I've heard Patterson's name every once in a while over the years but never got around to reading one of his books. Last week my husband and I went by a thrift store to drop off some yarn and I checked out their books. Saw this book, thought it sounded interesting, and thought, "Why not?"(Edit: When I went to shelve this book I discovered that I had 2nd Chance, the second in the Women's Murder Club. I have in fact read two other books of his, they simply left hardly an impression.)Ever watched a movie or a read a book where at the end you ask, "Why didn't the protagonist just do (fill in the blank) in the beginning?" Yep, this is pretty much one of those. If Frannie, Kit, and the 6 children had just done a few things differently in the beginning the book would've been much different, and better. There were decisions made that were just not that smart, perhaps not dumb, but there were smarter options available.The book also felt cliché. Mad scientist, doctor with ego the size of the planet, said doctor has clones of himself and a Stepford Wife, FBI without a sense of humor, clueless parents, a teen girl who falls in love, women melting into mens arms, so on. The oldies are sometimes not that great.I do hope this is not the best example of his writing.(view spoiler)[Hmmm… Not bored so far. There are a few things I take issue with. There was an experiment done where bird DNA was put together with human DNA. The children were put into women who were unaware of the type of fertilize egg being implanted. At around 8 months these women were then told that there was something wrong with the pregnancy and an emergency C-section would have to be done. Afterward the parents were then told that the child died.In the previous book this was all uncovered. The children are now back with their biological parents. The woman and man who had rescued the children sued for custody, and lost. This first part deals with the hearing.The issue I take is the arguments used in the hearing are pretty bad. The lawyer on the side of the bio parents use the unmarried, no children status of the individual suing for custody as reasons why they make bad parents. Ha, that could easily be dismissed. The individuals suing for custody know that the children would do much better in her care because the children have imprinted on her and the man, but this is never bought up.The proceeding seemed overly simplified. It felt as if Patterson had to write it but didn't want to bother with fleshing it out and giving it some meat.Part 2: Flying LessonsNot catching me really. Nothing wrong with it but… Just not getting into it. The writing is good though, so I may look into some of Patterson's other books. This does feel like it is written for a younger audience.As far as I can tell, the parents of the children are idiots. Frannie and Kit (the two who tried for custody) have gone their separate ways and neither have attempted visiting any of the children. That is what I don't get. Just because they didn't get custody doesn't mean they can't be friends with they children.No one is calling child abuse on the way the bio parents excessively push reporters onto these children. I'm also puzzled as to how a judge can come to the conclusion that splitting up 6 children that have been together ranging from 4-12 years in the best interest for the children.Part 3: House CallsThe Stepford Wife crap? Really! Sure it fits this guys personality but is rather a silly thing to add in my opinion. Stereotypical. This book seems to rely heavily on stereotypes. The evil genius doctor, the courts siding with married bio parents simply because they are bio and married, the FBI agent who sides with the FBI over his feelings for the children, parents are all into using the children as money makers. It feels as if this book is full of stereotypes and has a dearth of personalities.As for flying the coop? I personally wonder what took them so long. It's not like living with bio parents was actually providing them with anything but an awkward attempt at normalcy.Part 4: Yellow Brick RoadNot certain why this part is named as it is. Finally things seem to be moving along. No more reading about moping kids, sad adults, or gerk offs. Now something is actually happening. Of course we get to witness the stereotypical woman melting into a man's arms, twice. I do wonder why the Doctor waited so long to move on the kids.Part 5: The HospitalSo, Frannie and Kit decide it would be a good idea to leave 6 children who are being hunted alone? Really? Seriously? Not only that, they head off to talk to somebody in a hospital that they think is The Hospital and it never occurs to them that by doing so they could very well be warning the person who is having these children hunted down. Wow! Good job there, smart! *eye roll* And the clone thing is just silly as well.Part 6: A Brand New Day & EpilogueToo bad Oz had to die. I skimmed most of this, was ready for another read.. (hide spoiler)]
I really liked reading this book!FBI agent Kit Harrison and veterinarian Frannie O’Neill are seen fighting for the custody of their six genetically inclined children. Even though Frannie and Kit aren’t the biological parents, they have a closer bond to these children and consider themselves their “real” parents. After the trial, the judge decides that the children should be reunited with their biological parents because Frannie and Kit aren’t married and could not be accountable for the responsibility of the children. As the children spend time with their birth parents, things start to become overwhelming for the oldest child, Max. She is surrounded by reporters who don’t stop asking her questions about The School and her possible future as a mutant in the real world. Max starts to feel overwhelmed with the situation so she gathers up all of the other children from their homes and runs away. The children run away to find the parents they want to be with, Frannie and Kit. As soon as the “flock” is reunited they all run away because they know bad people are out there to try and capture the children. Max later on starts to fall in love with a young boy about her age and of her kind in the flock. Before she knows it, her love couldn’t last forever because something very tragic happened between the two. This event affects the whole entire family and Max will never feel the same again.We are later reintroduced to the antagonist of the story, Dr. Ethan Kane. Dr. Kane is well known for his illegal experiments using real people as donors for his “project”. Kane is a man of absurd cruelness. He will and has killed anyone that just stood in his way. He is a determined person that is willing to do anything to capture these precious children because he claims to be the creator of all six of them. Dr. Ethan Kane believes that by catching these extraordinary children, they can be evolutionary leaders for the new generations. Kane works in The Hospital with many other scientists working on DNA engineering in animals. The Hospital has symbolic resemblance to The School in “When the Wind Blows”. But The Hospital is considered to be far more worse than The School. I think James Patterson did such a fantastic job writing this book. This book kept me just aching to read more. The author kept adding suspense to keep me hooked on to this book. I highly recommend reading this book! It is such a great book to read and you can learn many life lessons from reading it.This story highly interested me into reading a new series from James Patterson called, "Maximum Ride". I am looking forward to see what else James Patterson has to offer in this next series of books.
What do You think about The Lake House (2005)?
this is the second book from When The Wind Blows and I must say it's pale when compared to the former.I find that there are just too many procedures in this second book..court procedures. .the hospital. ..etc.my guess is thst The Hospital is supposed to be intriguing but after awhile I felt nonchalant/bored/frustrated about it as not much new things were revealed. same old same old. the mysterious Dr . then the cut and dump. only near the ending did the pace speed up.it would have been better if more explaination were unfold by the middle of the book instead of waiting till the end. Or the very least, a more visible hint on what's going on.overall it had been a likeable reads for me.
—Kathy Chung
The story continues in the second novel of the duology. The mystery continues and questions will be answered. The flock continues to fight their battles with Dr. Kane and so much more.It wasn't bad, but it was a huge letdown. The main problem would be the execution of the plot. It wasn't as amazing as it should've been. Romance overpowered the whole novel. The amount was more than it should've been. The main story wasn't tackled because of the vast amount of romance building. The ending felt so rushed too. With less than 10 pages left, that's where the exciting action happened. When I was ready to finally finish it, Patterson decided to add in one last little scene that made the novel better than it was. If he wrote the ending differently, this would've gotten a 2 from me.Vast amount of romance aside, this was a good novel. The ending was better than expected, although it was a bit cheesy for me. The writing still felt like it was for the young-adult. I've read way better from Patterson, and I know I'll be reading more better ones from him. 3.5/5 stars. Not Patterson's best book, and also not his best prequel duology. It still felt awesome that I've read more of Maximum Ride, but overall, I'm a bit disappointed.
—Will M.
It seems that a lot of James Patterson's books are either hit or miss with me. This was another one that seemed too far-fetched for me. I got about halfway through it before I decided I wasn't going to bother wasting anymore time on it. It seemed pretty good from reading the synopsis of it, but then when I read it the synopsis was truthful and all but it left out a good deal of the real storyline, for example that the kids in the book are half human, half bird. It also states in the beginning of the book that he had consulted with scientists who have said that the things that happened in the book will be possible in a matter of years. I'm not sure if he was talking about bird children, in which case that would be frightening, or if he was talking about something else from the book. Anyway, I just didn't care enough for this book to actually finish reading it.
—Sarah
