Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: bird kids, marine research station, flock leader, James Patterson, Maximum Ride Novel, Captain Perry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fifth entry in Patterson's all-ages Maximum Ride fantasy/thriller series finds the teenaged title character facing her greatest challenge yet. Max, leading her flock of virtually indestructible part-human/part-bird hybrids, must rescue her human mom, kidnapped by a criminal mastermind with an elaborate plan to wreak worldwide ecological catastrophe. But in order to rescue her, 14-year-old Max and the five younger members of her flock (genetically developed by an environmental group) must team up with the U.S. Navy to determine why millions of fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii. All this, and Max is falling in love, too. Patterson doesn't spend much time on character development, opting to propel his wild story with quick action scenes, plenty of dialogue and chapters seldom longer than three or four pages; unfortunately, though, life-and-death situations are often solved by implausible plot turns. Max narrates with a precocious, snarky voice, but makes it relatively easy to jump into her complicated tale midstream. Not surprisingly, the open-ended conclusion begs for a follow-up; it's also little wonder that a movie franchise is in the works.
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Review

"This book is a masterpiece. It will be some movie." (Avi Arad, producer of Iron Man and Spiderman )

"Action and attitude fill the fifth in James Patterson's best-selling Maximum Ride." (USA Today Bob Minzesheimer )

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; BCE edition (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316002895
• ISBN-13: 978-0316002899
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,377 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #26 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Patterson, James
  #74 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure
  #84 in	Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Adventure & Thrillers

• This is item 5 in The Maximum Ride Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maximum Ride is Back on Track., March 17, 2009

By	rileyluvr13 - See all my reviews

Picking up this book, I was skeptical. Can anyone remember the fourth book, The Final Warning, and how much we all disliked it? I was ready for another 309 pages of disappointment.

But boy, was I wrong. This book is great, and the series is one its way to redemption. The story starts out slow, and actually, the whole first 50 pages don't make sense. But later on, the plot gets fast paced and exciting, and the romance will make your heart flutter (there's a lot more of it this time around and, in my opinion, I loved it... you can guess between who!).

There are messages about global warming, but there's so small and subtle that you have to squint to see them. It actually leaves you with a feeling that, "Oh, yeah, it does exist, and I feel bad," instead of, "Stop shoving it in my face, book!"

My only complaint was this: did there seem to be some favoritism in the characters? Like, I noticed the Gasman was centralized in the story and always there, of course in addition to first-person narrator Max. So was Angel and Fang. But there seemed to be a huge limited amount of Iggy and Nudge. Maybe it was just me, and if you happen to like those four characters, great. But I am an Iggy fan, and he barely had, like, four lines.

Anyway, the ending of this book was such a cliffhanger. I can't give away much without spoiling it, but please just go and read it. I cannot absolutely wait for the next one, now that I know the series is back on track and likely won't pull a huge flop like The Final Warning. Can the next book come any sooner?

Bravo, James Patterson, Max is glad to have to back on track!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, not bad., March 27, 2009

By	F. Todd "Romblen" (Wyoming) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like a lot of other readers, I was skeptical picking up this book. The 4th book was about global warming and it was one giant political message. This book wasn't nearly as bad. There was still some global warming and pollution messages however, it's not nearly as bad. Unlike the 4th book, they had a purpose in this book. I don't want to spoil anything from the book, but this time around, the flock was working to actually save something important to them.
This book isn't perfect though. The book is focused around Max, Fang, and Angel. Some of the other characters, such as Iggy and the Gasman, were almost ignored.
Also, the flock seems to have a change in personality. Before, they were kids trying to survive, now they're brats. The flock was still sarcastic and funny, but they were mean to almost all of the adults in the book. All of the characters seemed a little off, like their personality changed between books.
There is definetly more romance in this book. I won't spoil anything. But, I can assure you that romance lovers won't be dissapointed.
Overall, it's not a bad book. Not great either. It's an improvement over the 4th Maximum Ride book. But the political message is still there. The characters seem a little different as well. But the book is still exciting and entertaining. I recommend this book to any of the Maximum Ride fans, you might want to save your money and wait for it to show up at the library.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh breath to a stale series., April 2, 2009

By	Tommy B - See all my reviews

I must admit, I had my reservations when it came to Patterson's 5th book in the MAXIMUM RIDE series. I mean, FINAL WARNING wasn't exactly Patt's A game....but once I sat down with the book, my feelings toward the series were renewed. Maximum Ride is a young woman who had become a science experiment under the cruel hands of twisted scientists. After experiments and studies and tests, her DNA is genetically altered with a bird -- this produced a hawkgirl. While being held captive, an kindly member of the demented scientist's core helps her and the other hawkkids escape. Max now leads this group of lost children who help her fight the evil organization, save the world, and reunite with her lost mother and sister.

When they do finally reunite, the hawkcrew is asked to perform some aerial stunts to raise money for a charitable organization -- they agree, and now the plot is set. Mr. Chu sends his cyborgs to snatch Max's mother and deliver a warning -- this warning comes in the form of a sniper's bullet. Well, after narrowly missing, Mr. Chu plants a message for the crew revealing Max's mother is hidden aboard a Navy Sub of the coast of Hawaii. This is merely a ploy, however, as he traps the crew inside the sub which is surrounded by unrecognizable monsters. I'll stop there, but book 5 definitely breathes life back into the series, that, let's face it, was getting stale. The action is non-stop, the twist and turns whip around at break-neck speeds. Patterson has a knack for delivering well-written action scenes while throwing in some of beat humor, and that is exactly what Max is.