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60. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
This is the third in a series of young adult novels about some genetically engineered kids who have wings and can fly. I have not read the first two novels in the series, but I don't think that impeded my understanding of the story too much. So there is a 'flock' of kids from about 6-14 who were genetically engineered to have wings, and in this book they have to save the world from a plot by evil scientists all the while running around evading the scientists who want to kill them. They are lead by the title character, called Max, a 14 year old girl. I really liked the main character although some of the others seemed a little thin. But Max is really spunky, strong, adventurous and a good leader. The story is pretty good and gives us good messages about family, teamwork, and how anyone can make a difference, but I was never really very clear on exactly what the evil scientists' plan was, or why they made that plan. There's also a lot of really self-referential stuff in the book. Like one of the characters has a blog which really exists -- it's used is a plot point in the book, but sometimes it seemed like Patterson was trying to hard. Like he wanted to be all cool for the teens but over did it. Anyway, I am an old fuddy duddy, so what do I know? I'd be interested to see what actual young adults think of the books. I think this book is worth it though for the action and the awesome character of Max. She is a really great, strong female character, so I am happy about that no matter what.

*disclaimer: I received a copy of the book and an Amazon gift certificate in exchange for a review.