 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Maximum Ride 2: School's Out -- Forever
- By James Patterson
- Genre: Science Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Adventure continues with same lack of plot.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there is a lot of violence here; some of it quite brutal, including serious injuries. Also, the marketing for this book is pretty intense, including Blogspot and MySpace pages, and a count-the-clicks effort to get kids to vote for a Maximum Ride movie.
What's the story?
Avian-human hybrid Max and her similarly genetically enhanced Flock are on the run from the evil scientists and their nasty minions, the wolf-human hybrids called Erasers. Including Ari. Yes, he was killed in the last book, but now he's back, with no real explanation, and meaner than ever (daddy issues), now that he and the other Erasers have had wings grafted on their backs. You'd think this would make them more dangerous, but it actually seems to have made them more clumsy.
Max and the Flock engage in plenty of fighting, chases, and escape plans while Ari and the evil scientists do their scheming. Apparently there's a plot to kill off half the people in the world, method unspecified, reasons rather vague. (You know, that's what evil scientists do.)
Meanwhile the Flock get taken in by an apparently nice woman ... until it turns out that she's evil too. And they get to go to a normal school for a while ... until it turns out that the school is evil too. And Iggy finds his parents ... until (wait for it) it turns out they're evil too. Well, not evil -- just bad. And so on.
Is it any good?
If your kids liked the first Maximum Ride, then they'll like this one too. How can we be so sure? Because it's exactly the same. This series has been compared to a thrill ride, a roller coaster. As with a roller coaster, the reader gets lots of thrills, excitement, scares, tension, and fun -- but it's all artificial, meaningless, and you end up right back where you started, with nothing accomplished. It's an empty thrill.
By the end of the book, the main characters have been attacked, injured, healed, are captured, escape, captured, escape, etc. But they've gotten nowhere. This appears to be a trilogy with no actual narrative arc. Exciting stuff happens, for no discernible reason, and what little actual story there is makes no sense at all. It's a mere contrivance, the struts that hold up the ride -- you're not supposed to pay attention to them. You're just supposed to surrender to the ride. There's something horribly cynical about all this. It's harmless fun, one supposes, but it is possible to write a fun story and still respect the intelligence of your audience.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about this book's lack of plot. What makes this book fun to read, despite the fact that there's little plot? How does it compare with other exciting action/adventure books you've read?
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AGE
Don't pay attention to the review. I doubt they've even read the book.
The review above may say that there's a lack of plot, but that's because it's nearly impossible for there to be one. James Patterson's style of writing is unlike any other author's. He switches to different characters points of view so often the story doesn't really need a strong plot. Too much is going on for there to be a concrete plot. Ending chapters with words that leave you hanging and scrambling (sometimes not fast enough) to turn the page and start reading again, Mr. Patterson illustrates a new view of the flock as they're enrolled in school for the first time. Everybody but Max seems to quickly ease their way into the new setting, Max appears to get more and more claustrophobic and trapped feeling the longer she stays. She also turns a slight tinge of green with envy when Fang starts flirting with other girls. I recommend reading this to see the comical and amazing ways Max gets out of every tight spot; whether it be boys or insane scientists.
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AGE
Fine book and a great sequal
I Loved this book, I actually read it when I was 12, and found it very attention-drawing.
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AGE
Still BEing Great
I loved this book as well as the first one- but if i had to pick the dive of this series (like the worst part) this book might be it. I thought some of it was boring but the rest was like kick-@$$!
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AGE
Okay, I have one main reason to like this book (and this series): My 3rd grader loves it! He's a great reader (advanced level) BUT a very picky reader. So he's devoured many series: Chronicles of Narnia, Percy Jackson, Warriors, Paolini's trilogy, etc., BUT he's so annoyingly hard to please and it'll take lots of trial and error to get him into new books.series. He likes action, handles some violence okay, but doesn't want romance or anything "real" scary (i.e., ghosts, aliens, things that he might think true and will loose sleep over at night). For adolescent boys, this series seems to offer all that they want and none of what they don't. And it's made my son happy to loose himself in books again. I know he'll be exposed to great literature in the classroom; for at home reading, this series fills a huge void.
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AGE
GET THIS BOOK NOW.
I loved the first book. The warnings on "The Angel Experiment" were right. I just couldn't put the book down. It is violent and has mild language, but it's funny and censored. It's wonderful. You should read this next book.
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AGE
great book
i loved this book its the best its a little violent and acouple kisses but i loved it all the same there are also some swears so not for small children
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AGE
Lack of plot? Not exactly. AMAZING book. My favorite of the series. I think it's smart, funny, adventurous and romantic.
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AGE
you have to read it
I love it! Coudn't put it down.Normally I'm a video game freak, But once I saw this book I knew I had to get it.
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AGE
this book is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 i loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the people on this site said that there was a lack of plot. they would not know a good book if it came up and bit them in the butt.
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AGE
LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
OMGosh!!! I absolutely LOVE this book series! I reread it almost every night, and find things I missed everytime. Amazing!
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| Author: | James Patterson |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Publisher: | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date: | May 1, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 409 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Paperback price: | $6.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 14 - 14 |
| Read aloud: | 12 |
| Read alone: | 12 |
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