Maximum Ride Manga, Volume 1

by James Patterson, NaRae Lee (Artist)

Overview

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of her "flock" - Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel - are just like ordinary kids, except they have wings and can fly! It may seem like a dream come true to some, but for the flock it's more like a living nightmare. When the mysterious lab known as the "School" turns up and kidnaps their youngest member, it's up to Max to organize a rescue, but will help come in time?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759529519
Publisher:	Yen Press
Publication date:	01/27/2009
Series:	Maximum Ride Manga Series , #1
Edition description:	Manga
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	12,510
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 240 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

Themes from Patterson's popular adult titles When the Wind Blows and The Lake House waft through this YA thriller, the author's first in the genre. Wood stars as Maximum Ride, 14-year-old leader of a band of kids who have escaped the lab where they were bred as 98% human and 2% bird (wings being a key component) and developed a variety of other-worldly talents. In Patterson's unusual universe, Max and her young cohorts are soon forced to rescue one of their own-a girl named Angel-from a pack of mutant wolf-humans called Erasers. Wood nails Patterson's often adult-beyond-their-years dialogue with a jaded tone. But the result of this pairing makes Max sound more off-putting than cool or intriguing. The listening experience is stalled in the starting gate, keeping the action-adventure earthbound rather than high-flying. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

This is a purely fantastical tale told primarily from the perspective of one Maximum Ride, a fourteen year old girl who is the glue keeping her ragtag "family" of six children (ranging in age from 6 to 14) together. The kids (including Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel) spent their early years of life in a lab in California called "the School," and are 98% human, and 2 % bird, enabling them to fly. Through a series of truly unfortunate events, the youngest one of the brood has been kidnapped by the evil Erasers (other mutants from the School, who are part human, part bloodthirsty wolf). Max and the others set out on a mission to save her (and supposedly the world, but that part is never clearly delineated) and discover their true identities. Short chapters are like incredibly quick sound bites; while the book is over 400 pages long, chapters are mostly two to four pages in length. The few details readers can glean about Max from the book paint an admirable picture, but a thin one at best. The visual that is created by the image of flying children is intriguing. Creepy scenes of laboratories and mutant children in cages (with organs on the outside of their bodies!), the morphing of the Erasers and some fairly violent fights may disturb some readers. Maximum Ride is this author's first young adult series. He is a best selling author of adult novels; two of particular note, When the Wind Blows and The Lake House, that deal with winged characters. His inspiration for this book comes from these previous works. 2005, Little Brown, Ages 12 up.
—Cindy L. Carolan

Children's Literature

Max and her "family" are rare birds—almost literally. Max, Iggy, Fang, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy are part of an experiment that introduced avian DNA into human embryos. For years, they lived in a special school/laboratory. Then Jeb stole them from the school and set them up in a mountain cabin. Now it appears that they are being pursued by creatures whose job it is to return them to the school for further study. When Angel is kidnapped, Max takes Fang and Nudge with her to attempt a rescue. Gazzy and Iggy are left behind to guard the mountain retreat; however, plans go awry and soon the family is separated and threatened. Can Max rescue Angel and elude her would-be captors? Lee totally reimagines Patterson's story, creating highly stylized representations of Max and the other characters. Confrontations between Max and her family and the Erasers provide a surfeit of action-packed pages, but Lee does not overlook the character and plot development essential to this series of books. Each character has distinctive features, and Lee takes time to allow each character to talk about his or her own take on the perils they face. Manga fans will find much to appreciate in Lee's work whether or not they are familiar with the novels themselves. Patterson's fans will discover another way to enjoy this SF/mystery blend. Reviewer: Teri S. Lesesne

VOYA - Teri S. Lesesne

Gr 8 Up

Hiding out in the wilderness of Colorado, Max Ride, 14, and her ragtag family of mutant kids think they're safe from the clutches of "The School," a secret government lab that has erased their memories and turned them into human/bird creations. When Angel, the youngest of them, is kidnapped by the "Erasers"-cruel half-man/half-wolf enforcers for "The School"-Max and several of the kids set off in search of her. Despite outwitting them in several instances, the Erasers are able to intercept them. But all is not as it seems when Max is released from her confinement only to be told the secret of her origin-that she was created to save the world. The story is based on Patterson's popular "Maximum Ride" series (Little, Brown), and Lee does a superb job of translating his text into attractive manga-style illustrations. Although the narrative is a bit slow at first, the action quickly picks up and is bound to keep readers turning the pages. Bridging the gap between contemporary YA fiction and manga/manhwa, Maximum Ride is a fine first choice for sci-fi/thriller-heavy collections.-Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

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