Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) [Paperback]

James Patterson (Author)

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7–9—In this installment in the series, Max, the super-spunky, flying, mutant bird-girl and "kick butt warrior," and her flock battle evil, ecologically thoughtless foes. Fast-paced thrills spill from the pages and pull readers in, starting on page one when a suicide sniper cyborg/human aims his automatic pistol at Max as she flies in an air show over Los Angeles. To help publicize her mother's environmental group, Coalition to Stop the Madness, Max has agreed to lead the flying flock in these touring shows. Performing soon endangers her life, however, by bringing her identity and relationship with the CSM to the immediate attention of Mr. Chu, whose business has dumped radioactive material into the ocean around Hawaii. These toxins are killing millions of fish and causing grisly mutations to other sea creatures. Mr. Chu almost kills Max and then kidnaps her mother, holding her for ransom in a submarine. With the flock members' extraordinary abilities—Gazzy's inventiveness, Max's strength and intuitive "voice" in her head, and Angel's telepathy and her ability to speak to some helpful mutant sea creatures, Max rescues her mother. Patterson weaves humor into the dramatic action. In addition, Max's romantic relationship with Fang ripens to a more serious level than in the previous books. Hints of an approaching apocalypse, repeated references to Max's "mission in saving the world," and a few lingering questions such as her precarious relationship with her father all leave open the possibility of a sequel.—James K. Irwin, Sandy Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316002909
• ISBN-13: 978-0316002905
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #10,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Drea Dee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) (Hardcover)

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!

23 of 23 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)

This review is from: Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Maximum Ride so far..., April 24, 2009

By	Amanda (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Max (Maximum Ride, Book 5) (Hardcover)

After The Final Warning, I was really concerned for the Maximum Ride series. So concerned that I was pretty surprised when I saw that a new book was coming out in the series. However, Patterson pleasantly surprised me with the fifth book in the Maximum Ride series, Max. Instead of being preached at or being walked through some cliche story, I was treated to a fresh new adventure that breathed new life into the series.

At the opening of Max, Max and her fellow bird children have joined an organization to spread awareness and fight the effects of global warming. Soon after, the Flock is enlisted by the U.S. government to investigate the death of millions of fish off the Hawaiian coast. It isn't long until the sinister Dr. Chu kidnaps Max's genetic mother, Dr. Martinez, and demands that Max and co. give up on their crusade against global warming or risk Dr. Martinez's death.

It was great to see the Flock working with the government this time instead of fighting it or running from it, as they have in previous books. Even though part of me missed the suspense and intensity of the constant chase from the earlier novels, Max is infused with enough drama and emotion to keep readers flipping pages. Overall, Patterson's writing was fun and entertaining to read, with a healthy dose of sass and wit. It seemed like his writing skill has also strengthened since The Final Warning and grow considerably since The Angel Experiment. I find that Max is much easier to read than the other novels and truly brings something original to the Maximum Ride universe.

The sudden increase of romantic content in Max, however, may bother some readers since it is not common to the series, but to others (such as myself) it's a welcome change and shows how the Flock is growing up. There also seem to be some neglect of Iggy and Gazzy compared to previous novels, but this didn't hurt the overall story. Of course, if you're a fan of these characters, than this approach may be a problem.

While this book is not perfect, it is, by far, the best book in the Maximum Ride series so far. I'm not a big fan of Patterson and have only read his Maximum Ride novels, but he just seems to pull out all of the stops on this one. I was pleasantly surprised by Max, especially after the disappointment of The Final Warning. There were points when I was reading this book that I saw it playing in my mind like a movie -even though, at times, a somewhat sappy, romantic movie. I certainly hope that future Maximum Ride novels will be just as enjoyable.