reader. James Patterson, the author, has used such loving imaginative words to create the perfect scene in the reader’s mind.

What’s wrong with these kids? Why did they meet at a ‘school’? These very special six kids have angel wings; they were all normal kids just growing up in a ‘school’. Were these special kids designed to save the world? Or are they going to destroy the world we all live in.

James Patterson is the author of ‘Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.’ This books is about a girl, Max, who is trying to keep her family safe. This book is an amazing piece of work.  James Patterson captures the attention of those wanting to know what being a teenager is really like without a family.

The scaffold of this book is a little confusing as in one chapter Angel gets taken by the evil side (I then thought the book was going to stay with her missing) but a couple of chapters after Angel comes back because Max saved her.

The recommended age for reading this book is 13.

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Posted June 5, 2017 by marjk in category Dystopian fiction, Student Reviews

About the Author

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

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