Maximum Ride 4 - The Final Warning
The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel is the much-anticipated fourth book in James Patterson’s young adult/tween Maximum Ride series. The series has attracted a large following as it puts the reader into the lives of a flock of six children who have been genetically designed to be 2% bird - they have wings and can fly! Before I launch into a review, NO - this is not going to be the final book. (That was my daughters’ concern when they heard the title.) I reviewed the first three books, and have been excited about this book for the past year. It’s hard for a book to live up to readers’ expectations, but James Patterson has written a fourth book that has no problems living up to the reader’s excitement and enthusiasm; I literally could not put it down, and finished it in one sitting! Keep reading for a sneak preview of Maximum Ride 4 - The Final Warning, without spoilers…
If you haven’t had a chance to read the first three books (or if you didn’t re-read them right before starting The Final Warning), Patterson does a great job of introducing you to the characters without overdoing the explanations. Max (as the narrator and the leader of the flock) catches us up on what the flock has been doing since the end of Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, Angel, and Total (their talking dog) are planning to testify to Congress about what has happened as they tried to save the world from the School, the Institute, and Itex, the company which controlled everything. Once they have spoken with Congress, though, what will happen to them? Do they go to a new school, or is there another mission to save the world?
What will happen next? Well, the book includes a blog post from Fang that discusses that…
“The big news of today is that we’ve all decided to settle down and go to regular school and stuff, and Fox is going to make a reality TV series out of it, called Bird Kids in the House! They’ll have like a hundred cameras all over the lace and they can film Iggy cooking and Angel doing her weird stuff, and Total listening to his iPod.
They can film Max leading.
Nah, I’m just kidding. No reality series. Our lives are probably a little too real for most people, if you know what I’m saying. … We’re not sure what’s going to happen next.”
Of course, the the Voice in Max’s head leads the flock to find a new way to save the world after their defeat of Itex. Max and the gang might be tired of cold weather, in The Final Warning they learn that sometimes you have to suffer for a cause. The flock goes to Antarctica to study the effects of global warming, and the cuteness of penguins. Like any other 6 year old girl, Angel wants to adopt a baby penguin… This is a perfect example of the wonders of James Patterson’s writing; he has created 6 human-avian kids, and while they have extra strength, speed, and some special skills, they are still kids. Nudge chatters endlessly like a certain child in my house, Gazzy and Iggy conspire on practical jokes and explosions, and there’s the growing tension between Fang and Max who have grown up together, and now at 14 are experiencing attraction to each other.
While reading Maximum Ride series, readers are instantly transported into the world of the flock. Part of the reason the reader is sucked in so quickly is that the story is told in the first person, from Max’s perspective. Add in Fang’s blog and Patterson’s skill in creating characters and situations, and you have characters who feel incredibly real and that everyone will love. Patterson was brilliant in creating kids who can fly - who hasn’t wanted to fly? As soon as I started reading the series, I couldn’t read it fast enough. Now that I’m sharing the series with my kids (9, 7, 4), and they are begging for “just one more chapter” constantly. We’re torn between savoring these experiences we’re sharing with the flock and wanting to know what happens next!
If you are a reluctant reader, or you’re the parent of a reluctant reader, pick up the Maximum Ride series, and pre-order The Final Warning. It’s impossible to stop reading once you’ve started reading about Max and the flock. There’s a fine line for an author to walk when dealing with a “cause” - in The Final Warning Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel are saving the world in a very different way than in the earlier books. This time they are trying to defeat the evil scientists, but also let the world know about global warming. Patterson does a great job of integrating characters, plot, excitement, and a cause in The Final Warning, and I hope it helps kids pay more attention to their world.
I highly recommend The Final Warning for any reader age 10+, and kids younger than that will enjoy The Final Warning and Maximum Ride series as a read-aloud book; the chapters are only a few pages each, which makes it very easy to cave in to the “just one more chapter!” request! Parents should be aware that there is quite a bit of violence, though the flock only acts in self-defense. If you’re an adult, don’t dismiss these out-of-hand as kid’s books. Just like some other young adult series, these are books that can be enjoyed by people of any age. In fact, The Final Warning and the earlier books are great books to read with your child and discuss together. If you like science or fantasy, flying kids or evil corporations, everyone will find something to love in The Final Warning!
Check out my review of the first three books as well. This book was received from the publisher for review
February 15th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
[…] A Gaggle of Book Reviews | Book Reviews from a family of five wrote an interesting post today on Maximum Ride 4 - The Final WarningHere’s a quick excerpt The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel is the much-anticipated fourth book in James Patterson’s young adult/tween Maximum Ride series. The series has attracted a large following as it puts the reader into the lives of a flock of six children who have been genetically designed to be 2% bird - they have wings and can fly! Before I launch into a review, NO - this is not going to be the final book. (That was my daughters’ concern when they heard the title.) I reviewed the first three books, and […]
February 15th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
[…] A Gaggle of Book Reviews | Book Reviews from a family of five wrote an interesting post today on Maximum Ride 4 - The Final WarningHere’s a quick excerpt The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel is the much-anticipated fourth book in James Patterson’s young adult/tween Maximum Ride series. The series has attracted a large following as it puts the reader into the lives of a flock of six children who have been genetically designed to be 2% bird - they have wings and can fly! Before I launch into a review, NO - this is not going to be the final book. (That was my daughters’ concern when they heard the title.) I reviewed the first three books, and […]
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I’m fifteen-years-old and love the Maximum Ride books. My little sister has asked me to read them to her and a bunch of my friends have asked to borrow them. I really can’t wait for The Final Warning. I hope there are many more cooks abut Maximum Ride and the flock. They are probably the most realistic characters that I have read about because they don’t hesitate to show what they’re feeling.
-Sara
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I am 13 and started the books last summer on vacation. A whole week in Cali was wasted on me because my head was in the books the whole time! I could not get enough. I have went to every possible website to get info on the 4th and upcoming book. I am seriously glad I only have to wait two weeks before it comes out. This book is good for anyone who loves action, drama, teen romance (everyone knows Max and Fang belong together), and a whole lot of humor. Its like an awesome uncreated movie or video game. If you read them, you will not be sorry. Also, if you are obsessed with the books like me, you will love reading stories of the flock on http://www.fanfiction.net/book/maximum_ride/
In the words of Fang (Mr. Tall Dark and Dorky), Fly On.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Hey i go to South Fork high. We started reading your books last year. We love reading and cant get a enough of them. We read like 20 pages a day. We can wait till the other 1s come out.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Hey i go to South Fork high. We started reading your books last year. We love reading and cant get a enough of them. We read like 20 pages a day. We can wait till the other 1s come out. We cant wait
March 12th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Go 2 http://maximumride.com/, our stories and click on the final warning for a sneak peek with more of the book then amazon.
GO THE FLOCK!
March 12th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Go 2 http://maximumride.com/ , our stories, final warning and read a chapter.
it has way more of the story then amazon or whatever.
(p.s - Nudge has a new power! Yay!)
Chloza-Jaide says : GO THE FLOCK!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I’m sorry but book 4 was a let ddown, I thought. It continued alright but I was expecting answers to some of the big questions like who the voice is and why Fang had been getting those hot feelings after he got Max’s blood. They didn’t get together (maxXfang i mean)! The flock went from kicking earaser/flyboy butt to getting interveiwed for global warming! For crying out loud! Max is a fighter! Not a school kid! I’m hoping for a fifth book, something that has more action and less cooperation with the adults that they always hated so much…
March 16th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Sammy,
I can agree with your points, and I wished for more on a couple of counts. I wanted to see Max & Fang together (er, for myself, didn’t want to read it to my kids), and wanted to know more about the voice, etc.
However, I still thought it was a cool story, and thought it was a fun read I think there was plenty of the Flock without adults, and the Flock kicking butt in general. As a bonus, it had a good message, and if it makes any kid anywhere think twice about global warming & saving energy, that’s great.
There had better be a book 5! too much of a cliffhanger, otherwise! I’m hoping James Patterson goes beyond the number of Harry Potter books - can you believe these 4 are all in under a year?
March 18th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Book 4 was the biggest disappointment that I have ever read. The book was half the size of the others and answered none of the burning questions that readers had from the first three books; it ended awkwardly and left me with no sense of completion. When it was said in the first that Max had to save the world, it was incredibly anti-climactic when it turned out that it was from global warming… they said that she was created 2% bird so that she could save the world, but any human could have spoken before Congress, there was no need to make her special. There was also barely any information on the relationship between her and Fang… the book was just a serious letdown compared to the first three.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I completely agree with jamie. Having read the first three books and loving them for their fast-pacedness, I think that Mr. Patterson has left us a comparatively mediocre installment. In all three of the previous books, he did a wonderful job of linking events together, usually in ways the reader (us) would not imagine. However, in The Final Warning, he becomes preachy, and doesn’t really present us with a plot. The Uber-Director is never really fleshed out as a character, nor is Gozon or the UD’s assistant. In The Angel Experiment, even the scientists studying Angel after she was captured were given a fuller description than the UD, and he was definitely a more important haracter than they. The concept that Max was engineered to save the world was good originally, but it was a major letdown when we discover what she was supposed to save the world from…any nutjob could have told you global warmng was bad. The entire Antarctica scene (which I believe spans over two-thirds of the book) is pointless: while we are given the opportunity to witness Nudge, Angel, and Iggy gain new powers, ultimately a.) These powers aren’t used, and b.) Nothing really comes from the flock being in Antarctica. The scene where the US Government was trying to get the flock to go to “school” was a complete waste of paper…nothing was gained except a recap of what we already know. The ending of the story is extremely weak, and doesn’t even leave you with a decent cliffhanger moment. On top of ALL this, Patterson pulls a sly one on us, reveals that Jeb is NOT the Voice, and yet, the Voice plays no significant part in the story, and we don’t hear from it for the second half of the book. The Voice is extremely helpful in the first three books, even going so far as to help Max in individual fights. Here, it simply tells Max some coordinates and goes on its merry way.
Overall, while The Final Warning may have been a decent, even good book individually, as part of the series, [it doesn’t hold up to the standard of the others]
[edited to remove rudeness]
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I also agree with jaimie and Glenn. Actually, I think this book was an absolute waste–none of the characters were developed–even those of the flock. I became uninterested in their plight, and the few snippets of the relationship between Max and Fang were let downs.
The new powers were completely irrelevant, and several things were left unsolved (i.e. the pizza incident for those who have read it, and the Voice). By the end of the book, I even felt tired of hearing Max’s normally humorous thoughts. It seemed like her point of view became tainted with “Well, I lead the flock so…” She no longer had some sort of flaw, and I the reader was unable to relate with Max.
Perhaps the Global Warming would have made a nice, subtle undercurrent. But it was overly blatant and cheesy, and the book did not fit at all. Mr. Patterson took us from Antarctica, to Miami, to the White House. Suddenly, a girl who wasn’t even sure of Global Warming started preaching to the world about it? Ridiculous.
[edited to delete rudeness]
.
Here’s to hoping for a fifth book [which is better].
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Thank you all for your comments. While I agree that this isn’t the best of the Maximum Ride series, I do think it is significantly better than many of the YA/tween books available, and absolutely disagree with many of you. A “not as great” Max book is still a good book, and I’m glad I read it.
Calling a book a “waste” is not a constructive comment, and I ask future commenters to leave a more specific comment. Authors work really hard to write what you read, so please be polite.
Everyone has a right to an opinion, but I will edit comments that are rude.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
This is the worst in the series, and though still an ok book overall, it was the ultimate betrayal to the fans, particularly considering that we clicked a million times to get this book. The worst part is that James Patterson calls this his “best story ever”. For all the praise any reviewer gives this. The true fans know that its the worst in the series and stinks of a writer who’s either caving to pressure from a load of eco-activists, or totally phoning it in cuz of the instant cash. Those new to the series will be happy with this book but, barring a Maximum Ride 5, don’t read this if you read the first three, cuz it’s a waste of your time
April 13th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
This is most definitely the worst in the series, with AE being the best, and the quality of the writing going downhill progressively. SOF was tolerable, SWOES was annoying, but TFW was the first book that made me want to throw it across the room.
There has been a comment on the boards that says it should have been called Maximum Ride: a compilation of every fanfic ever written. Similar to SWOES, it is easy to see where elements in the books were also used in fanfiction, prior to said books release. Either JP is plagiarising his fanfiction authors or he’s really predictable with his plotlines - The Martinez’s being Max’s family, for one example. Hell, that one was FFicced after BOOK ONE. Personally, I hope it’s the latter, because the former - if a multimillionaire writer’s looking at his fans for a plot, there’s something seriously wrong.
I also got the feeling that it was a mismash of the other books, with the preachy global warming twist. And I thought the Blog was annoying. Ick - I don’t want to be brainwashed. JP, you’d be better of preaching to your adult readers! Brigid was Lissa revamped, The uber-director - well, enough said, and the auction, and the DC scenes were more or less lifted from When The Wind Blows and The Lake House. Akila - they already have a damn dog, and the powers, plus the whole ‘we’re mutating on our own, hey fangirl writers, give us really stupid powers’ thing.
In agreement with the above three posters - they’re right. If a fifth book is released, people are gonna buy it, yes, but whether or not they like it is whether or not I buy it.
Pretending that book one’s the only one in the ’series’.
Mai, faithful fanfic writer who’s really annoyed about being swamped with icky little preteens who think they can write (that’s ‘rite, lol!1!!!1)
May 14th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I wish that you wouldn’t just single out young folks as readers for “Maximum Ride” because I’m sixty-nine years old and enjoy these characters very much! I’m looking forward to the next one.
I’ve read each of the books and “The Final Warning” was just as interesting as the others in the series!
Thank you, James Patterson.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I’m 14 and I love the Maximum Ride series. I read the first book in school and thought it was a good book. A friend of mine had the second book so I borrowed it and read that too. That’s when I really started to get into it and get drawn into the story. I finished that book in a few hours. When I got to the 3rd book I read non-stop. If anyone even came into my room to interrupt me I would be like “Come back in a couple hours, now go!” And jump right back into the book.
After the 3rd book I waited for months for the fourth book. On the day it came out I went right after school to go buy it. I finished the book in a little less than 3 hours. I have to agree with some readers to say it was a disappointment. Though I don’t consider it awful and a waste. I enjoyed reading it but when I was done I was just like “huh?” I loved some parts, but some parts seemed random to me.
Like when they were in Miami and a hurricane just happens to break the hurricane proof windows and they go flying out into the hallway. Oh and right before they smash into a window the window breaks and they sail through almost unharmed. Plus they get in the eye of the storm? Isn’t that convenient? That part was a bit random for me and too easy.
I became accustomed to fight scenes and all this action. To me there seemed to not be a lot of action, a little bit here and there but not like in the other books. SO in the 4th book it was, “no action, no action, no action, no action, Oh my god! ACTION FINALLY, oh wait the book is done.”
I am glad that James Patterson addressed Global Warming because I feel that is very important. However I think that the entire book was too full of Global Warming facts and not enough of the fast paced action that we’ve all come to know and love.
Also the powers seem a bit strange. I think it is so cool that Total gets wings. Some people think it’s stupid but I personally like it. I also like Fang’s power because it suits his personality. I also liked that Iggy can start to see a bit. I once again understand why people think that it’s what a bunch of fanfiction writers include in their stories. I personally liked it because Iggy is such a sweetie (even though he doesn’t really exist) and I feel he deserves to get his sight back.
Nudge’s power is “… “ to me. It seemed random once again. Angel turning into a bird… is odd. Gasman’s very smelly power is a bit strange too since it doesn’t seem to come in handy that much but it makes sense for Gazzy.
I still enjoyed the book especially those little humorous moments that made me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe. I just wasn’t jumping up and down at the end.
There are sooooooo many unanswered questions and I understand they will all be answered in due time, but JP’s just adding more confusion. When the 5th book does come out I’m going to read it of course! I just hope the next book is better than the 4th.
(Wow sorry about the long reply)