Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Review of James Patterson's Maximum Ride 3
I recently had the opportunity to read James Patterson's new YA thriller, about kids with wings. It's called Maximum Ride 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. I had read his adult books featuring some of these same characters, so I was really looking forward to hearing what Max and her flock of kids were up to. Given the title, it seemed likely that I was in for quite a ride. I was right.
The book was an adrenaline rush from one end to the other. I found myself a bit breathless as I was reading it. The voices of the kids did seem authentically teenagerish, and I could easily picture the conversations taking place among teenagers.
I hadn't read the first two books of the series, but there were enough short descriptions of the earlier adventures dropped here and there throughout the book that I was able to follow what had gone on before.
The books are quite squarely aimed at the preteen and teen age group, and I must admit I did feel my age in a way I don't always do when reading a YA book, and that was a bit of a disappointment for this 37 year old. However, I did pass the book on to my 13 year old babysitter when I had finished with it, and she loved it. I'm sure I'll find myself recommending it to my son once he gets a little older. It's a great summer read for a teen, and the fact that it leaves out adults would probably be perceived as an advantage by many kids. So, if your son or daughter is in need of a good fast fun read just before the grind of school gets going again, hand them a copy of Maximum Ride.
If you have a child (particularly a son) who doesn't particularly enjoy reading, I suspect that this is one series that he or she would like. It feels more like an action film than a book, honestly. In fact, there's a movement on at the books website (www.maximumride.com) to get a certain number of hits to a) persuade James Patterson to write another book in the series, and b) to convince Hollywood that there is enough interest out there for a film to be made. At the rate things are going there, both seem an inevitability.
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