MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel
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| Author | James Patterson |
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| Original title | Waterwings |
| Cover artist | George Montgomery |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young Adult Fiction |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
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Publication date
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March 16, 2009 |
| Media type | (Hardback) |
| Pages | 320 |
| Preceded by | Maximum Ride: The Final Warning |
| Followed by | Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel |
MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel is the fifth book in the Maximum Ride series, written by James Patterson. The book was released on March 16, 2009. MAX was published by Little, Brown and Company.
Dr. Martinez and several of her colleagues establish the Coalition to Stop the Madness (CSM), an ecological conservation effort which involves spreading environmental awareness at the Flock's public air shows, taking place in some of the world's most polluted cities. During a show in Los Angeles, the Flock find themselves under fire from an assassin in the middle of an aerial performance. The crowd however thinks that this is all part of the show and applauds at the Flock's various maneuvers to avoid the sniper's bullets. The day ends with the Flock attacking the assassin only to have him blow himself up inside a nearby warehouse to hide his identity. A later investigation of the scene results in the find of a pistol biologically attached to a recovered stump of an arm.
At another show in Mexico City (which the Flock dislike due to the air being so polluted it made the air uncomfortable to breathe) the Flock do another aerial performance, when they see the entire stadium is surrounded by 60 bionic human "ninjas" (which Max later nicknames M-Geeks). Despite wanting to avoid harming performance crew, Max's biological mother, Dr. Valencia Martinez, her half sister Ella, Total, Dr. Brigid Dwyer, Max's biological father Jeb Batchelder, the surrounding reporters, and the 114,000 fans packed into the stadium, the Flock has no choice but to battle and destroy them on the field.
Later, Jeb, Valencia, and the Flock are all taken to a secret location on the outskirts of the city for protection. The group decide that it is best that they cancel the shows due to the inability for tight enough security. In the middle of the night, after Max and Fang have a conflict over Brigid (who had apparently taken a liking to Fang, much to Max's jealousy) Max goes on a flight by herself, only to be shot in the wing by a group of M-Geeks. She meets Mr. Chu, a short Asian man who claims to represent many of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful people. He tells Max to put a stop to CSM. When she refuses, she is warned that she will regret her decision. Max was let go and returned to the Flock.
After refusing to explain her injuries, and later asking Jeb about Mr. Chu (who lies badly about knowing nothing of him) Jeb and Valencia suggest that the group go to the Day and Night School for the gifted. Despite Max's refusal, the Flock agrees to try it out. Nudge finds the school incredibly fun, much to Max's dismay. Nudge decided that she wanted to stay at the school, and that she wanted to have her wings removed so she would be "normal". Shortly, Max and Fang flew out into the desert and sat by a boulder. The two of them talked over what Nudge said, and they end up kissing. When they arrive back at the safe home, they discover that Dr. Martinez has been kidnapped. They go to a boot camp in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor where they surprise their teachers and excel at all their survival courses. Then on the night they are approved to go on the sub expedition to search for Dr. Martinez (who is, based on the video tapes sent to them, believed to be held on a boat located somewhere off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, fairly close to where millions of fish seem to be mysteriously dying) Fang and Max go on a "date". The night starts off perfectly, with many unexplainable feelings for Fang filling Max. However, it is interrupted when they are assaulted by a group of M-Geeks who the two send hurling off a cliff. Later, on their way back to the base, they encounter Angel, Iggy, and Gazzy, who had been stung by a poisonous fish (which he quickly heals from the next day, thanks to the Flock's rapid regeneration abilities) and find that Nudge had returned to them.
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