Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson (Young Reader, Fantasy)
I read this book for the folks over at MotherTalk and I really enjoyed it. Give me a strong female character, especially one who sticks by her friends and saves the world any day. This is the third book in the series and the website says there will be a fourth. (The website is elaborate, interactive, and very kid friendly.) I have not read the previous books and this in no way hampered my reading of this one. I liked the way the narration handled getting the reader up to speed in the few places where this was necessary. Information from the earlier books wasn’t front-loaded at the beginning of the book – it was just added into the narrative, wherever necessary, as if a friend were telling you a story.
The story itself is something young readers will love, adults and big corporations out to destroy the world, outwitted and brought to justice by a band of misfit (read genetically altered) kids who can fly! The heroine, Max, is well-drawn and as the primary narrator, hers is the voice that’s most consistent. Another character narrates a few chapters, but it is Max who tells the story. I like her smart-alecky tone and her sometimes hilarious responses to adult interrogation. (Her narrative voice is so strong, while reading the book I actually had a dream narrated by Max.)
The book has its post modern moments in that Max often addresses the reader directly. This didn’t bother me at all. I think this device fit in cleverly with the whole brave new world theme of Patterson’s story.
I think the book is perfect for tweens and I’ll certainly hang on to it until The Kid is old enough to enjoy it. I don’t think it will be the next Harry Potter, but who knows?
I read this book for the folks over at MotherTalk and I really enjoyed it. Give me a strong female character, especially one who sticks by her friends and saves the world any day. This is the third book in the series and the website says there will be a fourth. (The website is elaborate, interactive, and very kid friendly.) I have not read the previous books and this in no way hampered my reading of this one. I liked the way the narration handled getting the reader up to speed in the few places where this was necessary. Information from the earlier books wasn’t front-loaded at the beginning of the book – it was just added into the narrative, wherever necessary, as if a friend were telling you a story.
The story itself is something young readers will love, adults and big corporations out to destroy the world, outwitted and brought to justice by a band of misfit (read genetically altered) kids who can fly! The heroine, Max, is well-drawn and as the primary narrator, hers is the voice that’s most consistent. Another character narrates a few chapters, but it is Max who tells the story. I like her smart-alecky tone and her sometimes hilarious responses to adult interrogation. (Her narrative voice is so strong, while reading the book I actually had a dream narrated by Max.)
The book has its post modern moments in that Max often addresses the reader directly. This didn’t bother me at all. I think this device fit in cleverly with the whole brave new world theme of Patterson’s story.
I think the book is perfect for tweens and I’ll certainly hang on to it until The Kid is old enough to enjoy it. I don’t think it will be the next Harry Potter, but who knows?
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