Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

Finished another book last night. "Maximum Ride" by James Patterson. Yeah, really really liked it. If you have read or plan to read this book you know - or might want to know - that it is the first in a series. I didn't know and was somewhat shocked to reach the end of the book and - well - it wasn't the end.

"Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever" is the 2nd book in the series, currently out in Hardcover. Supposed to be in paperback by May 2006 according to Amazon. (Yes, that has already passed.) But I worked in B & N bookstores long enough to know - those dates are like - sort of.

SO, the dilemma: Buy it in hardcover. Wait for the paperback. It could come out next week for all I know. I'm gonna wait a bit.

About the book: It's classified: Young Adult. This is funny - and Mr. Patterson, please forgive me if I misquote you- but i read somewhere, maybe at the beginning of the book, that he says basically, I didn't really write this as "Young Adult Fiction" but since I omitted all swear words and sex scenes from the novel, it automatically got classified as young adult.

I think that's funny. As if a novel without swear words and sex can't be written for adults. Well, then again, maybe it can't anymore. Sad.

But, yes, no swear words and nothing sexual at all. Very very nice. The main characters are teenagers and children but I'm a 29 + 3 year old woman who enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now before you moms start pulling this out for your kiddies - let me warn you - lots of violence. Yep. Kids obviously can't take the swears and sex, but as we all know, kids reading or seeing people getting their throats torn out is O-K. Hmmph.

Nobody gets their throat torn out in this book - but they almost do. The bad guys are scary and me - who was born with a shockingly low amount of "fraidy" genes - actually had to sleep with a nightlite on last night. Yes, the bad guys scared me - they were almost demonic they were so evil - and so they should be - they're the bad guys. (I doubt they would have come after me anyway, being as I'm not genetically enhanced. - Least, far as I know.)

Let's wrap this up. 6 genetically enhanced kids (they have wings and can fly, among other things) on the run from the "bad guys" who created them. The main character and leader of the motley crew - Max: female, 14, 13 foot wingspan - is a wonder. I love a book if I love the characters and the length of this entry says it all.

James Patterson has also written 2 other books on a similar theme but with different characters. "When the Wind Blows" and "The Lake House" (Not the same story as the Sandra/Keanu movie of the same name currently in theaters.)

Once again I will attempt to quote Mr. Patterson from memory - sorry, again - apparently out of all the many big-title books he has written (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider, etc.) "When the Wind Blows" was his biggest seller nationally and internationally of any book he's ever written.

He surmises that maybe it's because - we'd all just love to fly.