Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

So... I've been reading the Maximum Ride books. There's five, as of now. But all us obsessive fans already know the name and summary of the sixth already. It's rather sad, really. I think the next in the series is set to come out early March of next year. That's a looong wait. Especially if you read books of its size in a day, easy. Ah, well. It's worth the wait.

In Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, we join Max and her genetically altered flock(AKA her unrelated family) in a wild run from their enemy--the School. When Max calls her little group the 'flock', it's actually pretty meaningful. Though 98% human, she, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel have 2% avian(bird) genes. This means they have wings. And yes, they can fly. They have some other rather special and exciting abilities that come with being experimented on, but you get the point. For years, they'd been tested in unimaginably cruel ways as experiments in a secret facility called the School. But one day, a good scientist, Jeb Batchelder, helped them escape. He disappeared two years ago and now Erasers(human/lupine hybrids--wolf people, in short) have turned up and taken the flock's youngest, Angel. Now Max and her flock have to get her back, avoiding death--and worse, capture--all the way.

My above description really doesn't do it justice. Maximum Ride is a thrilling pageturner that I really couldn't help but keep reading. It's fast-paced plot leaves you wanting more. I read a book a day and and can't WAIT for the next in the series. Max's sarcastic comments and funny descriptions made me laugh out loud. This is a great book for people, like me, who really enjoy a lot of action and drama. There's so many twists, and I can't help being surpriesed by them. You really don't see some things coming, so you're in for a real thrill. I really don't know how he does it, but something about the chapters or the plot or WHATEVER keeps me from putting that book down. I really just can't STOP! The whole thing is so exciting and suspenseful throughout, I get so into it. There's nothing quite like these books. I know that a lot of us have read Harry Potter. And you know what? I LOVE Harry Potter a LOT. But I'm seriously think that the Maximum Ride books are just that little bit better. James Patterson is mostly known for his writings for adult books, but he really excelled here. If you're not entranced right away, I don't know what your deal is, but I got drawn in. If you haven't read these books, go to the closet store/library and GET THEM NOW! I feel awful at not having found these sooner. My brother says the whole thing sounds ridiculous. I'll be perfectly honest and say I agreed at first. I recall, just last year, a friend of mine talking about these books and saying how AMAZING they were. I told them that they sounded pretty stupid. I really was wrong. I don't know what chance led me to picking up that one book out of that whole shelf full of fiction, but I'm glad it happened. The Maximum Ride books are good for young readers, 10-young adult, although I'm pretty sure older people who don't mind that the book IS set for a young audience would very much enjoy it. By my opinion, it's best for young teens around my age(12-15). Try them out, see if you like them(most likely), and enjoy a great contribution to literature. I loved The Angel Experiment and the following books in the series.

If you end up enjoying the book, they're in the process of making a manga adaptation of the books. There's only been one release up to date so far and I've actually read it. It's downstairs on the coffee table right now, actually. It's pretty decent and fans of the books should enjoy it since it follows the series pretty closely as far as I've seen. If you've read through The Angel Experiment, check it out.

James Patterson is commonly known as an author of adult books such as the Women's Murder Club series--I've heard about that TV show based on one of the books, 7th Heaven; books featuring Alex Cross (I've read Cross), and others. Those are completely and honestly NOT children's books. Great literature,though, if you're a mature reader.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

And here now I'm going to talk the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In this book, everyone is still bitter after the betrayal, a new character is introduced and Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood to find it in terrible shape. Percy's best friend, Grover, is in danger. There's only one way to save Grover and camp, and Percy has to risk being banned from camp forever to do it. Once again, we follow him and his friends on the journey to find the legendary Golden Fleece.

Well, if you enjoyed the first book, you'll love this one just as well--if not better. Once again, Percy is off on another of his great adventures! I read it some time ago, but I remember being ecstatic about getting the second in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Just as before, Rick Riordan plays out mythological characters such as Circe and Polyphemus. Filled with humor, action, and drama--The Sea of Monsters takes you on a journey through trials that Percy must face in order to save his camp. In here, Percy is forced to confront his former friend, Luke, who had betrayed and tried to kill him. Not a happy reunion. I was pretty interested in the reaction of the characters when meeting up with this traitor and I wasn't disappointed. From life-saving multivitamins to dangerous donut shops, you get to enjoy the humorous side of the action-filled drama. I loved everything about it and would recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting fantasy to read. Not only is it fun, but it's a great way to get anyone who's not into mythology wanting to learn more. I personally find Greek mythology fascinating, which makes this book such a great experience for me. In addition to the entertainment, you learn without even feeling as if you are. It's great!

Apologies: For whatever odd reason, I just could not get into this review. Sorry about that. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood to be doing this. Maybe I'll come back later and make it better sometime.

Thanks, TeenReader

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There are five books total. In The Lightning Thief, the main character(Percy Jackson) finds out that all those myths he learned about in Greek Mythology are true. The gods are real and his father he's never known is one among them. With his newfound identity as a half-blood(half god-half mortal), Percy and his friends must undertake a quest in order to prevent a war between the gods. Percy must go on a great adventure to retrieve a stolen item before it's too late to stop the gods from throwing the world into chaos.

What's my opinion? I can honestly say it's a great book. I wouldn't read anything less than my standards(high as they are). Riordan's view of these myths in our modern times are very interesting and fun to think about. I love the ways he's chosen to portray all the gods and monsters. It's all very well thought out, all of it. It's such an original and exceedingly fascinating idea--Greek mythology in this age. But I think what I enjoy most is the humorous ways he chooses to display some of the things. I laughed out loud to a couple of Percy's sarcastic thoughts and comments.

Percy, our hero in this tale, has such a likable personality about him. And he seems so real too. He has problems like we can have, plus that added trouble that comes with being a half-blood. What's not to love? The Percy Jackson series is one of my all-time favorites, it's such a thrill to read. It really captivates one's imagination.

I think this is a good book for teens. But don't let that detract you if you're not that young, just give it a try for the sake of trying. There's a good chance you might just like it!

Thanks, TeenReader

What Do I Read?

What do I read? I think I've been a fantasy reader since I got past picture books. Books like the Harry Potter series, Eragon, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Chronicles of Narnia, errr... And others I forget. There's so many that my mind usually goes blank so I just pull out the more recent or popular ones. You know what? From now on, I'm going to start writing the names of all the books I read down somewhere.

My view on fantasy books is that it sort of pulls you out of reality. You need a vivid imagination for these sort of things. You've gotta be one of those out-of-the-box people that needs to go beyond realistic borders to express themselves. If I could think of some names, I'd give you some good authors I've read from. But, alas, names and titles are so forgettable--for me especially. I'd trade the ability to recall this sort of stuff for my useless (though sometimes fun, I guess) long-term memory anytime. When you start reading a fantasy, you're not in your favorite chair, tired after a long day of school and stressing over your social life. You're somewhere else. Another world, at times. Then, if only for a little while, it doesn't matter if you're having a hard time at school or work, if you just broke up with your boyfriend, if your mom is such a nag and won't let you go to the mall with your friends. Nothing matters but that amazing story that you're suddenly a part of. Got in a fight with one of your best friends and need to cool off? How about visiting Tolkien's Middle Earth or J.K Rowling's Hogwarts and forget everything for a while.

For me, fantasy is my release from whatever wears on me in life. I think some of the best moments of my day will be when I'm so engrossed in some epic tale that I don't worry about anything but the fate of my favorite hero. If I'm sad, angry, stressed, etc. I go for a book and lose myself for a few hours. Afterwards, I feel fresh and in a good mood. Maybe even inspired by something--like, I don't know, some huge analogy that you can SO relate to your troubles with whatever. All I know is that I'd probably be a mess if I couldn't read.

Of course, a lot of this stuff relates to other books as well. It's just that fantasy really does it for me. And you don't even need to be upset to read! Maybe you're in a GREAT mood and just so happen to like reading books a lot. Like me. Life's too dull by itself anyway. Think about living someone else's life without being tempted to smash your head on your game console. Which, of course, leads to my next ramble/rant/whatever.

Games versus books. If we all piled up all the books and computers/PS1-3/Xbox/Gamecubes/etc. in two separate piles and someone held up a burning flame, I'd have to beg them to torch the games. I mean, YEAH, Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy graphics and storylines are AWESOME. More like movies than games, really. But BOOKS! We've had books forever. And it takes some pretty basic technology to make them. And you can have anything in them--and I mean ANYTHING. The limits are those of your imagination. Need to save? How about a slip of paper. If you lose your place, don't bother starting over. Just find your place--always and forever as you left it. You don't have to go through everything before the middle to take a look at one part there. And other comparisons like so. Books rule over games anytime, ever.

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But SURELY you don't think I only read fantasy, right? I'm not THAT dependent. There's sci-fi. Which is basically fantasy in science. Ever read the Maximum Ride series by the amazing James Patterson? They're kids who can fly, which COULD be fantasy. But the whole flying thing is caused by a bunch of made SCIENTISTS so... well, it's SCIENCE-Fiction, isn't it? It's not that drastic of a branch off, but it's still different since we've seen fit to separate the genres.

I really haven't branched far into this genre at ALL. Like, I've just started this year. I read some short stories from The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, got about a page into War of the Worlds(I keep telling myself to pick it back up, but I just find another good book and stop), and I've flown(pun accidental but kept intentionally) through my all time favorite, the Maximum Ride series. My opinion on the genre so far is that I absolutely love it. It's fascinating--a real adventure. It feels a bit like fantasy with "reasonable" explanations. I can't really pull out a long description until I've read more books.


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Not my favorite, but I've enjoyed some realistic-fiction as well. There's some pretty decent books out there such as the series-I-forget-the-name-of and really MUST find, Series of Unfortunate Events, and my all-time favorite childhood book--The Boxcar Children.

Sometimes it's nice to sit down and enjoy something that could ACTUALLY, plausibly happen. Like the-series-I-forget-the name-of where whatever-her-name-is works to solve some unexplainable things (such as murder! Oooh, see, it's coming back to memory) for her queen. The setting's back whenever. Gosh, you know one of the books in there was called Betrayal. Second one, I believe. They're going by the alphabet like those A to Z Myteries books that I always thought sounded kind of ridiculous. Good books, especially since I enjoy mystery books.

I can't rightly explain The Series of Unfortunate events. It's complicated, in my mind, to write about. Don't ask why. That's complicated too.

The Boxcar Children really got me from the beginning because it's kids living out on their own. I really, really, REALLY love that scenario. One of my favorites. The characters are all so lovable and memorable. I still remember that little boy's chipped cup, how they kept the milk cold by putting it in the stream, and washed in the water where they'd made a dam for it to build up. What was it they helped the doctor with...? Picking cherries? I don't remember the characters by name, but by personality. Oh, and I DID love them. I have trouble recalling chapter books I read when I was little. The only two I can really recall for sure are the Magic Treehouse books and the Boxcar children. I consider the Boxcar Children a classic.

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That's about it for now. Gee, free-time sure is handy. I got this all done in one go and I've got time to spare to do... I don't know, stuff. Probably finish up my book. I'm going to talk about some books in particular wants my ELA teacher finishes up grading my journal that has all my writings in it.

Thanks, TeenReader

P.S. I looked up that series I couldn't remember, put a description of sorts into google search and found the Lady Grace Mystery series. So, there. I'm going to the library this weekend and getting those books. I must read them now that I know.