This book reads a bit more like a middle grade book rather than YA. Especially the beginning made me a bit skeptical with Max addressing the reader and saying how important is it to read this book blah blah blah... I don't think even if I read it at the suggested age it would do much for me.

But while there are a lot of childish themes, there are also some more grown-up ones. The kids deal with problems that even some adults would be hard pressed to deal with. I found that along the way they really grew on me. All of them has their own quirks. Their own fears and dreams. There are some very sad moments as well as sweet and hopeful ones.

All in all, I am giving this 3,5. ( )

3.5 stars. I liked this book, but I didn't absolutely adore it. Don't get me wrong, it was good - but it wasn't one of those I'll read again. This one is a little outside of what I normally like to read. Just a personal preference there. Lots of action - little characterization. Now, there was some, but I was never completely invested in the characters as I was reading. I did particularly enjoy the bits when the main characters (kids who have been genetically altered with avian DNA - so, yeah, they can fly) were in NY and the oh-so-clever renaming of a few actual places in the city. The plot moved along fairly quickly, which is something I like about James Patterson's novels, but I guess because this is a series, the main characters aren't completely fleshed out in this one. I'm guessing that will come. I will continue to read the series to see what happens (I figure I may as well, having bought the first 5 books already and all) and it is an interesting premise, after all. I liked that Max, the main character, was sarcastic - I always like a sarcastic narrator when reading first person - so bonus there. And there are plenty of loose ends at the close of this installment to make you want to grab the next one. And, as always with a James Patterson novel, it was a quick read. All 400 and some odd pages of it. The short, quickly moving chapters always do me in. I keep saying, "Just one more chapter..." and the next thing you know, I'm finished reading the whole book.

By the way - did anyone who has ever seen the television series "Dark Angel" (yeah, I know, that was a while ago) find some similarities between the series and this novel? ( )

I can't remember when I read this (a couple years ago?), but it was one of the most poorly written things I've ever seen in print. Seriously, Twilight is better written and has a better plot. It's a bit hard to believe it's a real book. When I returned it to the library, I was still baffled. ( )

I just want to say that if this hadn’t been for my friends bookclub then I wouldn’t have picked this up. Way back when this series was still new, I remember reading the first two and kinda liking them in a passive, “that was an interesting book” way, but I wasn’t obsessed. I thought Fang was cool but overall nothing stuck with me. The same goes for me now in 2019.
The writing? Mediocre and cheesy. The characters? Quirky names but little substance. The action? Predictably repetitive. And the freakin TWO PAGES chapters are nothing more than a way for Patterson to move through a lot of scenes without thoughtful transitions.
I know I’m not the target audience for this book, but it doesn’t change the fact that very little about it is well done. It’s not horrible, and it’s not boring, but....it’s also not good. I definitely skim-read the last 25 pages out of sheer boredom and desire to be done with it.
PS- apparently JENNA MARBLES is an executive producer for the 2016 film adaption of this?!? 😳 ( )

I quickly gathered why this book made it to the New York Times Bestsellers list, even though it is for young adults. No surprise, either, that the sequel – which I have yet to read but am taking home tonight – was voted onto 2007 YALSA Teen’s Top Ten list.

Max Ride and her five friends are escapees from The School, a lab where genetic-engineering experiments are carried out on animals and children. Max is the oldest of a flock of children whose DNA was spliced with avian DNA. They all have wings. That they can fly with. Superhuman strength, lighter bones, and larger lungs are other special features. And they discover new individual skills. For example, Angel, age six, can read minds. They may have bird DNA but they are all human. They feel pain, loss, and confusion just like other children and teenagers. These six are troubled by the same nightmares: how could other human beings conduct painful experiments on innocent children? Who are they? Where are their parents? When Angel is kidnapped from the lab from whence they came, the rest of the group does everything they can to retrieve their youngest family member back The School.

Delightful easy read despite the daunting number of pages. Short attention span readers will appreciate short chapters and quickly moving scenes.
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