School's Out - Forever (Maximum Ride, Book 2)
Grade 6-10–This book picks up exactly whereThe Angel Experiment(Little, Brown, 2005) left off. The six genetically engineered bird children have escaped from the wolf-hybrid Erasers again, Max is still hearing The Voice in her head, and she is still reeling from the revelation that Ari, the most persistent of all the Erasers, is dead by her hand and that he might be her brother. From this point forward, there is action, but no distinctive plot. The closest the story line comes to compelling is when the kids are taken in and enrolled in school by a seemingly kind woman who just happens to be a high-ranking FBI agent. It will not shock readers when it is eventually revealed that she has betrayed them. This book is full of as many twists, turns, and conspiracies as an episode of daytime drama. And just like a soap opera, it relies heavily on melodrama until the very end, whereupon readers discover that very little has actually happened. The story is disappointingly anticlimactic and violent. Still, it does have some appeal–the children continually outmaneuver their attackers without permanent damage. Plus, the talking dog they pick up during their adventures is sure to entertain.–Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, COCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.