Maximum Ride(2016)

Plot Summary

• "Congratulations. The fact that you're reading this means that you've taken one giant step closer to surviving till your next birthday. Yes you, sitting there reading this book. DO NOT PUT IT DOWN. I'm dead serious. Your life could depend on it. This is my story. The story of my family, but it could just as easily be your story, too. We're ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. Trust me on that. I've never done anything like this, so I'm gonna jump in, and you try to keep up. I'm Max. I'm 14. I live with my family, who are five kids not related to me by blood but still totally my family. We're... well, kind of amazing, not to sound too full of myself, but we're like nothing you've ever seen before. Basically, we're pretty cool. Nice. Smart. But NOT average in ANY way. The six of us, Me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, The Gasman, and Angel, were made on purpose, by the sickest, most HORRIBLE scientists you could possibly imagine. They created us as an experiment, an experiment where we only ended up 98% human. That other 2% has had a BIG impact, lemme tell you. We grew up in a science lab slash prison, called the School. In cages. Like lab rats. It's pretty amazing that we can think or speak at all, but we can. And so much more. There was one other School experiment that made it past infancy. Part Human, part wolf, ALL PREDATOR, they're called Erasers. They're tough, smart, and hard to control. They look human but, when they want to, they are capable of morphing into wolf MEN complete with fur, fangs, and claws. The School uses them as Guards, Police, and executioners. To them, we're six moving targets, prey smart enough to be a fun challenge. Basically, they want to rip our throats out... and make sure the world never finds out about us, but I'm not lying down just yet. I'm telling YOU, right? This story could be about you. Or your children. Not today. Soon. So please, PLEASE take this seriously. I'm risking everything that matters by telling you, but you need to know. Keep listening. Don't let anyone stop you."Maximum Ride is a story about six kids: Max, 14. Fang, 14. Iggy, 14. Nudge, 11. The Gasman (don't ask why) is 8, and Angel is 6. They were created by the sickest scientists you'll ever meet - but consider yourself lucky if you don't. They turned out 98% humans. Oh, the other 2%? They're birds. Yep. They can fly - with real wings! A man, Jeb Batchelder, captured them from the School, the place they were created in, four years ago. Two years ago, he disappeared. They all knew he had been killed, and they're on a mission to find their parents, to find out if they were test-tube babies (which they weren't). Max also has to try and save the world while escaping from Lupine-Humans, a.k.a. Erasers. They're wolf-creatures who can also fly. They have razor-sharp fangs and claws. Ari, Jeb Batchelder's son, was turned into an Eraser when he was three. He's seven now. Jeb is also alive. Shocker, I know. Now the flock is running around the world, NYC, LA, Germany, Antarctica, Africa, you never know.

Storyline

• Having been broken out from the lab that created them, six winged children have cared for themselves over the last two years in an isolated mountain home. Their fragile peace ends when wolf-boys (known as Erasers) abduct their youngest. The flock (as they're called) takes flight for a rescue, only to discover their true situation. — statmanjeff Six children aren't your average kids: Max (14 years old), Fang (14), Iggy (14), Nudge (11), Gazzy (8), and Angel (6). They're special hybrid-humans with 2% avian DNA infused into them. They escaped the lab known as "The School" with the help of their caretaker, Jeb Batchleder, and have been living cloistered and unsupervised in an isolated mountain retreat ever since. When Erasers (School guards with 2% wolf DNA infused into them) nab Angel, the flock takes wing on a desperate flight to get her back, eventually learning some stunning secrets. — Fyreflight And Jaydea