Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: School's Out—Forever

Kliatt, Sept, 2006 by Janet Julian

PATTERSON, James. Maximum ride: school's out--forever. Read by Nancy Wu and James Jenner. 9 cds. 10.5 hrs. Recorded Books. 2006. 1-4193-9420-7. $94.75. Vinyl; plot notes. JSA*

From the starred review of the book in KLIATT, March 2006: "Brave, wisecracking, teenage Max is back, trying to save her 'flock' of mutant bird-kids ... along with their talking dog, from vicious, wolf-like Erasers. She's also dealing with a Voice in her head that insists she has a mission to save the world. In this second installment of the SF trilogy, the six young people are flying down the East Coast, searching for their parents, when one of them is badly hurt in a clash with Erasers and they're forced to lie low while he recovers. The FBI director, a kind woman named Anne (but can they trust her?), takes them to stay with her in rural Virginia, and they even attend schoolman eye--opening experience for all involved. But Erasers, accompanied by a clone of Max, are still on their trail, and even Disney World isn't safe...."

In this sequel to Maximum Ride, although two narrators are listed, Jenner gets very little airtime. The bulk of the performance is left to the estimable Wu, who narrates from Max's POV--99% of the story. Jenner is left with the POV of one of the Erasers, an angry wolf/human/avian out for vengeance. Wu does Max, various scientists and doctors, a female FBI agent, the Voice in Max's head, drug dealers, Max's clone, and the rest of the flock. Angel, the six-year-old mind reader, has an appropriately little-girl voice. Fourteen-year-old Fang is a tough teen male. Starred narration of a starred novel--excellent in all ways. Janet Julian, English Teacher (retired), Grafton, MA

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.

*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.