Maximum Ride is a series of books written by James Patterson. There are seven books so far, with the last arriving in February of 2012.
Book 1: The Angel Experiment
Book 2: School’s Out-Forever
Book 3: Saving The World And Other Extreme Sports
Book 4: The Final Warning
Book 5: Max
Book 6: Fang
*Book 7: Angel*
*This review is based mainly on Book 7: Angel.
Characters:
Max- To be honest, I’m getting kind of sick of her lately. She isn’t the Max she used to be. The one who would do anything for her flock, letting no emotions stop her. But now, after the whole Fang leaving thing, she is seriously unstable. It seems like the kids are acting more like an adult than she is. She has lost sight, in my opinion, of what her true reason is; her reason for everything, especially saving the world. Now on the contrary, I think this Max “changing” is intentional. Sometimes we need to fall to get back up again.
Fang- I am so proud of Fang. He has really made a man out of himself, by going against Max. To see (or read, I suppose) how much he incredibly loves Max and to still be able to think clearly and leave the flock, is amazing to me. He is finding out what HIS calling is and not just doing whatever Max is at the time and I really think that he is finally realizing what he can do with his blog and his new flock. I think that he has matured to a point that Him and Max shouldn’t be together. He has his own opinion and obviously so does Max, so all it is is constant bickering. But in the end I can still feel the love in his eyes, the way his heart beats when he’s around her. He loves her, and he’s struggling with that.
Dylan- Initial reaction: I HATE him. HATE. HATE. HATE. Just let Max and Fang be together and go fly away. You’re annoying. Fo realz. But man did that boy grow on me. He is exactly who Max needs right now; someone who will understand her decisions and back her up 100%. It’s not easy saving the world, and he is the perfect guy to have by her side. One thing about Dylan is that his door is never closed. He’s there whenever you need him and he wears his heart on a sleeve, unlike Fang, who is very guarded. Not to say that’s a bad thing at, it’s what makes Fang an interesting Character, but the flock really needs complete openness right now, which Dylan is happy to supply. Overall, he’s just a good guy. I am slightly worried that since he was programmed to love Max, that it could cause trouble in the future about whether his love is really genuine or just a formula.
Nudge- I MISS NUDGE. In the beginning of the books, Nudge was talked about often as a very stylish, sassy, and kick butt young girl. She was an energy source of the book and made dialogue just a little bit more fun. She brought a carefree young vibe to the story and was one of my favorite characters, always worrying about her hair after a fight. But recently, I’ve forgotten she’s even in the book. I would really love more on Nudge, because she is such a great character that I want see evolve.
Gasman- Ha, I love him so much. He still has that sarcastic and snappy attitude about him, which makes me crack up. He’s a sweet kid and brings humor to the plate, as well as some serious bomb-defusing/bomb-making skills. You go Gazzy.
Iggy- OMG. Iggy MADE this book. He was absolutely perfect. I’ve always wanted to see more…emotion, I guess out of Iggy. Well, this book he brought it. The whole, “I am the One Light! Be like me!” thing was priceless. At this point, Iggy is my favorite character. He’s funny, courageous, serious, energetic, and mellow at the same time. I really hope they chose a stinking fantastic actor to play Iggy in the movie, because he deserves it.
Maya- I like her, she is Max’s clone, which must be so difficult. I love how she changed her name and embodies a completely new personality. She just happens to have the exact same body as Max and many other similarities. She has proven to be an excellent fighter and addition to Fang’s Gang. (Not an actual gang, lol.) I’m excited to see how she plays out in the last book.
Angel- Oh lordie, I really don’t know what to say. I’m still on the fence about Angel and her true intentions after what happened previously. I see that she has come full circle and is obeying Max and really dedicated to the flock, but I don’t know….It’s hard for me to completely trust her when I’ve seen how deceiving she can actually be. Also, I have no clue where she went after the explosion. I’m still working on theories.
Couples/Pairs/Groups:
Max/Dylan- I am, believe it or not, a Max/Dylan fan. I really hated Dylan in the beginning and didn’t want their relationship to grow, but now that it has, I think they’re a great match. I don’t know, Dylan is kind of like a rock, and a very sturdy one at that. I think their relationship has great potential, if Max would only learn to accept it, without letting it get in the way of the flock and her better judgment.
Max/Fang- At one time, I saw a couple of romance. Now I see a couple of leadership. I really think their relationship is ultimately catastrophic and I want to see Fang find someone else. They are partners in battle, not in a relationship. And that isn’t really a bad thing.
Max/Iggy- I’ve dreamt about this for a while, and now I see it probably wouldn’t be such a good idea after all. But hey, I can dream can’t I?
Iggy/Ella- One word: AWW. They are freaking adorable, enough said.
Fang/Maya- ehh, I’m not really sure where I stand on this one. In theory, it sounds splendid; Fang can be with Max, but just a better “version”. However, their relationship hasn’t shown any signs of taking a romantic turn, although some would disagree with that. I don’t know, I really want the best for Fang. I would be okay with a Fang & Maya thing, but not thrilled.
Total/Akila- Even flying dogs can find love, and this pairing is proof. I wish Akila talked as well, and then we could hear their post-marriage bickering. Ha, that would be nice. Also, I find it sweet that Total is the man and probably weighs about 10 pounds and Akila is a HUGE husky. Unique couple.
Angel/Gasman- I really want to see more brother and sister interaction between these two. I liked seeing Gazzy’s reaction when he thought he lost Angel, it reminded me that they are siblings and love each other no matter what. Hopefully they can act like siblings a little more often.
Dylan/Fang- ooh, tension much? It was kind of awesome seeing them butt heads. And how Dylan stood up for Max and Fang for Maya was a cool change. To be honest, I liked seeing them argue, it was entertaining, but I’m glad that in the end they realized that fighting will only help if they’re fighting together.
Max/Maya- Well, it can’t be easy seeing your ex with a clone of yourself, just saying. Max blew up a little too much with Maya, though. She joined forces with Fang to help the same cause Max is fighting for and if Max would’ve put her emotions aside, she would have seen that. However, Maya did squirt cheese in her ex-boyfriend’s mouth, which would tick of any girl, I guess.
Fang’s Gang- I really like them. They are new, so still have much to learn, but for their first mission being an International death threat, they did a pretty good job. I see that Fang really wants to teach them and grow them into real warriors, so I’m excited to see how he whips them into shape. Also, “I’m a Starfish!” (Now something I say daily.)
The Flock- What happened to a tight knit family? Where did that go? Everyone is off doing their own thing and dialogue, let alone time, is getting shorter and shorter between them. I want to see that “everyone stay together” attitude again, where they needed nothing but each other. I guess I just miss the old times, the original flock. Stupid Nostalgia.
