A review by zforzo
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
4.0
I'm going to blame this on the fact that I've already read this, which is probably why I found this predictable; as well as the fact that I read this when I was 10 or 11 years old, which is why this probably used to be one of my favorite books. That in turn lead to my expectations being pretty high, when I decided to dive back in to the rollercoaster called Maximum Ride. Did you get it? Because you RIDE a rollercoaster and... okay never mind. Unfortunately, The Angel Experiment didn't exactly reach my high bar. It didn't plunge to its death in a black abyss, but to be honest, there were a few times I found it a bit cheesy. Just a bit.
Don't get me wrong though, I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book (I'd give it at least 3.5 stars,) it was just that sometimes it felt like things were just happening, which will hopefully be explained later in the series or at least given a bit of background, so it doesn't seem like those old-timey fairy tales. You know, the ones where suddenly out of the blue, Max is saved in the nick of time. Plus, I wasn't overly thrilled with James Patterson's writing and for some reason I was under the impression that there would be a whole lot more action going on (I don't know, blame it on my 11 year-old mind.) Thus, I was a little disappointed to find it was slower than what I had anticipated. Hopefully though, things will start to pick up in the following books, and the first one was mainly used to lay down the groundwork.
On the bright side though, I did like the characters and I think my feelings for them will grow as I continue on with this series. Max and Fang were probably my favorites out of the group (Let's be honest;) they're both just so kickass and awesome! I love Max's sarcastic remarks and their witty banter. I like how we're able to see how close they are (how close the entire flock is,) by the way they can simply look at one another and have this whole argument without saying a single word. My favorite part in the whole book was probably when they're eating the cookies, and Max is raving on about how good they are. Yet, all Fang says is, "it's fine," and Max just goes, "some people just don't have what it takes to appreciate a cookie." I literally laughed out loud at that one.
In the end, things started to pick up a lot more, which I very much enjoyed, especially with that scene featuring Ari and Max, and then Jeb coming out... like WHOA, Whoa, whoa. I'm not going to say what happened because I don't want to spoil anyone, but whoa. First of all, I don't particularly like Ari, but you've got to feel a little pity for him. Like he has some major daddy and abandonment issues, I think he'd benefit from some help at the shrink. By the way, how old is he? I know he's technically seven, but does that translate into dog years? Is he 49 or 20-something? It's not very clear. Anyways, back to the main topic, I suspected it, but I never really thought it over. I knew that there was probably a connection between them, but my mind didn't realize what exactly that would make Ari. So when Jeb said it (more like screamed it,) I was just like wait... hold on, say that again.
(
I have to admit that I am kind of on the school's side. There, I said it! And now everyone on the planet hates me, maybe even my own mother and she hasn't even picked up the book, but I know that the school isn't just conducting these ludicrous experiments for no reason. They're trying to do something, whether it's good or bad. I'm hoping it's good because otherwise I would start to hate myself too. I feel as though Max is blinded by everything the school has done to her, and she has good reason to, but if she just stopped to listen (or if people would just give her a straight answer,) then things would start to fall into place. Like what is it exactly that Max is supposed to save the world from? Flying ferris wheels? Did you get? Because you ride a ferris wheel and her na- okay, I'll stop.
Without further adieu though,I'm eager to jump into the second book in the Maximum Ride series, and see what's in store for moi.
~Zoe~
Don't get me wrong though, I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book (I'd give it at least 3.5 stars,) it was just that sometimes it felt like things were just happening, which will hopefully be explained later in the series or at least given a bit of background, so it doesn't seem like those old-timey fairy tales. You know, the ones where suddenly out of the blue, Max is saved in the nick of time. Plus, I wasn't overly thrilled with James Patterson's writing and for some reason I was under the impression that there would be a whole lot more action going on (I don't know, blame it on my 11 year-old mind.) Thus, I was a little disappointed to find it was slower than what I had anticipated. Hopefully though, things will start to pick up in the following books, and the first one was mainly used to lay down the groundwork.
On the bright side though, I did like the characters and I think my feelings for them will grow as I continue on with this series. Max and Fang were probably my favorites out of the group (Let's be honest;) they're both just so kickass and awesome! I love Max's sarcastic remarks and their witty banter. I like how we're able to see how close they are (how close the entire flock is,) by the way they can simply look at one another and have this whole argument without saying a single word. My favorite part in the whole book was probably when they're eating the cookies, and Max is raving on about how good they are. Yet, all Fang says is, "it's fine," and Max just goes, "some people just don't have what it takes to appreciate a cookie." I literally laughed out loud at that one.
In the end, things started to pick up a lot more, which I very much enjoyed, especially with that scene featuring Ari and Max, and then Jeb coming out... like WHOA, Whoa, whoa. I'm not going to say what happened because I don't want to spoil anyone, but whoa. First of all, I don't particularly like Ari, but you've got to feel a little pity for him. Like he has some major daddy and abandonment issues, I think he'd benefit from some help at the shrink. By the way, how old is he? I know he's technically seven, but does that translate into dog years? Is he 49 or 20-something? It's not very clear. Anyways, back to the main topic, I suspected it, but I never really thought it over. I knew that there was probably a connection between them, but my mind didn't realize what exactly that would make Ari. So when Jeb said it (more like screamed it,) I was just like wait... hold on, say that again.
(I have to admit that I am kind of on the school's side. There, I said it! And now everyone on the planet hates me, maybe even my own mother and she hasn't even picked up the book, but I know that the school isn't just conducting these ludicrous experiments for no reason. They're trying to do something, whether it's good or bad. I'm hoping it's good because otherwise I would start to hate myself too. I feel as though Max is blinded by everything the school has done to her, and she has good reason to, but if she just stopped to listen (or if people would just give her a straight answer,) then things would start to fall into place. Like what is it exactly that Max is supposed to save the world from? Flying ferris wheels? Did you get? Because you ride a ferris wheel and her na- okay, I'll stop.
Without further adieu though,I'm eager to jump into the second book in the Maximum Ride series, and see what's in store for moi.
~Zoe~