Review Detail

Reader reviewed by BookwormTeacher

The first book in a series of page-turners by James Patterson, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment effectively shows us the chaotic lives of six children who make up an odd family...because they can fly, and because they are the results of scientific experiments performed at The School.  And this is not ordinary school despite the fact that they are being chased by Erasers who really do want to erase them from existence.  We find out more about Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gassman, and Angel through the eyes of Max, the family leader and protector.  When Angel is kidnapped, Max leads the family on an elaborate rescue mission that is riddled with risk and potential death.  Max learns more about her mission than she anticipated.  Family members struggle with the same questions: Who am I?, Where did I come from?, and How can I belong? 

The most powerful scene in the book, in my opinion, takes place inside a fancy restaurant where the Gassman wants to eat.  The family is immediately judged by the waiter to be unservable; Max's frustration and anger ultimately expose the family's secret for the world to see.  This is an adventurous book.  Though it is fiction fantasy, many real-world challenges that young readers can related to are part of the plot.