Book Review: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride #1)

 

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride #1)

Author: James Patterson

Pages: 424

Rating: 5/5

According to Mr. Patterson, the idea for Maximum Ride came from earlier books of his called When the Wind Blows and The Lake House. Though there are some similar names, Maximum Ride should not be confused with his two prior novels because the similarities end with those names. The Angel Experiment starts when Angel, a 6 year old avian kid, was kidnapped and brought to the School, a laboratory of some sort. Max and her friends ended up rescuing Angel and to escape the Erasers, wolf-like mutants who are cronies of the School, they literally flew to New York. In there, they found out about the Institute, another group like the School, so they decided to go directly to the Institute and find for clues about their identities. By this time, Max already started hearing a voice in her head and most of the time the Voice tells her what to do. For some means, they were able to enter the Institute. In there, they rescued some mutant children and gathered some documents about their biological parents and their addresses. Max was glad about the discovery only to find out that there were no information about her and her family.

I think the first book in Maximum Ride is a great start for a great series. I’m a hundred percent sure that I will be reading the next installments in no time. While reading the novel, it feels like there’s an I am Number Four and  The Maze Runner touch on it. Like in the former, the kids here are developing unknown super powers, they don’t know what they can do and what their limits are. The cluelessness of Max and her friends including the maze like conflicts and challenges seem like the same for the latter.

Favorite Character: I really like the character of Fang. Most of the time he is the Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected but at some times he is the excited, rash, and childish Fang. He serves as the primary supporter of the lead protagonist. He seems to work on the shadows behind the background who makes a big impact on the team without them really realizing.

“He who leaps for the sky may fall, it’s true. But he may also fly”     ~James Patterson, The Angel Experiment

 

Book Review: When the Wind Blows

When the Wind Blows

Author: James Patterson
Pages: 416
Rating: 4.5/5

Another Patterson book and as usual, it is amazing! Dr. Frannie is a widowed veterinarian and she was married to David who was killed by an unidentified person. After her husband’s death, Frannie lived in her vet clinic and made their house available for rent which was then rented by Kit, an undercover FBI agent. They became quite close after some bickering events. One day when Frannie was in the woods, she accidentally saw a young girl with blonde hair and unexpectedly with a pair of wings. Frannie followed the girl to help her because she looked quite hurt but the girl ran or rather flew and she lost her. After some time, she told Kit about this and together they looked for her and fortunately they found her but they had to use force just to make her join them. They became close and Frannie and Kit learned that Maximum or Max a.k.a. Tinkerbell was an experiment from a so called School. The three of them secretly went to the School and in there they discovered the atrocities involved and at the same time they were also able to save some of Maximum’s winged friends. After some grueling events, it turned out that the standing leader of the School and the unidentified person who killed Frannie’s husband is none other than her bestfriend Gillian and her husband. In the end, the winged kids were returned to their respective biological parents.


Favorite Character: Icarus or Ic for short. Like the rest of his friends, he’s 98% human and 2% avian. What differs him from the others is that he is blind. This is because the School was trying to enhance his night vision but it made him blind instead. He was able to follow his friends through their whistles.

“Happiness is seeing Bear Bluff in your rearview mirror, but you better look damn quick.”