by James Patterson
published in 2007 by Little, Brown and Company
Summary: This is the first book in a series written for teens about genetically altered kids and teenagers who are out in the world with no one but each other to look out for them, but with an adult sized mission: To Save The World! The book is centered around six characters: Maximum Ride (the 14 year old leader), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gassman and Angel. They have all had bird DNA grafted into theirs, so at a minimum they all have wings and can fly, but as the story unfolds many of them start to discover they have other abilities as well. Angel who is only six is captured by the Erasers, wolf men who work for the school that created the six and from which they escaped, and the other five set out to rescue her. In the process they decide to try and uncover some of the secrets of their past. The story moves from the west coast to the east at a pace that will leave you a bit breathless as you travel with this extraordinary young people.
Review: Declan wanted to read this book and asked me to read it with him like I read with Little Faron, so I agreed. The more he read, the more excited he got about it and as I started to read I can totally see why. I finished it in three days. It was a quick read with enjoyable characters, an intriguing plot line and plenty of action. I can especially see how a young person would really enjoy this book as it depicts really empowered folks just like them. Teenagers who aren't normal and constantly feel separated from everything, much like many teenagers and young people feel in the real world. This book would provide them an imaginative escape and characters they can relate to all the while being inspired to do something great. Previously I had only read some of Patterson's adult novels, in particular the Alex Cross stuff which I found to be pretty disturbing. I always enjoyed his writing style just not the graphic nature of his content. This book is very different, it has all of the joy of his writing style but none of the graphic imagery or disturbing subject matter. Assuming you don't consider genetically altering babies disturbing. This is an excellent start to what should be a good series. If you have a young person in the house, pick up two copies and enjoy a good read together.
Reading Recommendation: YES!
No comments:
Post a Comment