Maximum Ride, or Max, is the leader of her “flock.” A group of 6 genetically altered children who have avian DNA and can fly…with wings. They have escaped the school (the euphemism for the research lab they grew up in) and are out in the world on their own, trying to find their parents, stay alive, and avoid the Erasers (another set of genetically altered kids that resemble wolves) who are tracking them down.
I had no intention of liking these books. None. But because I like to keep up and read alongside what my kids are reading, I went ahead and dove into this one. And, frankly, it hooked me. So much so that I finished the whole series in a little less than two weeks.
I really had to get used to James Patterson’s way of writing. He rights in quick sentences, no fluff, not a lot of detail. And because this book is told in 1st person from the perspective of a 14 year old girl, he writes in the vernacular and jargon of a sassy teen. And Max often talks right to the reader. Sometimes I feel like Patterson nails the voice of a 14 year old girl — just gets right in that sweet spot with the cadence and the language. And at other times, the voice is painfully not the voice of a teenager; it almost yells to the reader “middle age white guy trying to sound like a teenage girl.” During these passages, well, lets just say some of them are cringe-worthy. Especially when Patterson — through the voice of Max — gets preachy about responsibility and global warming (yes, you read that correctly, there is a anti-global warming thread throughout this series…).
But if you can put all that aside and read on, you have yourself a solid story that winds up to be compelling, interesting, and a fun read. Teenagers will love it (mine sure did). I even think this one would grab the attention of teenage boys, even though it is told from the point of view of a female. The story spins from one intense moment to the next and the characters are easy to care about.
I recommend this book series for boys and girls age 11 and older.
This is a good old-fashioned ghost story. Complete with rain storms, a dark lake, and disappearing characters. There is even a creepy doll.
Ali’s mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie have a secret. And like all good secrets, they yearn to be revealed and discovered. Who is that girl ripped out of the picture from their childhood? Claire and Dulcie claim that they do not remember. Ali thinks otherwise. So, when Ali gets invited to go the lake house to babysit her cousin Emma for the summer, she sets out to discover who the girl in the photograph is and why she is such a secret.
This book is written very simply without a lot of fanfare. The older the reader, the faster the book speeds to its conclusion because the story is pretty straightforward and, I guess, pretty predictable. I guessed early in the story what the secret was and how this whole thing might play out. My 12 year old did, too. BUT, having said that, I still think the story holds the reader (I mean it IS a ghost story, afterall…) and is a good little story. It is not terribly scary, which is good for a tween novel, and I would rate it as a PG book. Tweens and teens will relate to the angst that Ali feels at trying to fit in with her hip aunt and her desire to both separate from her mother and defend her. There are a couple of twists and turns and then the final result brings peace to everyone.
And there is just enough eerieness to keep the story moving along.
And the story definitely puts the ka-bash on secret-keeping, that’s for sure!
So, I would recommend this novel for boys and girls ages 9 to 13.
Thomas woke up in an elevator. Pitch black. No memories. When the doors finally open he finds himself at the center of a maze – called The Glade - with dozens of boys staring at him. As Thomas tries to fit in to the community around him and make friends with the other Gladers, he learns that each day runners head out into the maze to find a way out, only to return at night while the maze change its pattern for the next day. The boys still return each day trying for years to solve an unsolvable puzzle – can you say frustrating? Furthermore, the walls to the Glade close down each night to protect the boys from the deadly Grievers.
Two days after Thomas’ arrival the only girl who has ever arrived at the maze shows up. And things change. Now the boys have to find a way out. No matter what.
This is high-concept book with an over-arching consipiracy theme – think The X Files or Lost. Why are these boys living in a maze? Why can’t they remember anything about their previous life? What are the grievers and who put them there? How do they get out? Throw in dystopia, telepathy, and deadly viruses and, well, I could not put this book down. It helps that the author ends every single chapter in a nail-biting cliff hanger. I literally had to ask myself, can I make it until tomorrow to find out what happens. I made a lot of coffee the week I read this book, trying to recover from my late night of reading. The author leaves the reader guessing through most of the book, which can be frustrating at times (and if you follow Lost, you know what I mean – this books has the same feel to it) as you are practically begging for an answer, ANY answer rather than more questions.
And this book is scary. Perhaps even nightmare scary, but definitely wide-eyed, holy-crap scary.
My one criticism is the characters need some more developing. As we learn later in the book, these kids are suppose to be the “best of the best”, but even Thomas himself seems a bit whiny and sulky. But, I chose to put the weak character development aside and just enjoy the action.
This book gets my highest recommendation and it will appeal to both boys and girls 12 years old and up. The ending of this book actually makes the reader GROWL in complete and utter surprise and disbelief. Then you will get a DEMAND from your child for the next book in the series – which has not been published yet.
Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Science Fiction , Dystopia
Age: 12 and up
Maerad (“My Rad“) is a slave in in the worst possible circumstances when she is discovered by a mysterious and powerful traveling Bard. Cadvan soon convinces Maerad to join him on his perilous journey in the service of the Light. It isn’t long until Maerad discovers that she, too, has powers and eventually “the Speech” and that she is needed to help push back the rising threat of the Nameless One — the evil that threatens all of Annar. It is through her journey to the capital city and by facing peril after peril, that Maerad’s true important place in history is revealed.
The Naming is the first book in a quartet about Maerad’s epic journey to reveal her destiny. The hero’s quest and good versus evil (or as we like to say in my family “e-ville”) theme feels very familiar and comfortable. We have a heroine who has humble beginnings but later find out that she is actually aristocracy and that she holds the key to saving the world. Not unlike Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, Eragon, and countless others…so, the “formula” works. The book has many compelling moments where Cadvan and Maerad face enemies, fight them off, and learn from their experiences. These focal-moments of the story are intense and suspenseful without being terrifying. But in between these moments, the book is a bit slow (and even bogged down) with long descriptions of forests and the story-telling that unravels the very complicated mythology of the Bards. The mythology (the history of the Bards, explanations of “The Speech”, and so forth) seemed a bit long and, frankly, not that interesting. I can forgive the masters, like Tolkien, for this but it wore a bit thin here. Like Tolkien, Croggon creates a “real” history and language that is supported by an appendix full of fictitious primary sources. I found myself wanting to rush through this exposition to get to some of the action, which in itself revealed a lot of what the reader needs to know (without being long-winded). The book wasn’t slow enough or dull enough to put down, however, and it does end in such a way that makes it nearly impossible not to continue with the series. The last 8 chapters of the book are so interesting and suspenseful, in fact, that it re-focuses and redeems the entire book — making the first 279 pages a very long, very involved setting of the stage for future books.
I would absolutely recommend this book for ages 11 and up. It is a good, solid read that tweens and teens that enjoy fantasy or science fiction will enjoy and they will most likely end up wanting to complete the series. My 13 year old claims that the story gets better and better with each book. The Naming is a nice send-off into another world where Maerad and Cadvam weave through pitch-black tunnels following a mountain lion, fight off the horrible “wights” from the otherworld, and encounter a secret city with an ethereal queen.
Full Title: The Naming (The First Book of Pellinor)
Series: The Naming, The Riddle, The Crow, The Singing
Written By: Alison Croggon
Genre: Science Ficton/Fantasy/Adventure/Hero’s Quest
Age: Young Adult (age 11 and up)
Every week I try to review at least one book. These reviews are about books I have read and usually one of my kids have read, too. I am not compensated for these reviews — I love books and just want to get the word about good (and sometimes not-so-good) books.
