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| “ | No. Worse. Flying Erasers. | ” |
–Max, School's Out - Forever | ||
School's Out - Forever: A Maximum Ride Novel is the second book in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, and also the second book of the Fugitives trilogy.
Plot[]
Right after New York, the Flock is headed to Washington D.C, where they hope to uncover information about their real parents. While they are flying, though, they soon find themselves in trouble from flying Erasers. The Erasers are slow and clumsy, bigger and heavier, and they have a hard time moving, but Ari (the leader of the Erasers) wounds Fang pretty badly; the Flock has no choice but to go to the hospital.
The hospital staff soon notices that Fang is different, and they need some human-avian blood from one of the Flock members. Max donates two pints, and the Flock is later questioned by the FBI. All of them play innocent or dumb, supporting the back-up story Max made (they were adoptive brothers and sisters, and their "parents" were "missionaries"). Anne Walker, who is a FBI agent, tells Max that they have been hearing rumors of a hidden lab (the School) that has been producing various recombinant-DNA life-forms; however, these theories never were completely verified. Anne asks if they can study them in nonpainful and noninvasive ways, and she also suggests they go to her house. However, Max refuses to go without Nick (Fang), so the Flock just hangs out in Fang's hospital room for the night. While they are at the hospital, Max starts to see herself in a mirror as an Eraser; she doesn't know what it means, and it really freaks her out.
The next day, they go to Anne's house. Anne begins to take care of them, almost like a mother, which really gets on Max's nerves since the younger kids really do what Anne tells them to. Anne also enrolls them in a private school (the Flock's first experience) that is not what it seems. Max advises the others to act normal and to blend in, but Gazzy and Iggy keep bringing trouble to the Flock by detonating bombs, which makes the headmaster, William Pruitt, mad. Nevertheless, the Flock still manages prettty well.
Nudge thinks her teacher likes her, and she also makes three friends and is invited to a "nonmutant" birthday party. Fang iss pressured by the girl, Lissa (whom Max calls the Red-Haired Wonder), and Max catches them kissing, which makes her jealous. Max also makes a friend, Jennifer Joy (but everyone calls her J.J), and is asked out on a date by a boy, Sam (supposedly a part from Max to make Fang envy). While Sam and Max are on their date, however, Max sees Ari and another Max. Confused, she later discusses the matter with Fang.
One day, the whole school goes on a field trip to the White House, and when Angel is lost, the President himself escorts her back to Max. (Angel also made the President take back almost a billion dollars allotted to the military for it to channel into public education, as well as nationwide shelters for homeless women and children.)
The Flock stays with Anne until Thanksgiving, which is when Max thinks it is too dangerous to stay any longer; they also find Iggy's parents. They spend a few days without him, heartbroken; then one day, the five of them are attacked at school, and they flee to Anne's to rescue Total. The Erasers are waiting, though, and Max discovers that Anne is Jeb Batchelder's boss. The Flock is chased away by the Erasers; Ari is with them, and he wants to cut off Max's wings and take her prisoner, keeping her in hiding, or, as he puts it, "find a place where no one will find us, and to be friends." Fang and Ari duel and the Flock escapes, on the run once more. Iggy rejoins them.
The Flock decides to go to Florida, but Gazzy wants to go to the beach. They do, but Max flies ahead to clear her thoughts of the annoying Voice...which makes her angry enough to try to cut out the chip embedded in her arm with a sharp seashell. This scares the whole Flock and especially upsets Fang.
They settle for the night in a swampy area; there, they discover the company that the School thinks is going to blow up the world (Itex) from two mutants, a boy and a girl ...who are working for the School to survive. After knowing this, the Flock immediately takes off again, and they head for Disney World. Needless to say, their fun is soon ruined when Ari shows up waiting for them after their ride on Splash Mountain, while engaged in a conversation with a boy who thought he was Wolverine. The Flock quickly backtracks and takes off again—but this time Max insists they need to stay out of the air, so they cram into an Echo (car).
The Flock spends a night in a motel, but Max is kidnapped during the night and is stuffed into an Itex tank where she wouldn't escape. Eventually, though, she manages to get out by playing dead and getting the Flock together again. Meanwhile, Max II, her clone, plays her role by acting like Max and leading the Flock to Itex, but almost immediately the Flock knows she isn't the real Maximum Ride by the curious things she'd offered to do: cook breakfast, fix Nudge's hair, and even demand for Total to get off the bed, which made Angel hurt (but she already knew that Max II wasn't the real Max, thanks to her mind-reading ability).
It was almost a success for Max II, until the real Max slithers out from the ceiling in the underground room of Itex. Then, it is a battle-to-the-death for the two. At first, Max II gains the upper hand, but then Max was choking her, until she sprang away and told Jeb and the whitecoats that she wouldn't kill Max II because she was a real person like any other, and that she was tired of being a "lab rat jumping though [their] hoops." The Flock gets away once more when Gazzy blows a hole in the building with one of his bombs.
Adaptations[]
Manga[]
- Main article: Maximum Ride: The Manga (3)
School's Out - Forever was adapted by NaRae Lee into two volumes. Volume 3 was released August 17, 2010, and features Iggy on the cover. It details on School's Out - Forever up to when Jeb and Ari Batchelder are watching the Flock in the museum in Washington, D.C.
- At the end is a preview of the Daniel X manga.
- Main article: Maximum Ride: The Manga (4)
Volume 4 was released April 2011, and features Nudge on the cover. It almost finishes the second book, but cuts off right before the real Max battles with Max II (who is not known as Maya at this point).
- It is the first volume to have a brief character profile at the beginning.
- The art style changes slightly.
- At the end is a preview of the Witch & Wizard manga as well as an advertisement for other James Patterson books and Yen Press manga.
Comics[]
- Main article: Max Ride: Ultimate Flight
New Characters[]
- Max II
- Anne Walker, Dean Mickelson, and the other FBI agents
- The Principal
- The Red-Haired Wonder (Lissa)
- Sam
- J.J.
- Tess
Trivia[]
- The extra material at the end of the book includes numerous files on the School and Itex, including the name of the school that the Flock attends, and the first mention of Marian Janssen (here spelled Jannsen).
