Words on School's Out - Forever by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #2)

The flock is whole again, but their troubles are far from over. After a run-in with flying erasers, Fang is badly injured. The flock is forced to seek medical help, and they find themselves on the radar of none other than the FBI. Despite the flock's protests that they are perfectly normal children, (Because, let's face it, they obviously aren't.) the children are sent to live with the FBI agent Anne Walker. The flock is given a home and is provided with everything they want. Anne even goes so far as enrolling the children is a nearby school. While the group is thrilled to finally have a safe home, Max isn't so sure. She resents the way the children listen to Anne, it's true, but more than that, she knows that this haven won't last forever. There has to be a catch, right?

In the meantime, Ari (He's not dead. Man, you just can't kill off book characters like to used to.) wants his revenge on Max. Jeb never payed attention to him, always favoring Max. Now Ari wants to show his father that he is the better child. If that's not enough, the flock isn't free from the School yet, and like it or not, they're caught up in the School's plans once again. Max and the others are also trying to track down their real parents, and in the meantime, they find out that a company called Itex is pulling the strings, unsatisfied with Max's preformance. The flock is part of a puzzle, and they're slowly starting to put it all together.

I saw a lot of interesting developments with the characters, but I'll start with Max. She resents how the flock listens to Anne better than they sometimes listen to her, which is probably one reason she doesn't like the FBI agent. Another reason may be that she simply doesn't trust people she hardly knows, especially if they're adults, let alone adults who work for the government! Also, Max is scared she's going a little crazy, and I don't blame her. Between the Voice that bounces around in her head and the fact that she sometimes looks into the mirror and sees an eraser Max staring back at her, it certainly looks like she's losing it. Speaking of the reflection, that was intriguing. When Max checks her reflection in the mirror, she sees herself as an eraser sometimes, and the reflection occasionally talks to her. It reminds me a bit of what happened to Ali in Through the Zombie Glass. It's more than a little creepy, and I can't wait to see if it continues in the third book!

Second, there was also development from Iggy. He's tired of not really belonging anywhere but with the flock, and Iggy is very adamant about finding his parents, determined to discover his family's whereabouts and be reunited with them. Iggy also admits that he feels vunerable beause of his blindness, and he dreads the day when the flock can't be his eyes, not only because he can't see, but because then they'll be gone. The part that makes me a little angry is that he remebers what it's like to see, and I hate that that was taken away from him in the School while the scientists were messing around with him. I think that was very cruel of them. Of course, Iggy shouldn't have to worry about the flock not being there for him. They're very loyal and I pity the person who tries to mess with them!

Third, there was a little bit of develoment with Fang. Fang gets how Max feels about Anne, although I wouldn't say that he does the best job comforting her about it. Fang points out that you can't always be a mom and a warrior, which ticks Max off a little bit, since she's already shown she's perfectly capable of doing just that for the past couple of years. And, of course, how could I forget how much I ship Max and Fang? The two of them have perfect chemistry, and they're starting to get that. Lastly, Fang also started a blog in this book. You can take a look at it by clicking here. It's absolutely hilarious!

Sadly, I didn't see a lot of development with Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge, but there was some new, interesting stuff about Ari that we learned. He loves Max, but in a twisted sort of way, because he also hates her. It's kind of hard to explain, but I think that as much as he resents her for being his father's favorite, he also loves her as a sister, although I'm not sure he still looks up to her the way he used to as a little kid. Ari's jealous of Max's friends and the fact that she gets so much attention, treated like she's some sort of goddess while Ari is brushed off or even ignored by his own father. He hates Max so much that he loathes her just for being happy. Ari craves his father's approval, and he feels like the only way to get that is by being so much better than Max. It's kind of sad, actually. Much like in The Mortal Instruements, (If you haven't read it, you should!) we see bad fathers teisting their children. Ari might be a bit of a monster now, but It's partly Jeb's fault. If he was more of a loving father, then maybe Ari wouldn't have to feel like he has to act like this for Jeb's attention. It's hard to believe that Ari is only seven years old when he has so much hate!

Lastly with the characters, there is an adult that's important: Anne Walker, the FBI agent taking care of the flock. Anne is amazed by the flock and seems to genuinely care about them. She's undoubtably motherly, trying to act as the flock's parent. Anne tries to help the flock feel normal, enrolling them in school and trying to make sure they get an education. None of it stops Max from disliking her, but it's easy to see how the younger kind adore her. She's the mother with the life and home that they never really had, regardless of Max's efforts.

Like The Angel Experiment, this sequel was funny and exciting with tons of snappy dialogue and adventure. I loved the action - packed plot and character developments. The flock is starting to put together all the puzzle pieces of their existence, and I can't wait for them to solve it. It gave the book an air of mystery. The building feels between Max and Fang was also nice to see, and I can't wait to see more of both in the next book! Once again, this would be a series anyone could read, so definitely share it with your family, younger siblings and all! 4/5 stars. :)

#jamespatterson #humor #madscientists #survival #scifi #friendship