Five years ago, I said goodbye to my favorite series. Imagine my surprise when I'm scrolling through Amazon and see a book by James Patterson with a suspicious-looking cover. That surprise deepens when I notice the words "First came Maximum Ride..." written right underneath what appears to be the title. See, the Maximum Ride series has probably had 5 or 6 "endings" to the series. Each time, fans have begrudgingly said goodbye to favorite characters, only to be smacked in the face with a new James Patterson book in the series, yet again. However, 5 years ago, it really did appear to be the end. Patterson must have been bored during quarantine, because along came Hawk.

Don't get me wrong, this was a great book for long-time fans of the series. But if you're looking to get into the books now, definitely don't start with this one, despite the claims of some reviewers. Trust me, even as someone who read these books religiously back in middle school and high school, I still found myself having to look stuff up because of subtle references that made big differences. (Do I recommend you go read the books in order if you haven't already? Absolutely. Where have you been? Living under a rock?)

Meeting up with my favorite characters from the past was heartwarming, but I will say, I missed Max's voice the most. Getting a portion of the book in her voice again was awesome. However, is it maybe just time to say goodbye for real? I mean, great book, and I'd love to continue on with the Flock, and I'm loving the next-generation vibes from this one. However, this is the 10th book in the series, and maybe it's time to let Max go, and instead focus on the world as a whole.

That all being said, what's up with the world? We left off the last book after a nuclear blast that basically fried the entire planet, and I was not really convinced by the lack of, well, apocalyptic-ness? This felt more like 2012 dystopia than a 2020 Maximum Ride continuation. Still, I was drawn in from the beginning, and got hit by every single stinking twist, just like I always do with James Patterson. Do I recommend it? Yes. But only to people who want their hearts shattered. (Iykyk).