Max (2009) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Maximum Ride: A 14-year-old girl who was genetically enhanced to be 2% bird; as a result, she has wings, super strength, and can do all sorts of things that normal people would fail at. She also continued mutating even afterwards, so she can fly at incredible speeds and breathe underwater. She has sun-streaked brown hair and chocolate brown eyes and is considered the leader of her small group, which includes Fang, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, and Angel.
• Fang: Max's right-wing man and best friend, another avian-human. He's the hot, mysterious, and silent type, with olive toned skin, black hair, black wings, and dark eyes. He wears almost all black and makes it obvious that he is planning on keeping it that way, but he denies being goth or emo. He's made it clear that he's in love with Max, but is willing to wait as long as it takes for her to make up her mind. He's continued to mutate, and thus developed the ability to blend into his surroundings when not moving, and gills. Although he is Max's best friend he sometimes causes her a lot of problems because he is really good at keeping his thoughts and emotions hidden, and Max often finds herself wondering what he thinks especially when Brigid comes into the picture.
• Iggy: 14 years old and blind, Iggy could be what one might call a pyromaniac. He enjoys making bombs and blowing stuff up with his best pal, Gazzy. Iggy has light skin, strawberry blond hair, and blue eyes
• Nudge: She's eleven and the girly-girl of the Flock, but still far from it. She's as tough as the rest of the Flock, but loves to talk, talk, talk. Out of everyone in the Flock, she wishes the most to be normal, even if it means giving up the ability to fly. She has mocha brown skin, dark hair and dark eyes. Her powers include supernatural computer hacking abilities, can sense a person's feelings through things they have touched, and can attract metal.
• The Gasman/Gazzy: He's eight years old and the biological brother to Angel. He gets his name from the fact that he has a truly messed up digestive system, leading to, well, gas. And we're talking leave-the-room-or-die sort of fumes. His best friend is Iggy, who he enjoys making bombs and other explosives with. He has blond, spiky hair and blue eyes. His powers include perfect mimicry and, again, his ability to send a crowd running by just breaking wind.
• Angel: She's six and a half and the youngest of the Flock, and Gazzy's biological sister. She is said to have hit the jackpot when it comes to special abilities, which include mind reading, mind control (which she doesn't like to use), gills, and can alter her appearance for limited amounts of time. Also, she wants to be the flock's leader.
• Total: The Flock's scottie-ish pet dog. Angel found him and - thanks to Fang - is still traveling with the Flock. He always says that dogs aren't being treated very well. Oh, yeah, and he can talk. Is in love with a pure breed dog named Akila.
• Brigid Dwyer: She is a scientist who is in her twenties, who is also has an interest in Fang. Maybe linked to Mr. Chu somehow.
• John Abate: Scientist aboard a submarine with Max and the Flock. May or may not have a crush on Dr. M.
• Mr. Chu: Evil person. Wants Max to stop working for the Coalition to Stop the Madness (CSM). Apparently works for a very powerful organization and has friends in very powerful places.
• Dr. Akana: Scientist who loves the sea.
• Captain Perry: Captain of the submarine that the flock uses to find Dr. Martinez.
• Dr. Valencia Martinez: Max's biological mother. Also the mother of Ella, Max's half sister.
• Ella Martinez: Max's half sister. Daughter of Dr. Martinez.
• Sharon: A hollywood agent
• Palmer: Add a description of this character.
• Jeb: Scientist at the School. Helped to rescue the flock but then abandoned them. Max's biological father.

Quotes edit see section history

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• “This is my Brain: O.This is my brain after making out with Fang: •.It's really sad.”

  Max

• “'You are really pretty, Max,' said a small voice beside me. Way to go, ace, have embarrassing personal thoughts while you're two feet from a mind reader.”

  Angel and Max

• “'Okay, here it comes,' I heard Gazzy say from upstairs. 'Did you set the thing?' Iggy asked him. 'Yup.''Point it away from the house?'Oh, yes, please, point what ever it is away from the house, I wished fervently. 'Duh, yeah,' said Gazzy. He chuckled. 'Should be any second.'”

  Gazzy, Iggy and kind of Max

• “I really, really loved him, with a whole new kind of love I'd never felt before, something that made every other kind of love I'd ever felt just seem washed out and wimpy in comparison. I loved him with every cell in my body, every thought in my head, every feather in my wings, every breath in my lungs. And air sacs.”

  Max

• “'Forget it! No one's getting married! Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! Now go to sleep, before I kill you!”

  Max to Angel

• “I leaned over the instructor, looking anxiously at his face. 'You okay? Sorry. I didn't mean to slam you against the wall so hard. Nose not broken? Good.'”

  Max

• “Yes, he could best most grown men in hand-to-hand combat and make an explosive device out of virtually anything, but he was still eight years old. Or so. I always seemed to forget that.”

  Max, on Gazzy

• “Your mind creates your reality. If you expect nothing, you open up the universe to give you options. If you expect the worst, you usually get it.”

  Voice

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• Your mind creates your reality. If you expect nothing, you open up the universe to give you options. If you expect the worst, you usually get it.

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• “Now what?” said Iggy. “Who you gonna call?” A quiet voice in the hallway outside said, “Ghostbusters!” Captain Perry and John groaned. “That phrase is ruined forever,” said John.

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• YOU COULD LOCK the Gasman in a padded cell with some dental floss and a bowl of Jell-O, and he’d find a way to make something explode.

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• This is my brain: O This is my brain after making out with Fang: • It’s very sad.

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• So there you have it, the extent of my charms: brown hair and eyes like unbarfed chocolate. I’m a lucky girl.

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• Unfortunately, every time someone said “debriefing,” the entire flock had one image: someone’s tighty-whities disappearing in a flash. We were smothering our giggles, but it was getting harder. Coupled with the whole “naval this, and naval that,” with its undeniable belly-button connotations, we were essentially turning into a sugar-jacked, sleep-deprived flock of incoherent, silly, recombinant-DNA goofballs. This was not going to end well.

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• Yes. I owed my life, Angel’s life, and my mother’s life to a mutant’s ability to create industrial-strength snot.

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• As a maternal figure, I always try to keep the flock safe, of course. But I admit, it did my heart proud to see the instant blood-lust pop into Gazzy’s blue eyes and to see little Angel automatically tense up and get into fighting stance, ready to rip someone’s head off. They were just so — so dang adorable, sometimes.

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• HERE ARE ALL the flies in my ointment: 1) The phrase “fly in the ointment.” Like, yuck. Who came up with that?

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• Interestingly, though I’m silent as the grave when shot or snuck up on, I discovered that I squeal like a little girl when I’m facing imminent death and then find myself bouncing hard on a trampoline.

  Highlighted by 293 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Hawaii
• Mexico City

Organizations edit see section history

• Coalition to Stop the Madness (CSM): An organization set up to make people more aware about pollution and the earth. The flock promote this group, and Max's mom is a key figure in the organization.
• The Flock: Max and her merry band of mutant freaks: Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and their talking dog, Total.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Errata edit see section history

Somewhere between pages 200 and 220, whenever Dr. Akana joins them, the book says "In the distance, I could a bunch of kids <. . .>" SEE the mistake?

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Final Warning, and followed by Fang.

Preceded by The Final Warning, and followed by Fang.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. James Patterson (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Gabrielle Charbonnet

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• 2010 Children's Choice Book Awards (May 2010: Author of the Year)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PZ7.P27653 Mas 2009
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Also good for readers 9-12

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror › Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Action & Adventure
• Books › Teens › Literature & Fiction › Adventure & Thrillers
• Books › Teens › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction
• Books › Teens › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy
• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Action & Adventure
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Max-Dan-Wiz

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history