The "Maximum Ride" Series by James Patterson

I've decided that I'm going to review an entire series instead of just one book in it. This is probably one of my all-time favorite series, though the end… Well, I'll get to that.

Series: The Maximum Ride Series

Author: James Patterson

Overall Series Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Her full name is Maximum Ride. And the girl can fly.

Max's Missions: Protect the rest of her gang – Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel – from a pack of half-wolf, half-humans with a taste for flying humans.
·        Rescue Angel from a crew of wack-job kidnappers.
·        Infiltrate a secret facility to track down her friends' missing parents.
·        Figure out what she really thinks about Fang.
·        Get revenge on the one person she thought she could trust.
·        Discover the best chocolate chip cookie in New York City.
·        Save the whole world, for crying out loud.
Not necessarily in that order, of course.

I've decided that I'm just going to kind of review the series by chunks of books, detailing my favorites here and there, instead of reviewing in detail each book one by one. So, hang with me.

The first three books are known as The Fugitives books. They are probably the best in the series. Full of fast-paced action, witty teenage banter, and lots of running from the bad guys, I could not stop laughing the entire time it took me to read them, which was about a day and a half. Each of the chapters are only about two pages long, so it really feels like things move, and one can feel stupidly accomplished when saying "I read a hundred-thirty-something chapter book in a day."

I love the characters. Extremely sarcastic, no-rules-apply-to-me-because-I'm-better-than-you attitudes left me dying from lack of air from laughter. Max's thought processes are hilarious, because I can relate to thinking just about everything she thinks, and I would catch myself performing all her eyerolls and sighs as I was reading. They were definitely the most enjoyable to read.

The next books were known as The Protectors. This is where Patterson put more emphasis on the "saving the world" aspect, instead of "run from the bad guys." The chapters are longer and a bit more detailed. He also seems to be advocating for real-life "save the animals, save the forests, save the planet" stuff. All the tasks that the flock performs are to better the environment, and Max even makes some "speeches" about it. Because, she IS supposed to be saving the world and all.

These books were okay, but they were the ones that pushed me to give the "four and a half" star rating. They didn't have quite the same level of humor, and I didn't enjoy them quite as much. Fang, the sixth book, actually made me cry at the end. I was also unamused when Patterson introduced Dylan near the end to make people wonder if Max was really going to end up with Fang or not. Being a FangxMax shipper, I disliked Dylan immediately. I'm all for romance, but love triangles are getting old. Fang and Max belong together, end of story. I realize those are pretty childish feelings, but if the romance isn't going the way I want, then that affects my opinions. Especially since Dylan turned out to be so insignificant.

The other factor that ties into the rating was the last book. All this build up about saving the world, and when the end came, it all just kind of fell flat. It felt like Patterson didn't really know what he wanted to happen, but he was tired of writing, so it just kind of … ended. It was actually quite pathetic, which was sad because I love Patterson's writing.

As much as I disliked the ending, the series is well worth the read. Heck, just read the first three and forget the rest. Though, perhaps you'll like the end better than I did. Give it a glance and decide for yourself.

James Patterson:

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