Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride #3)
By James Patterson
3 out of 5
Saving the World picks up just four days after Schools Out leaves off. The flock is heading west, away from the destruction they left in Florida and towards... they don't know. For the first time ever, Max doesn't have a plan. But don't let the rest of the flock know that. Max wants to stay hidden, but of course the others have different ideas. Fang's blog has taken off and he wants to gain more attention by being seen in public. Of course this means letting Itex and the Erases know where they are. But there are no more Erasers. Except Ari. When the flock finds Ari, Max can't just leave him there. But not everyone agrees. For the first time ever, the flock breaks up. And then, all hell breaks loose.
To be honest, I didn't like this one as much at the others. I think that may be because I am a hopeless romantic and I really wanted Fang and Max to have more time together to figure out their feelings, but that's not completely it. Maybe it's my maturity finally showing, but it felt a little juvenile when Fang was "organizing protests" through his blog. I run a blog, and I have 15 amazing followers, but I don't think any of them would start a riot if I told them to. That being said, it was a fine story. Plenty of parental twists though. There were so many changes in who Max's parents were I started to wonder if I had birthed Max. I didn't like that the flock split up, but I would assume that you weren't supposed to like that, so, good job there. All in all, I am going to finish the series. I am this deep, and I do not give up on things like this. I am just hoping that this is the common "middle of the series lull", and that the books will get better from here on out!
*Sorry this post is super sassy. It's late and I can't control the sass*
White Cat (Curse Workers #1)
By Holly Black
3.5 put of 5
Cassel Sharpe is the only person in his family who is not a worker. Everyone else has a power, luck, physical, emotion, death, but not Cassel. Or so he thinks. But lots of things aren't going well for Cassel. He gets suspended from school because he was sleep walking and he almost jumped off the roof of his building, and then he gets roped into cleaning his mom's house by his grandfather, and now he's having dreams about a white cat. But not just any cat. This cat might just be the lovely Lila, the girl Cassel thought that he killed years ago. And if it is Lila, Cassel's entire life is going to fall apart.
This was a really interesting book. As I usually do, I had no idea what this book was about when I chose to read it. All I knew was that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are friends, and Jace was briefly mentioned in the book. Now I view Cassandra Clare as my religion so I will literally read anything she suggests, reads, thinks about, or breaths on. So Holly Black was on the to-read list. Luckily, this is a good book. I really like Cassel as a character. He is complex and real and you can sympathize with him about his struggles of teenage love. Now his struggles of curse workers and lost memories and crazy non-dead girls are a little harder to relate to, but it doesn't hamper the story at all. I never saw some things coming, but at the same time, some things were clearly set up to happen. I will definitely have to check out the next books in this series, and other Holly Black books in the future. out o
School's Out--Forever (Maximum Ride #2)
By James Patterson
3.5 out of 5
The second book starts pretty much where the last book left off. The flock is heading to Washington DC to search for the parents and find out some answers. But of course, they run right into some Erasers. Flying Erasers. Fights ensue and Fang ends up injured. With nothing else to do, they have to take him to a hospital. There they meet Anne. Anne is an FBI agent who seems to want to help the flock. But is she really trustworthy? And how much does she actually know about the School, the flock, and the whitecoats? Will the flock be safe with Anne? Max doesn't think so, but she just doesn't have much of a choice.
It has been a while since I read The Angel Experiment so I was a little rusty when the story started, but I was able to jump right back in. I was worried that I would be too mature to read these books, which are told from the point of view of 14 year old Maximum Ride, but it wasn't an issue. Max is wise beyond her years and it shows in everything she does. I still like the story and everything that happens. An enjoyable read, that reminded me of my family, and the first time I read the first book in this series. I love the interactions between Fang and Max and I can't wait for that to build, and hopefully come to a happy ending!
Les Miserables
By Victor Hugo
4 out of 5
The classic novel about the unfortunate life of Jean Valjean and the people he meets along the way. The stories of Fantine, Cosette, Marius, the Bishop, Javert, and the Thernardiers are all tangled together in this story, and it is a story full of pain, love, and self sacrifice.
Finally!! After almost an entire year, I have conquered the mountain that is Les Mis. While I don't regret reading it at all, I do regret how long it took me to finish it! I thought about giving up multiple times--100 pages about the Battle of Waterl00--but I am so glad that I didn't. The story of Les Mis was one that I enjoyed and I am proud to say that I have read every single word.
I really like the idea of reading "classics", and so I think that, every summer, I am going to choose a classic to read. This will be a way of broadening my reading horizons, and also getting to learn about what makes a classic, a classic. I hope I can follow through on this goal, and I will revisit the world of classic literature next June when I get out of school.
