School's Out - Forever (Maximum Ride, Book 2) [Hardcover]

James Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 23, 2006 | Age Range: 10 and up | Lexile Measure: 660L (What's this?)

In this eagerly awaited follow-up, brave bird-kid Max and her flock are discovered by an FBI agent and forced to go to "school." There is no such thing as an ordinary day as Max deciphers how and when she's supposed to save the world, and she faces her greatest enemy--a clone of herself. Little, Brown and Company

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–This book picks up exactly where The Angel Experiment (Little, Brown, 2005) left off. The six genetically engineered bird children have escaped from the wolf-hybrid Erasers again, Max is still hearing The Voice in her head, and she is still reeling from the revelation that Ari, the most persistent of all the Erasers, is dead by her hand and that he might be her brother. From this point forward, there is action, but no distinctive plot. The closest the story line comes to compelling is when the kids are taken in and enrolled in school by a seemingly kind woman who just happens to be a high-ranking FBI agent. It will not shock readers when it is eventually revealed that she has betrayed them. This book is full of as many twists, turns, and conspiracies as an episode of daytime drama. And just like a soap opera, it relies heavily on melodrama until the very end, whereupon readers discover that very little has actually happened. The story is disappointingly anticlimactic and violent. Still, it does have some appeal–the children continually outmaneuver their attackers without permanent damage. Plus, the talking dog they pick up during their adventures is sure to entertain.–Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Max and her flock are back in this new volume in the Maximum Ride series, a follow-up to The Angel Experiment (2004). In a flying fight with Erasers, Fang is injured so seriously that the flock takes him to a hospital. It's obvious he's not a normal human (having wings and avian DNA), so it isn't long before the FBI shows up. Anne Walker, the lead agent, takes the flock home to her Virginia farm, where she tries to mother the kids and enrolls them in a nearby private school. Living a somewhat normal life for the first time, Max, 14, manages a date and a first kiss, and others in the flock begin the quest to find their birth parents. Then everything falls apart, and the six kids face betrayal and extreme danger. Patterson, an accomplished storyteller, once again demonstrates his ability to write page-turning action scenes, this time leavening the suspense with some surprising humor; at one point, Max declares that she's "Avian American." Fans of the first book will be delighted with this continuation of the story, even though the book leaves the fate of the flock wide open^B. For more about Patterson's jump into YA, see the adjacent Story behind the Story. Diana Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 2 edition (May 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316155594
• ISBN-13: 978-0316155595
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (296 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

It is no surprise that in January, 2010, The New York Times Magazine featured James Patterson on its cover and hailed him as having "transformed book publishing," and that Time magazine hailed him as "The Man Who Can't Miss." Recently, NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams profiled Patterson's prolific career, AARP named him one of the "50 Most Influential People Who Make Our Days a Little Brighter," and Variety featured him in a cover story highlighting his adventures in Hollywood.

In 2011, it was estimated that one-in-four of all hardcover suspense/thriller novels sold was written by James Patterson, he is the first author to achieve five million ebook sales (and is expected to hit ten million in early 2013), and he holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author. And his success isn't based solely on thrillers like the perennially popular Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Michael Bennett series. Patterson is now also the current bestselling author in the young adult and middle grade categories.

He's been called the busiest man in publishing, and that's not just because of his own books. For the past decade, James has been devoting more and more of his time to championing books and reading. From the James Patterson Pageturner Awards, to his website ReadKiddoRead.com, to his College Book Bucks scholarships and his regular donations of hundreds of thousands of books to schools here in the states and troops overseas (see interviews on Fox & Friends, The Dennis Miller Radio Show and CNN.com), Patterson has passed on his passion of books and reading and supported those who do the same. Jim personally funded a major ad campaign re-printing a recent opinion piece on CNN.com about how it is our responsibility to get our kids reading. The ad has run in the New York Times, The New Yorker, and USA Today. Those ads are a call to action to parents to make their kids reading a top priority; and were featured by USA Today here. Patterson believes that we cannot rely on schools, teachers or the government to get our kids reading; only parents can make this crucial change in the reading habits of our kids. Here are links to some interviews on his first-ever dual lay down (two books, one for parents and one for kids, in one day): AOL's You've Got, NBC's "Today Show" with Hoda and Kathie Lee, USA Today and Family Circle, NBC's "Today Show" with Al Roker, as well as an interview with AARP.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#2 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#2 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#2 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical June 29, 2006

By Arthur Bradley TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

It's been too long since Patterson released Maximum Overide. I had to go back and re-read the story to catch back up on the characters Max, Nudge, Angel, Gasman, Fang, Iggy, and Trouble (the now talking dog!). That book was also delightful, but it felt unfinished - leaving me feeling like I'd left a movie in the middle. I wanted to know if the winged kids would find their parents or get caught by the erasers, what additional skills they might develop and how well they would enter the "real world."

Patterson's sequel, Schools Out Forever, is quite simply "magical." I loved it. It is filled with very short chapters (some less than a page), keeping things rolling at a high-pitched pace. The characters come across as real and unique. He's taken the time to develop their personalities, and you feel like you know and love them.

In this second part (of many I hope), Ari (a particularly troubled eraser thought to be dead) is on the hunt for Max. I think it's cool that the villian is driven by complex (animalistic) urges (love, hate, lust, envy) rather than just being blindly evil. A fight with the erasers leaves Fang badly injured, and in seeking medical attention the group is exposed. Fortunately, rather than being taken back for more experiments, they are adopted by a kind FBI agent, Anne Walker. Anne seems more intereted in getting Max and her flock functioning as a well adjusted family than finding out their secrets, and she quickly gets them enrolled in public school. I don't want to spoil things, but let me say that nothing is as it first appears! Then there's Max 2, the improved replacement that thinks it will be a piece of cake to just step in and take over.

This is a very fun light read, and I recommend it to anyone that doesn't take life too seriously. It reminds me of some of the better works by Koontz. It has broad appeal to many audiences (my wife and 8 year old daughter also loved it).

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Process of Elimination" - an action packed thriller that pits a martial arts expert against a world-class sniper who is out to shape the next Presidential election.

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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the great adventure continues.... June 6, 2006

By Deborah Wiley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

James Patterson's second book in the Maximum Ride series is a fun thrill ride sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats!

Max, Nudge, Angel, the Gasman, Fang, Iggy, and Trouble are still fleeing from the Erasers. For those unfamiliar with the series, Max and her flock are the results of a mysterious experiment in which human and bird DNA was combined, resulting in kids with wings. In addition to flying, the flock members are beginning to develop other talents, such as Angel's ability to read and control minds. Trouble is a dog rescued from the same doctors/scientists and Erasers are part wolf, part human, and determined to destroy the flock.

Fang is badly injured in a skirmish with the Erasers and Max and the flock are forced to seek the services of a hospital. Naturally, the hospital doctors call in the FBI and the gang ends up temporarily living with FBI Agent Anne Walker while Fang recuperates. For a brief period, all seems normal and they even enroll in school. Unfortunately, all is not as it seems and soon Max will be forced to confront the reason for their existence as well as a supposedly improved version of herself and the return of the not-dead-after-all, Ari.

MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER is an enchanting tale for all ages. Just about everyone has dreamed of having the ability to fly at one time or another and Max and the flock bring this dream to life. Part of the sheer joy of this series is based simply on this fact. WHEN THE WIND BLOWS and THE LAKE HOUSE were such big hits because they also featured angel children but please note that, despite the similarity of the situation and the main character having the same name, those two books are not connected in any way to the Maximum Ride series. The first book in the series was a little tough for this reviewer as the plot kept getting confused with WHEN THE WIND BLOWS but the series has really hit its stride with MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER. It is not necessary to read the first book in the series but most will probably want to do so as the adventures of Max and the flock are such a delight to read.

James Patterson has put the flock in some rather ordinary circumstances and it was fun to see how the winged kids dealt with the daily hassles of attending school, making friends, and even dating. All of these circumstances are ones the reader will relate to and yet see in a different light while viewed through the eyes of the flock. Trouble, the talking dog, was a welcome addition to the series and helped keep the book fresh as he provided some very pithy comments that had this reviewer laughing out loud.

MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER is one ride readers will not want to miss! James Patterson has got it all in this book- great characters, non-stop action, and intrigue all told with a bit of humor to keep the story from becoming too dark.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too May 31, 2006

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

Stop! Unless you've read the first book in the MAXIMUM RIDE series, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride), you should not read this review. Although MAXIMUM RIDE: SCHOOL'S OUT--FOREVER, could be read alone, you'll do much better if you read Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride) first. Trust me. Read the first book, and then this one, and you'll end up thanking me. Now, if you promise you've already read the first book in the series, hold on to your hats, because the action heats up significantly in this second installment.

Twenty-four hours after Max killed Ari, the bird kids are once again on the run. The whole gang is together again and in one relatively unharmed piece--Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, Angel, and stray dog, Total. Max is trying hard to forget that when it came to escaping the Erasers (half-human, half-werewolf, read the first book!), she had no choice but to kill Ari in their fight for freedom.

Except, surprise, Ari isn't dead! Jeb and the other doctors at the "school" are still trying to recapture them, and Fang has been deathly wounded. Max knows there is no choice but to get Fang to a real hospital, and she's not even really surprised when the FBI turns up to question them. What does surprise her is the appearance of Anne Walker, a head-honcho who wants Max and the gang to come to her home, where she can protect them, feed and clothe them, and study them. Fang still needs rest, and a roof over their heads and food in their belly at regular intervals sounds like a good idea. Although she's wary of Anne's true motives, Max and her flock move, temporarily, into Anne's home. They're even enrolled in school--a real school, not a cover for psychotic men in white coats to perform horrible experiments on them--and although that doesn't turn out so great, the time they spend at Anne's is helping everyone to forget some of the pain they've suffered.

But the Erasers show up, as they always do, and Anne turns out not to be as wonderful as she first appeared, as also seems to happen on a regular basis. Not-dead Ari is determined to destroy the flock, especially Max, once and for all, and the Voice in Max's head is getting increasingly annoying as to her duty to save the world.

This second book in the series is as full of adventure, heart-stopping adrenaline, and edge-of-your-seat action as the first book was. I loved the newfound powers that many in the flock gained in this installment, as well as Total's ability to talk. I can't wait to see what happens next, especially in regards to Itex and how it figures in with the seemingly imminent destruction of Earth. Kudos to Mr. Patterson for another winner in the MAXIMUM RIDE series. The only thing I hate is that it will probably be another year or so before we find out what happens next!