The Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson (lit circle 1)

Though we skipped the second book, the third installment did a complete review in the beginning of the book. The bird flock is back but Max, the head of the bird flock, is struggling to remain positive and strong. Though she is constantly getting questioned as the leader by her right hand man, Fang. Fang, honestly wouldn't surprise me if he became bad but would be hard to tack in for Max because they are the best of friend and eventually most likely to hook up by the end of the series. Her leader skills gets questioned when Fang wants to go to a football game and of course, Nudge, Gasman, Iggy, and Angel want to experience being normal children.

"We stepped through an opening in the cement wall and moved a couple yards away. I put my hands on my hips.'since when are you calling the shots?'I demanded. 'We can't go to the football game! There's going to be cameras everywhere. What are you thinking?'
Fang looked at me seriously, his eyes unreadable.'One, it's going to be an awesome game. Two, we're seizing life by the rail. Three, yeah, there's going to be cameras everywhere. We'll be spotted. The School and the Institute and Jeb and the rest or the whitecoats probably have feeds tapping every public camera. So they'll know where we are..........I weighed Fang's sanity against my determination to remain leader. Finally I sighed and nodded. 'Okay, I get it. One major firefight, coming right up. But you so owe me. I mean, my God, football!"

Max's points for not going are all understandable and therefore they should have stayed. Max choose to go because they are just children struggling to survive but stay normal children. Given they don't necessarily live in a home and live off of stolen money or fly in the sky but every child deserves a childhood full of fun memories, then having to worry about saving the world. Fang's "mysteriousness" is weird and annoying sometimes because he's all quiet but the one that most wants to be normal then any of them. He balances the saving the world and living as normal children. I like that but Max was right on trying to save the world first then living their normal lives. By the time they got they got caught before second half, that's crazy. Though people by then are use to seeing these mutants fly, headlining in newspapers and T.V channels.

"He shrugged and stood to start wheeling me forward again. 'I'll die. They would
have exterminated me with the others, but my time is really close anyway. So
they cut me a break. Because, you know, I'm Jeb's son.'
His voice cracked as
he said that, and I stared straight ahead down the hall.
this was a new low,
even for mad scientists."

This is an all new low for scientists! This was a tearful moment of the book and I realized that Ari who was talking in this quote is Max's brother. Because I remember from the first book Jeb screamed that Ari was Max's brother and if he is the brother then Jeb is her father. That was what Max wanted in the first place, a father, who she wished was Jeb. Indeed he would be and Ari would be her brother but Max doesn't acknowledge that. Poor Ari, only seven and close to dying. I wonder if the rest of the bird flock have a retirement date. Such a sad part about the book, but I think Ari was changed and so he could be able to leave with the bird flock, though some won't like the thought.

All I can say is this section of the book opens up to varitey of possible outcomes to the end of the book. The most greuling part would be the mad scientists who would do anything to kill off this bird flock. The adventure seens are written so delicatley that I can visualize what I am reading. So far, so good.