When the Wind Blows

An emotional roller-coaster ride, When the Wind Blows is a story about resilience in the face of overwhelming odds and love in the wake of devastating hopelessness. When I read this book over twenty years ago, I loved it. And now, after rereading it, it still has the power to warm my heart. Patterson skillfully combines a children's fairy tale with terrifying violence as he spins a story of power-crazy scientists conducting biological experiments on children in a secret lab hidden in the wood of the Colorado Rockies. The vulnerability of the winged children, the cruelty of the scientist/doctors, and the bravery of Max, a unique, eleven-year-old miracle, brought tears to my eyes many times. I recommend this one to everyone who loves the show more supernational. show less

Delightful and despicable – all at same time – those were my conflicting responses as I read “When the Wind Blows”. Meld these two plot elements: cute children with beautiful wings who really fly AND evil scientists doing genetic engineering, who experiment on humans and routinely “put to sleep” their failed specimens. Now for good measure shake in a handsome but rogue FBI agent and a pretty but disturbed vet, and you can guess where the plot goes from there. This is the typical Patterson with 2-3 page chapters for those with ADHD. Recommended beach read for those who like an occasional mindless action-filled romp.

I really wanted to like this book. It was a very nice Idea, and some parts of the book really grabbed me and forced me to keep reading when I was planning on sleeping.

Some parts of the book seemed a bit strange to me, because the descriptions were formulated in a way that was just pulling me out of the book. I can't really describe what was wrong about those passages, and I read the german version of the book, so I attributed them to bad translation.

I can confirm some of the criticism that is written in the other reviews, the characters are sometimes pretty flat. Still, if you enjoy the genre of this book and don't know what to read next, just go to the library and loan the book. If you liked it: Great. If you didn't, at least you did show more not spend money on it ;-). show less

When the Wind Blows is a new series by James Patterson which is the story of Max, and her friends who have special abilities. They are raised in ‘the school’, not a typical school by any stretch. The book opens with Frannie O’Neill and ‘Kit Harrison’. Frannie is dealing with her inn-patient animal clinic, and getting over the loss of her husband. ’Kit Harrison’ aka Tom Brennen who is trying to figure out what is going on with mysterious deaths in Colorado and crazy scientists. Soon Frannie meets Max but unaware of who she is or how she can fly. Most of the book is spent getting Max to trust them. Max has only ever dealt with people who lie, or harm others by ‘putting them to sleep’. Kit and Frannie never falter in show more their love for Max or the other children.

I really enjoyed this book, a bit slow in some areas but it picks up and in the end you find you want more, or atleast I did. I was sad that the story ended. I think Patterson did a great job making the chapters small incase you have to stop to do something. It was a really great story. I could feel myself cheering when the bad guys got theirs. show less

I read these two books having read the teen fiction Maximum Ride series. Although the stories don't connect (they could be alternate universes) it was fun to be reading about Max again. However, the crimes in this book were more gruesome, I guess to appeal to a more adult audience. Personally I much preferred the teen stories.

The premise was good, and some of the chapters were well-written. But some of the other chapters left a lot to be desired, and sloppily written. It seems to be a trait in all of Mr. Patterson's books (at least those I have read) in varying degrees.

I will say one thing - this book was way better than the Maximum Ride novel I read the other day. I had actually read Maximum Ride before this, but enjoyed this book better. This book could have been improved by putting in more detail and fleshing out the plot - many questions are left unanswered. I don't know if I'll pick up a copy of 'Lake House'.

With a clunky mix of science fiction and a myriad of other genres this foray in to different territory is not Patterson at his best. The plot is suited to a shorter novel, a lesson learned later is his stellar career, yet that won't make reading this any easier. There are no memorable action scenes and despite the unwieldy attempts at a romantic angle there is still enough of a hook to keep those pages turning. Patterson's art is still on display here, creating a story which sucks readers in, despite the flaws. It's something different and is territory explored further with The Lake House and the Maximum Ride series.