School's Out Forever
Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the "Flock" – Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel – are just like ordinary kids, only they have wings and can fly. It seems like a dream come true; except that they're being hunted by half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" who can also fly.
Max's epic journey continues as the Flock members are taken under the wing of an FBI agent and try to live "normal" lives by going to school, making friends and continuing their relentless search for their parents. But the Erasers return, forcing the Flock to abandon their search and make their escape once again. The voice inside Max's head keeps telling her that it's up to her to save the world, but this is especially challenging to do when she is faced with her ultimate match: a newer and better version of herself, Maximum Ride II. Max's heart-stopping quest to investigate the mystery of her ultimate destiny continues...
ALA Teens' Top Ten (2007)
About the Maximum Ride Series
Books in series order
- 1.The Angel Experiment(2005)
- 2.School's Out Forever(2006)
- 3.Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports(2007)
- 4.The Final Warning(2008)
- 5.Max(2009)
- 6.Fang(2010)
- 7.Angel(2011)
- 8.Nevermore(2012)
- 9.Maximum Ride Forever(2015)
Reading age: 11+ years
This series should be read in order.
Many kids daydream about having wings and being able to soar across the sky. Be careful what you wish for. For the narrator, 14-year-old Max, it’s no dream.
Maximum Ride is Max’s full name, and she lives with her close-knit 'family': They may not be related to her by blood, but the six of them – Fang, 14; Iggy, 14 and blind; Nudge, 11; the Gasman, 8; and his little sister, Angel, 6 – have spent the past four years hiding out at a house high in the mountains. The six children were bred by scientists who, as an experiment, grafted avian DNA onto their human genes, and kept them in cages in a science lab/prison called the School. They’re 98% human, and 2% avian. They’ve all got wings. And they can fly.
The scientists have developed another mutant group, part human, part wolf, called Erasers. They look human, but can morph at will into fanged and bloodthirsty wolf men. When Max's nightly nightmare of being discovered by Erasers comes true one morning, Angel is kidnapped and taken back to the School. Max and her flock set out on a rescue mission, which, if there are no interruptions, will span 600 miles and 7 hours of flying time. But, unfortunately, there are many interruptions...
(Teachers' Pick series)