The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride #1)

Reader reviewed by Erica Fullen and Samantha Mongold

  Fourteen-year-old Max introduced her and her flock and no one would dare forget these unusual characters. Born into the world as normal kids, they were kidnapped by scientists who fused bird DNA onto their human DNA. As a result, Max, Fang, the Gasman, Angel, Iggy and Nudge have incredible and amazing talents. Their beautifully feathered wings are for more than just show they literally can fly among the clouds.
The voice in her head won't tell her, though it won't keep quiet with all sorts of unwanted advice. And Max still doesn't know from where the voice is coming maybe from the chip implanted in her arm. But it all comes down to the fact that Max and her flock are still running for their lives and their freedom. The scientists want them back and have ordered the unrelenting Erasers, the half-human/half-wolf hybrids, on a constant hunt for the youngsters' return.
One fight with the Erasers leaves Fang dangerously wounded and quickly bleeding to death. A guy who walks by calls for an ambulance. He will die without help. At the hospital the doctors quickly discover that they aren't dealing with a normal patient, and the FBI soon arrives. One of their agents Anne invites Max and the flock to stay at her house for a little while to recuperate rest and heal. In exchange, they allow Anne to get to know them, ask questions and witness their talents. Max is skeptical and suspicious; she can't afford to trust anyone outside of her flock. But with Fang injured, she doesn't know what else to do. Soon Anne insists on everyone attending school. There, the children start making friends, and a boy asks Max out on a date. They enjoy their first traditional Thanksgiving and even have a bit of spare time to discover new talents, and to follow up on some clues as to their real parents' whereabouts. But something isn't right and Max is eager to move on. She has no idea what is about to transpire and is shocked to see a very familiar face.
Soon Anne insists on everyone attending school. There, the children start making friends, and a boy asks Max out on a date. They enjoy their first traditional Thanksgiving and even have a bit of spare time to discover new talents, and to follow up on some clues as to their real.

I love this book. I wouldnt do nothing to change anything about it. Everything is fine about it.

 

Reader reviewed by w0lf13, -Cherry;;*

Maximum Ride Is Awesome! Its The Most Thrilling Book You Could Ever Read, All The Characters Are Great People. Max's Sarcasm Makes It Even More Thrilling. Its Mind Blowing, Wonderful, Action Filled And Exciting! Whoever Said Books Had To Be Boring To Read?  

Reader reviewed by Heather,Ben, and Duane

Maximum Ride is exciting! The book is about a six kids who have wings. They were raised in a lab and were kept in a cage. They escaped and lived in the middle of no where for a few years. One day the erasers (the guys who are after them) come to their house and attack them. The book is very action packed. Once I picked it up I never wanted to put it down. I recommend this book to everyone.     

Reader reviewed by Tatie & Jenny

      I thought this book had some very intresting twist and turns. I really liked how many places the flock went to were actually real places. It had some supernatural things aswell; such as having wings and flying, and different charactors had different ablities such as Angel being able to read minds. Out of al the charactors; Max, Fang, Nudge, Iggy,Angel, and Gazzy I'd say Fang was my favorite.It was cool how Iggy and Gazzy can build bombs and other explosive stuff with Iggy being blind and all,  Heck I can't even build a paper airplane without it coming out not working. I loved how max was a Butt- Kicking kinda girl! *~*GIRL~POWER*~*!!!!!!!!!!!        Angel was kinda creey though how she could read minds and convince people to do things for her and the flock.Gazzy had really BAD gas attacks. Iggy was cool too. Nudge was VERY talkitive. But other than the blood crazy erasers chasing me I wouldn't mind to be a member o

Reader reviewed by Nikki

This book was so good!!! I read the first 4 books in only 4 days!!!  This book is filled with suspense, mystery, and adventure. The book is about six different kids with different and extraordinary talents.These kid shave no family and no place to go. The closest thing they had to a family was Jeb and he disappeared and they have never seen him since. These kids lived in a home until it was blown up by morphing werewolves. These kids are products of an experiment. They are 98 percent human and 2 percent avian hybrid. The morphing werewolves are their enemies that are trying to take the kids back to this place called the school. If you thought it was regular school then you are wrong. The school is a horrible place. This is a place where people steal children and use them for experiments. Most of these kids die at a very young age. This group of kids is the oldest experiment ever made. This was the background. Now this is the real story. The morphing wolves took the youngest od the group, a little girl named Angel, and take her back to the school. It is up to Max, the oldest of the group and a geirl also, to try and save Angel. Dont forget about Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman. { also known as Gazzy}

Reader reviewed by danielle

Maximum Ride by James Patterson is not lacking in excitment. Like most of Patteron's work, it's lacking in any real depth or characterazation, but it does keep you reading.

Max is the leader of a 'flock' of six genetically mutated kids, on the run from the institute that created them--The School. Along with Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel, Max must not only escape the clutches of The School, but maybe even save the world...

While Max is a fun, if rather repetitively sarcastic, character, I can't help but think James Patterson shouldn't really be writing about teenagers, especially teenage girls. Max doesn't come across as very real to me. She's tough, pretty, mean, and sassy, and it all makes a very perfect character with flaws that dont really count as flaws (like Twilight). The secondary characters are just as thin, trapped inside these three word descriptions Patterson uses to introduce them. They have very little depth, and all the interactions between them is very phony.

However, Maximum Ride is a page turner, keeping you glued to the page like only a Patterson novel can. While he does sacrifice literary integrity for book sales, you can at least say you read Maximum Ride in less then an hour.

 

Reader reviewed by Casey

i loved this book, the flock was always on the run and it always kept me wanting to read more. i loved how the author switched perspectives when the flock was separated soo u always knew what the flock was thinking and doing. i would recommend this book to anyone :]]

Reader reviewed by Selena Dupri

This was an amazing book and it dragged me onto the second. I really connected with the characters and felt the pain and stress this book caused for them. There were many suprises throughout the pages and I loved how the chapters were short and easy to finish. I felt it was easier to come to stopping points when you have a busy life as i do. I like how it is written for both boys and girls as the main charcter is a girl, but she comes to many blood battles. Marvelous book, absolutly marvelous! I wish I had wings so I could fly. I felt like I already have.

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.

Reader reviewed by shannon

Wow. That about some it up. This book is amazing. Six children who escape the only home they've ever known, Dog kennels in science labratories, with the help of a former scientist. Max the natural born leader of the group. Is the dominant mutant and she knows it. After escaping death more than once in her life time. She is forced to lead the others in a journey like no other. While dealing with the effects of being ejected with avian DNA.