FRIDAY'S FABULOUS FIVE-LAST DAY!

FRIDAY'S FABULOUS FIVE

JAMES PATTERSON'S MAXIMUM RIDE SERIES
GIVEAWAY'S LAST DAY

Please note this giveaway ENDED ON MARCH 20 as I still have people entering thus the reason some of your comments are being rejected rather than being posted. Sorry, try for THE TERROR as it ends March 21 or GALWAY BAY ends March 30. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!
Today is the last day to enter the James Patterson Fabulous Five. The Grand Giveaway winner will receive all 5 books in the Maximum Ride Series including just released book # 5, MAX! Three first prize winners will receive copies of MAX.

(The synopses of the first 4 books in the series are from Barnes&Noble.com)

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the "Flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time--like when Angel, the youngest member of the "Flock," is kidnapped and taken back to the "School" where she and the others were genetically engineered by sinister scientists. Her friends brave a journey to blazing hot Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare--this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf "Erasers" in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb--now her betrayed and greatest enemy--that her purpose is save the world--but can she?

MAXIMUM RIDE: 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 fly, too.
In Book 2 of the series, 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 mind-blowing mystery of her ultimate destiny continues in the scariest, strangest, and funniest James Patterson novel yet.

MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS

There's one last chance to save the world in the third book in the Maximum Ride series, SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS. The time has arrived for Max and her winged "flock" to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of "Re-evolution"--a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race...and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them--but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

MAXIMUM RIDE: THE FINAL WARNING

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of "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 still being hunted by new threats at every turn.
This time, the U.S. government wants to keep the Flock under observation, offering a safe haven and schooling in return. But after their incredible adventures in books under observation, offering a safe haven and schooling in return. But after their incredible adventures in books 1-3, Max and Flock have grown to love freedom- -after all, haven't grown-ups always found a way to ruin their lives? After escaping the control of the feds, they are surprised to find themselves allied with a group of environmental scientists who just might be trustworthy. Besides, what enemy could find them in one of the remotest locations on earth--Antarctica--on an expedition studying the effects of global warming up close?
There is one: The Uber-Director--literally, brains on a stick--an evil being who has developed mechanical soldiers far more frightening than Erasers. Their quest? To retrieve the Flock and sell them in a global auction for billions of dollars. Will the Uber-Director nab them before Max, Fang and the flock succumb to the dangers of the harsh Antarctic wilderness? Kids, parents and educators tuned into the issue of global warming will find this latest episode of the blockbuster Maximum Ride series not only a particularly riveting adventure beyond their wildest dreams, but also a motivating cautionary tale about a real-life peril that may affect their own future.

My Review of MAX by James Patterson

Of all the MAXIMUM RIDE series books, I found MAX to be the most enjoyable. This is a book that is a fast paced adventure as well as having a good story within. When we last saw Max and “the Flock”, they were in freezing Antarctica. The avian gang includes Fang, Nudge, the Gasman, and Iggy, all who are genetically changed so that they are 98 percent human and only 2 percent bird as well as Angel who is the six-year-old telepathic member, and of course their talking dog Total, who adds a bit of comedy with his sarcasm. Now they are in the warm sun of southern California.

The story opens with the flock putting on an aerial show that Max’s mom, Dr. Valencia Martinez, has put together to help get out the important information of a group of scientists known as the Coalition to Stop the Madness. They want people aware of pollution, greenhouse gases and all type of harmful activities for earth. Unfortunately, as the show is going on, the flock is attacked by a sniper who just barely misses Max. This is followed soon after by a kidnapping, and by this time the story has picked up steam and you can’t put it down. The latest in villains to the flock is Mr. Chu and his cyborg helpers. All of this leads our young heroes into the deepest parts of the Pacific. Here they discover that the Chu Corporation is involved as they have been dumping dangerous toxic wastes directly into the ocean-thus the fish kill. With the help of some sea monsters, Max rescues her mom but her Voice warns her about someone close to them. This leaves readers anxious and they will not be satisfied now until there is another novel to follow up after this one.

While there is still the background of global warming, it isn’t the main focus of this entry as it was in the last book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and the flock in the water. That is, when they learn of fish dying by the thousands off the Hawaiian Islands, they go to investigate. What they find is that someone or some thing is destroying hundred of ships and thus there is the threat of a huge ecologically traumatic event about to occur. In order to solve this, they have to go into the deep water to solve the problem. Unbeknownst to them, is a villain who is watching and waiting to kill them at a moment’s notice.

And so while Max and her partners are in the deep ocean, they are being followed and tracked. The villain has his own plans and they include using the flock. The question of if the flock can save themselves or fall under the evil spell of the villain and his vast army, is what makes this book tick. The salvation of earth lies in their hands. Patterson’s development of each character helps quite a bit in this story as it make you know each of them better and in a more “human” way, if that is possible.

The short chapter style that Patterson uses makes for always exciting cliff hangers and thus the reason you sit down and literally can finish the book in one sitting…that is if you have no other basic needs or a job to attend to. If you don’t, then I strongly recommend you read this book and find out just who is the monster, the villain, in this story which will prove to be the hook that keeps you reading.

MAX is a sweet ride and one that young and old will adore for all the right reasons. Of course, as with all the books in this series, it will leave us wanting for just one more!

Submitted to BOOKIN’ WITH BINGO by K.H. (Bingo), March, 2009

Thank you to Miriam and the Hachette Book Group, Bingo's favorite author, James Patterson, is the "M" Highlight of this Madness Month!

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN WIN:

GRAND GIVEAWAY: All FIVE books in James Patterson's MAXIMUM RIDE Series including the just released on March 16th 5th book MAX!!
You will receive books 1-5 of the Maximum Ride Series--

• THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT
• SCHOOL'S OUT - FOREVER
• SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS
• THE FINAL WARNING
• and the new hardback March 16th release, MAX

AND THREE (3) First "PRIZE" Giveaways of copies of MAX

Now here is all you have to do to win:

1 entry: Comment telling which is your favorite MAXIMUM RIDE BOOK, OR which you would want to read first if you haven't started the series yet

2 entries: Comment and become a follower (trying for 100), or tell if you already follow

3 entries: Comment, follow, AND blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link to your actual post

Open to US and Canada residents only, no P.O. Boxes, please as per publisher's rules

Dates: March 6 through 6 PM, EST, March 20

Winners will have until 6 PM, EST, March 23 to reply with their mailing address or I will have to choose another name. Please leave some way for me to find you as I will try but.... :D