School's Out—Forever

Since the other books I've been reading lately are more reflective spiritual reads, I really enjoyed this in between. ( )

Audiobook. Very well done with voices and sound effects. The story was cute and entertaining and I will definitely continue reading or listening to the rest of the series. I actually like listening to it better since the audio is so well done. ( )

Personally, I enjoyed 'The Lake House' far more. This was an interesting and fun read, but it's clear it is for a younger market.
I was surprised that Patterson would borrow name and character discriptions from 'The Lake House' while stating up front that this novel is not based on those characters. A bit disconcerting.
The characters bounce from evil situation to evil situation while trying very hard to like their enemy and not take the low rode. However, they are not beyond petty larceny.
What bothered me the most (keeping in mind that this is a young adult novel) kids with 10-16 foot wingspans who could hide them beneath clothing and whip them out at a moment's notice. I just can't see this any more than I could picture a himan with a 10 foot wing span zipping down corridors. At one point, Patterson tells us the protagonist has a jacket with slits for her wings. No mention before this or how she can keep them so well concealed beneath thin material.
I think this could have been done better and feel it was just stuck out there to meet the public's demand for more. ( )

This book ended very quickly as I was starting to get into it. ( )

http://yearningtoread.blogspot.com/

Max and the gang are on the run. Again. They always are. They run from Jeb, the Erasers, and the School - plus anyone who might want to make them into some freak show exhibit. But now there are flying Erasers - yup, you heard right - and Max's mission to save the world is becoming clearer as they figure out who they need to save the world from. They also have to deal with a mommy-ing FBI agent, Anne, who puts them into school and slowly becomes attached to them. How much more could go wrong for this winged family? Well...lots.
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My thoughts -
While this book didn't quite make it as awesome as book #1, The Angel Experiment, it was still extremely gripping, full of great characters, and easy to read due to a TON of action. What did I not like? Ari. And...ahem...the entrance of a double of one of the Flock. But more on that...

Character notes -
I love the Flock. LOVE them. They are so realistic, each one sporting his/her own personality. Each one is consistent. Perfect for the story. Spot on. I love it. I never realized how consistent they are until the double entered. She acted so unlike the real deal, and the Flock immediately realized it's not her because everything was all wrong. I was so grateful to the author for this when I recognized it.

The Flock interacts so well together...I just love them and their adventures. (Have I said it enough yet? Ha!) And Fang. Fang gets double love. Iggy shot up on my favorites list because he was just so sweet and sad the whole time. And Angel...she just cracks me up! (There's laugh out loud humor through this book, by the way. Be up for funny stuff the whole book - it really set me in a good mood!)

So. The double. Now that I look back on those scenes with her, I realize that they were needed, but when I was actually reading the scenes, they felt a bit rushed. Maybe that's just a personal opinion? I felt like since she was introduced at the beginning she should have taken the place of the real character earlier in the book; instead, they "switch" when the book's almost over.

And Ari. Just weird. I'm all for creepy weird mutant villain who can fly and looks like Wolverine... but when it's an 8-year-old boy stuck in such a body...I dunno - it felt weird and slightly stupid. The scene where he steals the gameboy actually make me laugh. Not, "Haha this is so funny!" But, "Seriously? This is soooo ridiculous." Plus, what's all this coming back from the dead crap? Bring on the new villains!

Story notes -
Woah! Seriously - I love how non-stop these books are! Even in the scenes where the Flock aren't being chased by Erasers, there's an unbearable tension and you just have to keep reading!

I felt like there were less twists in the story line this time, but that didn't make the book any less exciting. The twists that were there were great!

One word/phrase to sum it up (final thoughts) -
Undeniably exciting! I get one serious kick out of this series (so far) and I'm looking forward to book #3, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports.

For the parents - A few minor cuss words and some short references to cuss words. (Max jokes, "Let's get the Flock outta here!" and then later throws Fang "the bird" as another joke.) Two kisses - Max to a boy she gets to know at school and goes on a date with; Fang to a girl who's totally in love with him. Good for ages 12 and up. ( )