Maximum Ride series - read it!

I didn't read nearly as much as I would have liked to on my trip last week but I did at least finish Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson, the first book in the series. Loved it. My sister just gave me the second book to read and based off my opinion of the first book and her running out to buy the rest of the series, I know I'll be a big fan of the rest. I totally trust my sisters opinion on good YA books now. Go Jenn!

Here's the description from Borders.com on the book:
James Patterson's explosive debut in the young adult market is guaranteed to create legions of new fans for this beloved, multimillion-selling author.

Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and Maximum: Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways -- except that they're 98% human, 2% bird. They grew up in cages, living like rats, but now they're free. Riding the wind, their wings are an amazing gift . . . and yet, their world can morph into a nightmare in a single instant. For when the bloodthirsty Erasers -- half men,

half-wolves genetically engineered by sick and sinister scientists -- kidnap little Angel, the Flock embarks on a rescue mission that will change them forever.

From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, 14-year-old Max leads her five feisty "family" members on a journey full of nonstop action, adventure, and soul-seeking -- not to mention a little bit of saving the world on the side!

I was really shocked to see the editorial reviews on the amazon page were sort of negative. I didn't agree with most of what they said was lacking in the story and find it sad that people would read that and skip such a fantastic book. I'd heard of this series but was a little put of by the premise and age of the characters and the cover art. Which by the way seems to have about four different covers. Crazy. Not sure which one I like best but I tend to like the ones where it doesn't show a clear image of the character so you can better create your own image as you read.

I strongly recommend this book. It got me really inspired to write my WIP about a 14 yr old, a younger age than I'd been comfortable writing about before, but after reading about Max and the gang, or flock I should say, ranging in age from 6 to 14 I felt ready to take it on. I even had some ideas on including some younger characters. A story like this proves (much like Harry Potter) that you can create a really exciting story that will appeal to a huge age group without having sexual situations or overly descriptive violence. Love that too. My sister said she will let her 9 yr old daughter read this too, which in my eyes is a big thing considering there are few books, let alone series parents and kids can both fully enjoy.

Another huge asset is that these books cost $7.99 and that's not a sale price. Have I said I love it too much in this post? Oh well. Love the price too. Go get it! I can't wait to read the rest.

*I apologize for the giant paragraph here at the end but blogger refuses to let me add spacing for some reason! Also sorry to the blog chain for missing my turn last week. I got so messed up with not having internet on vacation that I forgot all about doing it when I got home. Woops!