#Maximum ride

[meixiaotian]

[image description: comic art of an extremely muscular man with fur on his arms and head. /end description]

the maximum ride books are so fucking insane. james patterson wrote down literally whatever he wanted about a group of weird bird kids, threw in some wild plot about eugenics or global warming or nuclear winter or whatever, did not edit or proofread the manuscript, and then sent it to his publisher. he did this nine times. not once did anything in them make sense. and the books had a CHOKEHOLD on middle schoolers everywhere

[crow-caller]

as a child there's nothing cooler than a kid who gets subjected to evil experiments and gains special abilities. it's even cooler if these abilities also cause unfathomable suffering to use/against others. children love stories like this.

[not-kat]

i can't be the only one who still thinks about maximum ride

[wall-maria-around-ba-sing-se]

Maximum Rideheads grab your child-in-an-adults-body warewolf brother

[minimum-ride]

"the angel experiment" was such a sick name for the first book of the world's most disappointing series. are you kidding me. angels, the untouchable divine beings... you managed to EXPERIMENT on them? and then it just turns out its just The World's Worst Dad

[jaztice]

NEW!!! ART!!!! WHO!!! DIS!!!

everyone welcome the Chosen, Fallen, Miscreant, Prodigy, and Weapon to the official art club for Extra Ordinary!!! All illustrations done by the wonderful @binturong-draws!

[alsoanyways]

sorry james they're actually my characters now (legally this is a joke)

anyway here's a list of things that are true in my version of things:

Everyone is older, the oldest of them being in their early twenties.

Fang is named Friday. He primarily uses sign language to communicate, but he can talk if he has to.

Nudge is named Dorothy (Dora for short, asked to be called that when she found out it was her real name).

Gazzy is named Gizmo.

Maya names herself Em.

Ari lives and becomes part of the flock.

Em is offered to join the flock after her fight with Max. She declines, but she does join later on.

That weird Dylan and Max were genetically made for each other plot thing does not happen. Em finds him when she makes her escape from the labs and he becomes part of the flock when she does.

The weird preachy save the word max you're the chosen one also isn't a thing here.

please ask me about my other headcanons bc I would love to share them

also here’s the refs I made for their wings!!

[vintrage]

something other than hunger games rq

[theboyatthebustop]

I can’t believe these type of videos exist in the Booktube community

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

One of the things I want to be explored more is Max's general inability to connect with people outside of her immediate circle. Not in the "I'm so socially awkward" way or even "I grew up feral" way, but in the way of Max having spent the first 14 years of her life having everyone she interacted with divided into family or enemies.

Like, this isn't even fully psychology at this point, it's neurology. When her neural pathways were at their infancy all the way up to when her prefrontal cortex was mostly developed, she had the flock that she would die for, and everyone else who wanted to hurt her. That's it. It's no fucking wonder that she felt like Dr. Martinez and Ella were practically family after three days, and that's because her brain has no reference for making friends or casual acquaintances. They were nice to her, and that means they're not enemies, and there's only one other slot in her brain for them to into. It's no wonder that she felt disjointed in Virginia's private school, even when she was trying to make friends, because she's attempting to do something that she has no frame of reference for. Of course Jeb kept wildly oscillating between "my dad who was misguided but tried his best" and "the worst person alive", because he was one of her enemies until age 10 and then immediately made a switch to her caretaker, and that only enforced the dichotomy in her head.

She cannot relate to other people outside of these two scopes. The closest she gets is the romance, and even that has the undercurrent of family because even with all her options (and she had several), she always circled back to Fang. The romance is just an extension of a dynamic that's written into her brain.

And I think there's something genuinely sad about that. How it stunts her ability to interact with other people, how it creates an inability for nuance in her mind. And, ultimately, how it's something she never learns to outgrow.

[aldoodles]

I’m rereading maximum ride, and I still imagine her the same way I did when I was twelve lol

[crow-caller]

top 5 moments in bad books you've read

there's so many directions and options so I'm going to just name things from max ride

When robert the lizard boy emerges from the decapitation of Mr chu, and when Robert the lizard boy is then never addressed, reacted to, or explained again

When the flock learned the manager of an African refugee camp was performing deadly scientific experiments on children in his way of playing God. Something Max calls 'nazi-scary' (the one ref ever to the nazis despite the nazi coding of Itex). The flock then runs away, and this is never mentioned again. Dr. God gives them Dylan and is friends with Jeb and no one blinks. Dr. God then goes on to create a plague in order to 'discover' the cure, an act which means Russia gives him control of their nuclear codes (he is not russian). Dr. God then triggers the nuclear apocalypse— but at the exact same time a meteor strikes. He winds up surviving, using an army of brainwashed teenagers to eradicate the last of humanity. He's the final boss. The Flock could have prevented this.

Total, a talking, flying mutant dog with the personality and interests of a middle aged man, marrying Akila, a normal dog who he explicitly cannot 'talk dog to'.

When iggy gained the ability to see the colour white, but only if it was in contrast to other shades of white. He could see Antarctica but nothing else. This is never addressed again

The fact the final book ended with every beloved child in the flock getting brutally murdered one by one, and that after that is VERY LATE revealed as an (obvious) trick, the reveal it was fake is capped by the revelation one of them secretly died for real

There are many many more

[reshramlove1ob]

I COULDNT FIT ALL OF THEM BUT 🫵

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. This coming-of-age true story is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been in middle school, and especially those who have ever had a bit of their own dental drama.

Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Six unforgettable kids — with no families, no homes — are running for their lives. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. But they don't know where they come from, who's hunting them, why they are different from all other humans... and if they're meant to save mankind — or destroy it.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort - she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because he was a miser and would have money.

Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie had some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she had discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

For more than a century, The Wind in the Willows and its endearing protagonists—Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and, of course, the incorrigible Toad—have enchanted children of all ages. Whether the four friends are setting forth on an exciting adventure, engaging in a comic caper, or simply relaxing by the River Thames, their stories will surprise and captivate you.

Hailed as one of the most enduringly popular works of the twentieth century, this story is a classic of magical fancy and enchanting wit. Penned in lyrical prose, the adventures and misadventures of the book’s intrepid quartet of heroes raise fantasy to the level of myth. Reflecting the freshness of childhood wonder, it still offers adults endless sophistication, substance, and depth.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual stranger—and a possible murderer—to inherit his vast fortune, one thing's for sure: Sam Westing may be dead ... but that won't stop him from playing one last game!

Gone by Michael Grant

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young.

There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your 15th birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Little orphan Heidi goes to live high in the Alps with her gruff grandfather and brings happiness to all who know her on the mountain. When Heidi goes to Frankfurt to work in a wealthy household, she dreams of returning to the mountains and meadows, her friend Peter, and her beloved grandfather.

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

The story begins with a lonely boy named Bastian and the strange book that draws him into the beautiful but doomed world of Fantastica. Only a human can save this enchanted place by giving its ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. But the journey to her tower leads through lands of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic, and once Bastian begins his quest, he may never return. As he is drawn deeper into Fantastica, he must find the courage to face unspeakable foes and the mysteries of his own heart.