Maximum Ride Series #5 - Max

Maximum Ride Series #5 - Max by James Patterson

Max, The fifth book in the flying teenager series.  Let me begin by saying I will continue to read these books, but my attention span is officially on other things.  I wonder if it's just me or it others feel that these plots are feeling more and more thrown together.  Well, luckily i only have 3 books to go, as James Patterson announced that the eighth book will be the last one of this series.

This book started out with "The Flock"  giving an aerial display in support of the CSM (Coalition to Stop the Madness) the group Max's mother started to help save the environment.  During the performance, an assassin tries to take out Max, surprise, and the whole gang mobilizes to kick butt.  That is, before the gunman blows himself to pieces.  There is a pretty funny segment at a modeling agency where we definitely see the teenage romance budding rapidly between Max and Fang. 

I won't mince words, I'm completely bored with this series so I apologize for not being more flattering.  The plot swiftly moves on to Max's mother being kidnapped; the flock befriends the military to help find her, and there's something fishy (pun intended) going on in the Pacific.  After a series of misadventures on a submarine, they discover that Max's mom is being held under water.  Trying to rescue her, they also encounter some weird mutant fish that help them, through Angel's ability to talk to fish.  We discover that Max can also breathe under water which really comes in handy rescuing her mom . . .  and . . .  everybody wins.

I wonder though, what happened to the mutant, slim cover mega fish they discovered?  The story just kinda left them at the bottom of the ocean.  Well, we did discover that Max isn't afraid of kissing Fang in front of anybody any more, and we may have another enemy for the next book.  It ends, typically, with the whole gang flying off into the sunset on search of yet another adventure.

I give it a 2 out of 5, I'm just tired of the worn out plot line I think.  Maybe the next one, Fang, will be better.

Maximum Ride 2 - School's Out Forever

School's Out - Forever - Maximum Ride Series 2 - James Patterson

Well, I have dove back into the Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson.  With a series like this, I usually get bored around the 3rd or 4th book so I'm trying to force myself to stay focused. 

So far, so good.  The series is written for a teenage audience and is an easy read and right now is keeping my interest with the action and our six winged kids staying on the move.  In this book the flock finds themselves whisked away by a government agent who tries to get them to live like normal kids.  Predictably, she turns out to be one of "them" and the flock is once again on the run.  But before that happens, Max has her first date, which makes Fang jealous.  Fang has a little admirer which makes Max jealous, and we see the introduction of Fang's blog which plays a major part in the plot in later books. 

The teen romance between Fang and Max is blossoming nicely and we have many mysteries introduced, such as, who are their real parents and will Iggy's parents come back in later books to try and exploit him again.  Angel develops more and more talents like being able to breathe under water (I think all these special skills with come handy in the future).  We also discover that Ari (Max's supposed brother) is still alive even though she snapped his neck in the last book.  And Ari has some secrets of his own, like a voice in his head as well.  Who is the voice, or I should say voices, that keep telling Max and Ari what they should do next? 

I can't wait to start reading the next book - Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports .  I give it a 4 out of 5 overall for keeping my attention, but not doing a great job of surprising me.