THE RISE OF NINE

     This book is the start of the end where all numbers have been found but five and a number ten has showed up. Numbers 4-10 are alive and the bad dudes are trying to kill the rest of the numbers so that their race can't come back. The numbers are called Loriens and the bad dudes are called mogadorians or mogs for short. They are trying to regroup and then go fight the mog leader Setrakus Ra so they can go back and save the planet the mogs have almost destroyed. 

     This is a great work done by the mysterious author Pittacus Lore. It is very good at emphasizing the saying, "United we stand, divided we fall." I really liked this book for its morals but it also has a great story line and is written amazingly. 

     This is a book I would read any time and it was probably my favorite. I would recommend it to anyone but my dad. I can't wait for the last one to come out and I will definitely be reading it. If anyone finds out who the real author is it would be great to know.

Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien is the first book in the Lord of the Rings series. This book is about a hobbit named Frodo. Frodo's uncle before he leaves gives Frodo a gold ring. At first Frodo doesn't think much about the ring but he soon finds out how important the ring is. The ring is the last ring made by the legendary elf smiths and it is the key to destroying the evil Lord Sauron. If Sauron gets the ring he will be unstoppable.

Now armed with this information, Frodo starts off on a quest to destroy the ring. He and his friends decide to walk all the way across the world. On the way they are faced with many challenges, mostly coming from the Black Riders. The Black Riders follow them everywhere and cause tons of problems for them. All three books are about Frodo and his friends walking to their destination.

This book wasn't very good. Almost all of the book was talking or walking. For example, there are whole chapters or pages where side characters talk about what happened in their area. This is extremely boring. When this book has action it's great, but there isn't enough action to keep anybody entertained for any amount of time. So if this book had more action and less walking and talking it would have been one of my all time favorites. So for these reasons I'm giving this book a c+.

I do need to mention that this book was written a long time ago so it uses some phrases and words that we don't use anymore. So be ready to have to look up some words.

Return of the King: J.R.R Tolkien

        The Return of the King, by J.R.R Tolkien, is the final book in the series, The Lord of the Rings. It continues again Frodo and Sam's quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the ring.
        War is kindling over all of Middle Earth. Sauron is gathering armies from all over Middle Earth and planning to plant the final blow on Minas Tirith. Now King Theoden and the riders of Rohan must go and aid Gondor in the battle that will decide the doom of their time. But, will Gondor and Rohan be enough to defeat the armies of Mordor? No of course not. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimili, along with other rangers go to the Paths of the Dead to awaken a dead army. Meanwhile, Frodo has been stung by Shelob (the giant spider) and has been taken by orks to the tower of Cirith Ungol. Now Samwise the brave must go through a tower of orks to rescue Frodo so they can continue their journey to destroy the ring.
        I thought that this was an amazing book, and I thought that it was well written except for some slow parts, but I guess that is the way they wrote book back then. I  also really liked the courage of Sam and Frodo, because they get in the most impossible situations and they still persevere through basically anything. They even come home to a destroyed place, but they still fix that too.
      All in all, since this was an amazing book, I would give it a grade of and A+, and I would recommend anyone to read the Return of the King, after they read the Fellowship and Two Towers.
       

     The Clockwork Angel by: Cassandra Clare is the first book in the Infernal Devices series which is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments. *Note* This series is meant to be read after The Mortal Instruments.
     This book takes place in 1860 Victorian London. It starts off with a girl named Theresa Gray, A.K.A. Tessa, who moves to London after the death of her Aunt. While in search for her brother, Nathaniel, Tessa is captured by two demons named the Dark Sisters. The sisters open up the world of demons and shadowhunters and teach Tessa to use her newly discovered powers. Tessa later learns that a man called The Magister wants to marry Tessa and use her powers of change for his own purposes. In Tessa's escape from the Dark house she meets a young shadow hunter named Will Herondale who rescues her and takes her to the church to live with the shadow hunters. There she meets James, Charlotte, Henry, and Sophie who she will soon come to call her new family.
     Through out the book, Tessa must face treacherous dangers, life changing choices, and learn to mold herself to this new world. Along the way, she finds that she has feelings for both James and Will and that she will have to make a choice or risk breaking up their friendship.
     I really enjoyed this book. Not just for the action, romance, and angels, but also because this book provides a lot more background knowledge on shadowhunters, demons, and warlocks. Additionally, both Tessa and Will enjoy poetry and reading and they use quotes to describe their feelings which helped me connect to the characters as well as the book itself. They use quotes from The Bible, Tennyson, and most of all, Charles Dickens.
     Personally, I loved learning more about 1860's London. I loved the fashion, how she described the city, and most of all just the way they talked back then. It was definately a great learning experience.
     All in all, I loved this book and I am so excited to read the next one.

Ravens Gate, by Anthony Horowitz

From the author who wrote the Alex Rider series comes a new series, The Gatekeepers, which starts out with Ravens Gate. This book begins with a 14 year old boy named Matt going to rob a warehouse. The raid goes wrong and he runs into the security guard who ends up getting stabbed. The police arrive and arrest him. After a night in jail, he must go to live with an elderly lady named Mrs. Deverill in a remote town called Lesser Malling. After spending some time there, he notices strange events after he tries to escape. He tries to find info on something he heard called Ravens Gate but fails.
Matt's suspicions are confirmed later when he sees Mrs. Deverill and the villagers of Lesser Malling practicing a ritual of some sort by an abandoned nuclear plant. He thinks she is witch. Anyone who tries to help him dies mysteriously. After finally escaping, he finds more info on Ravens Gate and finds out that it's a type of portal that that will let ancient beings, called the Old Ones who inhabited the earth long ago (like the Forerunners in Halo) to come into the modern world. However, knowing this puts him at risk of being killed.
        The mystery and the suspense of this book keeps you on the edge of your seat. This book was an interesting and exciting read because of that, however, it was a little strange in parts. It had very good descriptive details and a good plot. I recommend it to fans of Anthony Horowitz as well as those who enjoy fantasy.  B+

The Death Cure

The Death Cure is the final book of The Maze Runner trilogy.  Like the other books in the series, this book also follows Thomas and the gladers into their adventures.  When they are taken by WICKED in the second book they are told that their tests are finally over.  They go with WICKED  and Thomas hears a faint voice in his head that says, "WICKED is good."  But Thomas still isn't quite sure.

    In the beginning, the gladers are told that some of them are immune to the deadly disease called "the flare".  The gladers are also told that the tests they were in were to study brain patterns so WICKED could find a cure to the disease.  Since the tests are done WICKED tells them that their memories can be restored if they want.  But Thomas says he already knows too much and that he is scared to remember anymore about his past.  Thomas and some of the other gladers come up with a new plan, because they don't trust WICKED.  This plan is to escape from WICKED.  They go to Denver, but instead of dealing with WICKED they have to deal with the real world.

    This was a good book considering that it came after two amazing books before it.  The author has such an incredible imagination that can take me to different places.  When I read his writing it feels like I am living the book.  Although it was a good book, it wasn't the best in the series.  In trilogies it is harder to come up with more things to compare with the first book, but I think it was still great.  These books are wonderful because they just get you thinking about our world.  I mostly think about how we can do things better and how a good government will keep us moving forward.  Lastly, I think of just the motivation humans can have to keep the human race alive.

This book was a perfect ending to this trilogy.  I think everyone should read these book, and if they do they will never stop reading until they finish.
   

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

     The Alchemyst by Michael Scott is an amazing story about two twins who are magicians and they do not know it yet. (Yes, just like Harry Potter.) These two twins, Sophie and Josh, are just two normal teenagers who have jobs at a coffee shop and a book store. Then, some weird, gray, dudes come into the book store (where Josh works) and is looking for Nicholas Flamel. ("Wait a minute, is he the immortal mention by Albus Dumbledore in the first Harry Potter book?" you may ask. Why, yes he is!) So, Nicholas Flamel comes about and starts to get terrorized by these big gray dudes. We later learn that they are Golems, not Gollum, and they are created by a evil Necromancer. (Person who can bring back the dead.) His name is Dr. John Dee. This specific individual sets off a huge turn of events that occur to Sophie and Josh that will not be mentioned in this review.
     For those who have read Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, we may recall the Sorcerers Stone to be keeping Nicholas Flamel alive along with his wife Perenell Flamel. But in this book, it is referred to as the Philosophers Potion. (Get it, from the British copy?)
     I somewhat enjoyed this book because everything was really obvious to what will happen next. If you happen to be a big Rick Riordan fan, then this book for you. I suggest that you dip into a little bit of Greek and Egyptian Mythology before reading this. At some parts, the book can be quite lame due to poor choice of words. I would recommend reading this book to anyone who can't pick out the obvious.

Ender's Game

Ender’s Game is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the youngest child in the Wiggin family. Ender was part of an Earth program to produce some of the most brilliant officers and became a third child. Ender was constantly teased as a "third" since there was a limitation of a two-child policy. He had a close relationship with his sister Valentine, but feared his brother Peter, loved manipulating and tormenting him.  

Ender has had a monitoring device as long as he has remembered. The monitor has acted as a source of protection and guidance. However, when he has this device removed he is now vulnerable to everything.

            Battle School is in a facility outer space where the most talented children are trained to fight against an alien species known as buggers. Both Peter and Valentine have gone to Battle School, but were sent back after a few years in the program. To Ender’s surprise, he was also accepted into Battle School and was faced with the decision to either stay on Earth with his family or help fight against the buggers.

            In Battle School Ender quickly surpasses his fellow classmates and was placed with an older group of boys, his capabilities were overlooked until he lead his team to victory. Ender is soon promoted to a squad leader to some of the youngest cadets in the school. However, with the disadvantage of inexperienced classmates, Ender is able to lead his squadron to victory and the competition. Many squads try to mimic his battle tactics, but Ender is able to come up with new tactics every time. Even with his success, Ender soon finds the game unfair and no longer wants to participate.

            I absolutely loved reading this book and found the story of preparing kids for a battle that may no longer exists a very interesting plot. Some topics that Card brought up throughout the book include: family, friendship, strengths and skills, identity conflicts, trust, and individual needs versus the common good.

            I do want to warn the reader that there is quite a bit of foul language throughout the book and should be considered before reading. Also I’d like to point out that a film of Ender’s Game will be coming out on November 1, 2013. I look forward to watching the film and see how the book was interpreted. I challenge anyone who hasn’t read Ender’s Game to read it soon, and I hope that they are able to enjoy reading it as much as I have.

Micheal Vey: Rise of the Elgen

 

Micheal Vey 

 Rise of the Elgen

Book by: Richard Paul Evans

Book Review by: Brendan Larsen

SPOILERS!!!

(Duh!)

         Micheal Vey seems normal, but he has Tourettes syndrome, and he is basically a human tazer. In the first book his mom got taken by the Elgen (who are the bad guys), and  Micheal found out that there are more like him. They are called the Electric Children, or Glows. Some are bad, and work for Dr. Hatch, and some are much more humane, and joined the ElectroClan (Micheal's friends, which all aren't Glows). The Elgen want to create a world in which the Electric Children rule, and everyone is electric, but that means killing a lot of people in the process. Now, the ElectroClan has to break into the most heavily guarded Elgen compuond in the world. And the rats you see on the cover are electrified rats that generate electricity, and are also very deadly. So, basically, there is going to be a ton of challenges.

         I loved the book in every aspect, and almost couldn't put it down. The only reason why I did ever put it down is because the teachers were yelling at me to pay attention. I would suggest it to anyone that likes sci-fi or action books. I got hooked on the first page of the first book (which was originally supposed to be the book for my book reveiw this month) and just couldn't stop reading it. I am really excited for the third book to come out to local libraries. So, just give this book a chance, and you will find that you won't regret it. Ever.

 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

(SPOILERS)I read this book and finished it about 5 minutes ago, and I have to say, I'm a little bit unimpressed. Though there still was a pretty cool arena fighting thing going on through the middle of the book, the fact that the whole book was based on the beginning of a revolution of Panem, it gave me the feeling of anxiousness, which made it pretty hard to focus on what was actually going on in the book, because I sort of figured that something really exciting was going to happen (like when Katniss exploded the force field) a lot sooner than it did. By the end of the book, the revolution was really only starting to happen, which bummed me out a little bit. I would give this book maybe a 6/10 or so, but the reason that I didn't enjoy it very much was, like I said, because I was having a hard time concentrating on what was actually going on. Obviously, don't let me and my negative book reviews stop you from reading it, because it was actually pretty good, and there is the third one which I am assuming is going to be a pretty good book. I'm actually kind of freaking out right now, because I was checking out some of the other book reviews, and they wrote a lot more than I have, but I guess that's because they gave summary's, which I don't feel is the purpose of a book review. Anyways, I suppose that I would recommend this book to anyone who read the first book, because, I mean, it's popular and is supposed to be a must-read.

Brotherband Chronicles: The Hunters

     In this book, Hal and his crew are once again hunting down the pirates who stole the Andomal. they chase them into a river leading to a safe haven city for pirates and thiefs. They are trying to catch them before they reach the city but run into some difficulties along the way. Hal can't catch them in time to stop them before they reach the haven so he has to come up with another way to get the treasure back.
     This book is very exciting and is very good at explaining why teamwork is helpful. It also shows how perseverance can pay off. with the right mindset Hal and his crew can do almost anything they want.
     John Flanagan has a very simple and cool way of writing that makes this book a very fun and entertaining yet easy read. It explains itself very well throughout the story and he makes it so you can easily sympathize with Hal. I love this book and so does everyone I know that's read it.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini Adventure, Action, Magic, Dragons, fiction

Eragon by Paolini

The book, Eragon takes place in a land called Alagaesia in an empire controlled by an evil guy named Galbatorix. The story is about a boy named Eragon who is a farm boy and lives in a town called Carvahall. Both his parents are assumed to be dead and he lives with his cousin Roran and his Uncle Garrow.

On a hunting trip in a range of mountains called The Spine, Eragon discovers a blue stone which later turns out to be a dragon egg. When his Uncle is killed by two creatures called the Ra'zac he goes out to find revenge and is accompanied by an old story teller named Brom who helps him to become a Dragon Rider. On their quest they battle monsters and get help from their friends to find and kill the Ra'zac.

When they are ambushed by the Ra'zac, Brom is killed by a knife wound but a guy named Murtagh comes and chases the Ra'zac away then helps nurse Eragon back to health. Afterwards they are forced to flee from the empire where they seek the help of a band of rebels called the Varden.

 The story line of this book is incredibly similar to star wars. Both of them start on farms. Both of them have an old yet cool mentor who was once a hero. Both of them save a girl. And both of them go and join a rebellion to defeat an Empire.



I think that this book is a very intriguing book and is quite worth reading. (Even though the movie is crap) The storyline of this book is very interesting and has a good bit of suspense to it. It is a well written book. A



The Mysterious Benedict Society

 

 The Mysterious Benedict Society follows the adventures of four young orphans who each have their own spectacular and rather unique talents. Reynie is an incredibly intellectual teenager who is treated as an outcast at his orphanage. Kate ran away from her orphanage when she was very young to join the circus. When she turned twelve, she left to go on her own journey. She is incredibly athletic and resourceful. Sticky ran away from his parents as they were exploiting him for money, as he would win a countless number of geography bees, spelling bees, science events, etc. And Constance is a poetic, grumpy, stubborn, and quite unpleasant cuss, with the maturity level of a three year old. Not much is known about her past.

 All of these kids are selected after a grueling examination, with completely random questions about interesting but one hundred percent useless knowledge, applicable to almost nowhere in every day life, which is why it was so difficult. After another set of exams, the four eventually meet Mr Benedict, whom they have never heard of. He sends them on a mission to uncover a plot of pure evil at the  Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, or L.I.V.E. The miraculous undertaking will put their very lives on the line in order to save all of humanity.

 I absolutely loved this book, like so much. There are also little puzzles and brain teasers that you can solve with the characters, and they're really hard, almost like trying to pass ten sphinxes at once. My OCD mind and I were completely pissed when I couldn't figure them out, as they're really complex. I also really enjoyed the plot, almost none of it was stuff I was expecting. Although the main conflict is a little bit far fetched for when the book takes place (2007), it still would be possible in a not too distant future, which is scary to think about. Overall I give this book an A+.

Heir Apparent: Vivian Vande Velde

                                                         

           Heir Apparent is an incredibly hilarious book, that will keep you up all night. It is a mix between action and comedy, and is a book that will keep you interested and not bored. It is the story of Giannini Bellisario, and her quest to save her own life. Through her adventure she will encounter a head chopping statue, an annoying dwarf, a Fierce dragon and much much more. 

           It is Giannini Bellisario Birthday, and her father has given her a gift certificate to Rasmussen Game Center. All that she gets from her dad are the occasional gifts, and other that that, she doesn't really associate with her dad. Meanwhile, Rasmussen Game Center is a place where you can play virtual video games and play them for real. Eventually Giannini decides to play Heir Apparent, a game set in medieval times and you play as the soon to be crowned king who is trying to be killed. When Giannini starts playing the game, a group called the CPOC, or Citizen to Protect our Children, attack Rasmussen Came Center, thinking that anything that is fiction is bad for children. However in the process they damage some of the equipment while she is still on the game. Now the only way for Giannini to survive all the damage that has been done by the CPOC, is to complete the game,and every time you die in the game you have to start all over. However, she only has a certain number of tries before she dies in real life. 

         Some of the issues that is brought of was making the right choice, and we all know that to be important, but in this book it is was extremely important. Every time Giannini would make a wrong choice she would get killed, or get close to it. The book also helped me learn about learning from your mistakes, Giannini was constantly having to learn from her mistakes to avoid being killed again, as she lowered her chances of surviving in doing so. Also, be prepared to laugh, all throughout the book I would giggle to myself because is was so funny.

        Well, if I were to give this book a grade, I would give it an A, because it wasn't my all-time favorite book, but it was still a good book that kept me interested, and I would recommend it for People who like funny books packed with action.  

          

                                              

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By: Richard Paul Evans

     Ever since Michael was born he was more than just an ordinary kid.  Not only was he born with Tourette Syndrome but he has had electric powers for as long as he can remember.  Everything changes when he finds out that a girl in his grade,Taylor Ridley, may have the same type of powers.  The weirdest part is Taylor and his birthdays are really close together and they were born in the same hospital.  They begin looking at the hospitals records to see if that may be the link to their special powers.  As soon as they start investigating a peculiar school known as the Elgen Academy takes certain interest in the two teenagers.  Every goes down hill when Taylor and Micheal's mom are kidnapped.  Micheal will do anything to get them back even if that means risking his own life.

      The book suggests that the human race needs to be improved.  There are certain aspects of the world that should be changed but this book basically says that we should knock down the whole empire we have created and start a new with human 2.0.   It shows what happens when people are brainwashed and put into seclusion for so long they just lose all humanity they might have ever had.  It also shows us that our views on society really do shape who we are.  Not only that even the way we grow up and where we grow up effects who we are as a person.  Learning everything about this really makes you take a step back and evaluate the world today and look closely at the events that made you who you are today.

     I find the book very interesting because it's really the first of it's kind to be done.  Never before has there been electric children put into literature.  It's highly entertaining because there is a lot of action.  While there might be a few dull moments, in my opinion, the story always picks back up and gets even better with twists you never saw coming.  The book leaves off at a good place but it has that suspenseful feeling that if you don't get the next book you might just die.  I personally cannot wait to get my hands on the second book.

     I really did love this book and I'd recommend it to anyone.  It's just your typical children's book of our age.  Overall I give it an A.

Nancy Drew the demon in River Height

Nancy drew by Stefan Petruch

This book is about this young girl name Nancy Drew who is known as a great detective  in the there small town River Heights. Nancy friends Ethan and Nathan are filming the in river height  when a mysterious demon ghost appears in  river heights Nancy has to start a investigation.Soon after the starts she starts the investigation her two friends Ethan and Nathan have gone missing . After they go missing she goes to investigate the place they were filming with her two friend Bees and Liz .While checking for clues they come across a bear which then starts to chasing Nancy get chased into a tree.After that a object shaped like a man starts chasing all if them out of the woods until they got to the car where then a car pulls up and a man gets out his name Mr.Angle and now he own the minding shafts in River heights.He  then ask the girl if they want a ride to town they say yes he drops the girls off at police office. after they left the police office nancy want to go and investigate at Nathan and Ethan dorm room  but there she  finds  nothing but there roommate that tell her he has not seen them in 2 day so on the drive back to river heights she runs out of gas.She tries to call her friend but there is no reception were she is stuck at.So she see a light coming out of the woods so she goes to check it out little does the know that two men are following her.Finally she see that they are following and she began to run but the falls and they catch her and takes her to a minding shaft and drops her in the shaft were she finds her friend that were missing.

This was a good book if you like mystery . It was a very interesting and very suspenseful and had a lot of good details and more.   

Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083

Book By: Andrea White

Review By: Brendan Larsen

        Historical Survivor is a TV show where kids are sent back to reenact important journies, and events of the past (20th and 21st century). But here is the catch. It is real. In Historical Survivor: The Alamo; those are real bullets that are ringing out around the kids, and there is no medical team that will try to save them. They are all on their own. They have to depend on each other to stay alive. 

       This time, five kids have to go and reenact Robert F. Scott's journey to the South Pole. And it would be a stretch to say that the kid's journey is much easier than Scott's. There is another thing that you will want to know. There is an Editing Team. Two, actually. There is the Day Shift, who play by the rules, and a Night Shift, who, well... doesn't. And Steve has been appointed to Night Shift. Steve has seen the dark side of things, and knows that the Entertainment based government is really screwed up. After a while, things start to get ugly. The Secretary of Entertainment, a.k.a. "Hot Sauce," has taken things too far. One of the kids is dying, the supplies are running low, and they have no way of getting out. That is when Steve decides to interfere. 

        

        I really loved this book, and would suggest it to any one who liked the Hunger Games, which is, to say, basically everyone. I am pretty sure that the Hunger Games was based off of this book, and yes, Surviving Antarctica came out a good time before Hunger games. This book is an action book, with plenty of suspence, and political points. It can also go to show just how messed up our government can become.

And Then There Were None

     And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. And Then There Were none is a great book if you enjoy murder mysteries. I'll start of with a summary. Keep in mind though at the beginning of the book it gives you a poem to read it's called, "Ten Little Soldier Boys." Anyway, 10 strangers are called to Solider Island by a mysterious host by the name of U.N Owen. When all 10 guest arrive the host is not there! The evening starts off like a normal night until an unusual record accuses all of them of murder! Then a guest chokes and dies before the group of people! Everyone is scared and frightened so they go to bed to shake off the creepy feeling and decide to get help in the morning. 

     The only problem though in the morning another guest doesn't wake up and is found dead. The group then realizes that this isn't a coincidence but a murder on the loose following the Ten Little Soldiers Poem. However, there is no one else on the island except the group that came...only meaning one thing...that the murder is one of them!

     This book was extremely well written. Especially the end just blows your mind! This book makes you think a lot about what these positions these people are in and it also makes you think about the mystery behind this book.  I think Agatha Christie was trying to tell the reader that justice or fairness will soon catch up to you. Also saying that it is important to be a good person. Overall it is written well and is awesome how the author connected the book to the poem.   
     The beginning of this book was a slight confusing but cleared up and got really good! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mystery, mystery and suspense but, some people might find this book creepy! In Conclusion I give this book an A+!

Brotherband Chronicles: The Invaders

     A young Scandanavian named Hal, along with his crew, have just left their hometown, Hallasholm and set out to sea to find a stolen treasure he was "able" to guard but taken. They get stuck in a storm and are forced to stay in a cove where they train and prepare for when they meet up with the pirates who stole their treasure or as the Scandians call it, the Andomal.

     While this is happening, the scandian leader or the Oberjarl, Erak, sends out a crew of Scandians to find Hal and his crew. When the storm settles they leave to get supplies and when they come back the crew of Scandians is waiting. But instead of taking them back to Hallosholm, they say they are there to help. 

     If i told you the rest it would spoil the story. Let me just say this is one of my favorite books and has a very good theme on friendship and overcoming fear. Also it has a theme of it is best when one corrects the problems they cause.

     In my opinion John Flannagan is one of the best writers ever and he has come up with another great series.

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

     Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is the third book by James Patterson in the Maximum Ride series. I thought it was a great book loaded with action as well as wit. I think it might be the best book in the series so far.
     Max and her family of friends are the product of crazy scientists who grafted bird DNA into them. Ever since they escaped the awful place they were born and raised, the "flock" has merely tried to live. (If you want to know more, look at the book review of the first book, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment) At the beginning of the book, the bird kids are on the run from the crazy scientists and a worldwide company called Itex. Itex has an insane plan to kill every human in the world with imperfections and problems and to create genetically improved people instead. Itex wants to do this because they think that the world has become really polluted because there are too many people in it. They created Max and the bird kids, but now that Max knows about their plan, she has set out on a mission to stop it. While on her quest, she and the bird kids are captured and put in an Itex prison.
      While she is stuck there, an old enemy returns named Ari. Ari is part wolf and has tried to kill Max on numerous occasions, but now he has gone good, or so Max thinks. Ari helps them escape, but Fang, one of the bird kids, doesn't trust Ari. Because of this, the flock splits up. This is a huge problem. While they are apart, it becomes harder and harder to be safe, and the bird kids are in more danger than ever. The only trick up their sleeves is Fang's blog to spread the word about Itex all around the world to help save the planet.
     I liked with many of the themes in this book. One of the biggest themes in this book is that pollution is bad, but there are answers to put a stop to it. Pollution plays a big roll in the book. One of the other main themes is that giving someone a second chance pays off. The bird kids give Ari a second chance, as well as a man named Jeb who betrayed them, and it ends up being for the best. I liked the themes, but there were some loudly expressed opinions that I didn't agree with and didn't seem neccessary to the plot, but I enjoyed the book enough to look past those things.
     Although this book may not be my favorite, it is definitely worth the time to read. I thought it was very creative and interesting. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is another great hit for James Patterson.