Ah, the joy of books! (This is Bri, by the way)

My mom told about something where you read a book, then write a book review about it on your blog. She said I could do this one, since it is a kid’s book. Edited afterwards – The coordinator of Mother-Talk has requested that you click this link if you are interested in the details -

The book’s title is Maximum Ride: Saving the world and other extreme sports. It’s a fantasy by James Patterson. I was told to review the third book in a series. I’ve never even heard of the first two, but I understood it pretty well. It is about six kids who have had bird wings ’stuck’ onto their backs. They can fly, but otherwise they are normal. They are running from an organization called ‘Itexicon’ (or something like that. I can’t remember everything!)

It was pretty bad. My mother said it was written for 8-12 year-olds, but I’d say 8-10. I probably would have given it to a 10-year-old boy I know who would have gone “People with wings? Cool!” I wouldn’t have put it on my list of good books or suggested to people I meet who like to read.

I found it very predictable. She keeps saying that she felt that she and someone were ‘truly brother and sister even though they weren’t related.’ Guess what? That’s her half-brother!

I also didn’t like his writing style. One of my favorite authors always puts these weird facts in his books that fit in perfectly, but are things that most people don’t know. Patterson, on the other hand, wrote very simply. It felt at times like one of my grammar assignments. ‘Take this paragraph and use more descriptive words.’ Truly, I like some of the stuff about the language. Max (the lead character) is very sarcastic. I like all of her lines, just the way she talks. Most of the time, it could be better.

Short recap:

Title: Maximum Ride: Saving the world and other extreme sports

Author: James Patterson

Score (out of ten): 3/10

Mom’s take

I also found the book written very simply. It reminded me of Gary Paulsen’s White Fox Chronicles. It does not have the depth that the Harry Potter or Eragon stories have. And I really think that even younger kids do better with more depth and not spoon fed pap.