Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment (by James Patterson)

common sense media says

OK series launch about flock of mutants. Tweens.

parents & educators say

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. There are broken noses and bones, knocked-out teeth, and some deaths, guns, explosions, and car chases. The marketing for this book is also pretty intense, including Blogspot and MySpace pages and a contest to put together a tie-in music CD.

Positive messages: Mutant tale has a message about the danger of scientific advancements, but it's muffled by mediocrity.

Positive role models: The heroes steal money and a car.

Violence: Lots, some pretty brutal, with blood, broken noses and bones, knocked-out teeth, and some deaths, guns, explosions, and car chases.

Sex: A kiss.

Language: Not applicable.

Consumerism: Some mentioned directly: soda, cookie, electronics, games. Some thinly disguised, such as AFO Schmidt instead of FAO Schwartz.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about the idea of human and animal experimentation and whether or not it's ethical.
In the book, the scientists are clearly the bad guys, but are these types of experiments ever justified?
You can also discuss the book's marketing. Why the tie-in CD and Web sites?
Are there different standards for book and movie marketing?
Could this kind of aggressive, movie-style marketing of a book actually be a good thing, or is it just manipulative?

What's the story?

Max and five other kids, "the flock," were created by evil scientists at a place called the School, by combining human and avian DNA. They can fly, are unusually strong, and have a variety of other talents, some just emerging. Before the book begins they have escaped from the School, where the scientists were keeping them in cages and torturing them with experiments, and have been living on their own.

The youngest of the flock, Angel, is recaptured, and the rest fly back to the school to rescue her. Now they are being hunted by Erasers, human/wolf mutants also created at the School, while they travel across the country, trying to discover the secrets of their origins and purposes.

Is it any good?

Author James Patterson, best known for adult suspense novels, makes a foray into the young adult market with this book about a group of human/bird hybrids. For teens who just want action and excitement and who don't much care about the niceties -- such as logic, character development, consistent voice, or plot -- this will be plenty of fun. There's lots of gritty violence, but no sex, drugs, or language problems to worry parents (at least those who don't worry about gritty violence). And there's the fantasy of winged flight, which is always a kid-pleaser.

The entire book amounts to little more than a prologue to the series: Despite more than 400 pages of chases, fights, break-ins, and almost non-stop action, practically nothing actually happens. The main characters are captured, they escape, they are cornered, they escape, they are wounded, they recover, they try to hide, they are found, over and over again. In truth, very little of it makes any kind of sense, though there are plenty of hints that it will eventually -- just not in this book.

Book themes & details

Book Details

Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: May 21, 2006
Number of pages: 426
Hardcover price: $16.99
Paperback price: $6.99
Read Aloud: 11
Read Alone: 12

This review was written by Matt Berman

Review It

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

Eliasador
teen, 18 years old

Worse than Twilight

I cannot believe that anybody would actually think this is a good book. It is an easy read (poorly written). It is a shallow book with no profound or original messages. The plot is all violence, and the violence is repetitive and gets the plot nowhere, so the book is a bore once you get past the blood and grime. The characters have little personality and are unoriginal. The romance is a joke. The plot does not fit together well. The whole storyline is lame. I mean, they are being chased by a band of genetically modified werewolves that shoot laser beams out of their eyes! The role models are horrible and reckless. If you want to read a book with a masterful plot and unforgettable characters, read Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, or the Underland Chronicles. Maximum Ride is not the way to go.

Book Details

Written by

Genre

Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment (by James Patterson)

common sense media says

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

More on Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

What's the story?

What's the story?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Book themes & details

Book Details

Review It

Review Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

Worse than Twilight

an awsome thrilling book that you would want to read over and over again

Maximum Ride, a fitting title for an epic series

An action packed book with lots of kick butt mutants!

This book is so cool!

Perfect for teenagers,not for younger kids.

Amazing

AWESOME!!!

Please PLEASE Read This Comment. May Change Your Mind!

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!

GREAT!!!!

maximum ride awsomeness

Awesome Book!!!!!! :-)

the best book ever by james.P

look out twilight! heres MAX!! teens will love it!

A Maximum Ride Review

Great book. One of my favorites

Our Family Loves It!

More reviews ...

An independent voice for families

Age-appropriate reviews

Advice on the big issues

vote now

Will you read Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment?

Already read it? What do you think?

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

More fantasy choices

For kids who love adventure

Browse more books

About our rating system

Browse our library of reviews

See what our editors recommend