Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning by James Patterson

Release Date: March 17th, 2008
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 256
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Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of "Flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It seems like a dream come true--except that they're still being hunted by new threats at every turn.

This time, the US government wants to keep the Flock under observation, offering a safe haven and schooling in return. But after their incredible adventures in books 1-3, Max and Flock have grown to love freedom- -after all, haven't grown-ups always found a way to ruin their lives? After escaping the control of the feds, they are surprised to find themselves allied with a group of environmental scientists who just might be trustworthy. Besides, what enemy could find them in one of the remotest locations on earth--Antarctica--on an expedition studying the effects of global warming up close?

There is one: The Uber-Director-- literally, brains on a stick--an evil being who has developed mechanical soldiers far more frightening than Erasers. Their quest? To retrieve the Flock and sell them in a global auction for billions of dollars. Will the Uber-Director nab them before Max, Fang and the flock succumb to the dangers of the harsh Antarctic wilderness? Kids, parents and educators tuned into the issue of global warming will find this latest episode of the blockbuster Maximum Ride series not only a particularly riveting adventure beyond their wildest dreams, but also a motivating cautionary tale about a real-life peril that may affect their own future.

Okay. This book was a big let down after the first three books. I loved the story the other three books created, and was eager to continue reading about the life of the Flock. However, this book just wasn’t up to par.

It wasn’t the characters or the writing that let me down. It was the overall plot. The story shifted from a huge knot-tying adventure into…saving the world from global warming? Really? Are you really telling me that the purpose that Max was created for was to outlive…global warming.

Then, you get a possible bad guy who could turn the story around and before you know it the story is over. The villain isn’t even really described! It was like ‘This the bag guy. Now he’s dead. The End.’ I didn’t even get enough detail to get worked up over their possible demise this time.

Maybe I’m just slightly against the idea of global warming, but this book was just not what I was expecting at all.

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