Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

3 of 5 stars
As a retired Middle School Language Arts teacher, I occasionally read adolescent literature to suggest appropriate and desirable books to those who ask. I chose this book because of its authorship although the blurb was not appealing to me. Clearly the Maximum Ride books would be better understood and enjoyed if read in correct sequence. Since this is the only one of the series I read, I found myself having to deduce previous events in order to understand the current ones experienced by the characters in this book. I think that many adolescents would enjoy the science fiction nature of the book; I, on the other hand, enjoyed more the elements of realistic fiction that were mixed in. The lessons to be learned from the relationships between the characters -- their positive and negative interactions - the exhibited behaviors and consequences - their methods of reconciliation - all these experiences are good life lessons and provide good reasons for adolescents to read this series of books.