Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time - or money
Review: This material is so poorly and sophmorically written, a second grade student could have done better. I've enjoyed reading several previous Patterson novels. But I can't believe this book actually got published. If I were he, I'd be embarassed to submit such material to a publisher. But also, shame on them for putting it to print! I will not buy his books again.
Rating:
Summary: Zero Stars
Review: Worst book I have ever read. There is no reality in this book. Bird children with wings who escaped from a horrible hospital that did experiments on them and a psycho 'doctor' chasing after them with armed assasins. Come on... I do like fantasy books at times, but this was impossible to take. There was nothing that I could remotely identify with and I never did connect with any of the characters. I can't believe I actually read the whole thing. I refused to stop reading a book that I had paid for. I had heard of James Patterson before reading this sorry book, and had even seen some movies based on his work. I really expected more from him. But by the end of the story, I hoped that the psycho doctor would catch up to them and kill them all. It was just that bad!
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed emotions on this
Review: First the positive...The book is incredibly fast paced. I like the plot and that's what held me and kept me reading. The dialogue lacks reality in any of the characters. The characters lack dimension. I don't find them believable. Max sounds like a grown man one time and a twenty-something person the next...but I can't define her gender as that of a young girl of 12 on up. There are no expository thoughts by her to speak of which draw the reader in. This appears to have been a hasty effort on the part of the author. The narration is lengthy and the scenery not engaging. There was no depth or reality to the court scenes. They appeared to have been almost an afterthought. Certainly, there was no research done on court rooms for this effort. Dr. Kane is too one-dimensional. Even bad guys have a tender side once in awhile. The split up of Kit and Frannie at first was surreal and almost an afterthought as well. It didn't make sense. I agree that the author tossed in too much pop culture and it was boring. First of all, a twelve year old on up doesn't realistically listen to or do the things or even think the things that Max does...or the other children for that matter, even if they are "gifted. I wanted to feel the characters and I didn't. I wanted to join the dialogue and I didn't. I wanted some depth in the scenes and they weren't there. They were mostly hastily written passages that left me disappointed. I wanted emotion, it was not there. I felt nothing but inclined to go to the end and get it over with, already. The two things that kept me reading were the plot and the fact I paid for the book, so I was determined. I will not read anything more by this author though...at least if I pay for it. Maybe through a library. Overall, I was both disappointed and interested. I feel a writer, who has published numerous works should have made a better effort at character development. There were scenes that engaged me, but I confess that I skipped over a great deal of boorish narration, just to find out what happened. I didn't like that as a reader.
Rating:
Summary: Another Flight of Fancy
Review: This is Patterson's second book concerning a group of children genetically altered to have wings. Much of this book concerns their custody fate now that they have been freed and revealed to the world. Frannie and Kit want to adopt the children but there is a strong case for their biological parents to have custody (I didn't recall them knowing who they were). As the battle continues, a test period is set up to see what solution is really best. But soon the calm is shattered. Max apparently knows something about people worse than those at The School. If she tells anyone she will be killed. But two-thirds of the book concerns what she knows about something called The Hospital, Resurrection, and attempts to capture and/or silence her and the other children. The story is fast paced and the Lake House only enters the picture in the epilogue. I still find the children themselves completely unbelievable despite the author's assurances that it is possible. Max has a wingspan of 10 feet. A swan has 8 feet and weight 30 pounds. An albatross has 11 feet and weighs 18 ponds. Considering the children have no tails and are larger than these two birds, their wings would have to be much larger. There is also no explanation as to their strength, genius, or why the doctor wants them. I suppose there is always a chance of another book. But if you like the first book (When the Wind Blows) then you will probably enjoy this one as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Never judge a book by a review
Review: I had seen this book at the book shop for some time and after reading the reviews from here, I was very skeptial in reading this book. I have enjoyed James Patterson books but was becoming weary of his style in writing. I spurged and brought it. Well....This book is amazing. I could not put it down..Its not rocket science but it takes you away and gives your imagination wings to fly. I recommend this book to anyone who has imagination and likes a good suspence yarn. Well done JP, you have regained my faith in your work.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the same author?
Review: Could this be the same author who wrote the Alex Cross series, Diary and 1st to Die?
Rating:
Summary: Bird-Brained
Review: James Patterson lays an egg (couldn't resist). When we will learn. This book is a pointless "thriller" loaded with tin-ear dialogue and enough stale pop-culture references to make you think he's taking product placement fees. Patterson's breathless prose runs toward 6th grade level and use of exclamation points! AND Italics! It gets old! Fast! By the end of the third chapter - which in a Patterson book is page 5 - I knew this book was a loser. I slogged through it though, because I had 2 hours to kill. For anyone who still might be interested, here's a plot summary: six kids are genetically engineered to have wings. And be geniuses. And listen to Macy Gray! (Damn those exclamation points!) The kids are being chased by bad men. With guns! They are helped by a selfless vet and a renegade FBI agent who want to be their parents. Miraculous escapes galore occur. The vet and the Fibbie have sex! The kids have sex! Will they catch the bad guys! Duh. Pass on this featherweight (Sorry!).
Rating:
Summary: Listless sequel
Review: I was a bit surprised to see how poor this book was. Like many authors that write a lot of books, James Patterson is in a bit of a rut. However, the stories are still enjoyable, if not outstanding. "The Lake House" is different, in that you are never drawn into the story. I pushed through reading it, not because I was terribly interested in how it ended, but more out of a morbid curiosity to see if Patterson could suddenly pull a rabbit out of a hat, and entertain me. He couldn't. Save your money/time and skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Awful
Review: Don't waste your time with this novel. It is truly the most awful book I have ever read in my life.
Rating:
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: I actually looked forward to this book, hoping it would be a welcome break from Patterson's tired-old-writing lately in his Alex Cross series. However, while overall I was pleased with the story, it had too many plot holes, and a villain with no redeeming qualities. By the time I was done, I almost felt I was reading a fairy tale along the lines of The Princess Bride or similar. The female lead characters (two of them) are strong and well-written, continuing well from their dominant parts in the previous books. However, the two male lead characters are just around to grunt and fling themselves in front of all female characters so they aren't harmed. That was very disappointing, since the last book was not so off-balance. I felt like Patterson was trying to meet a certain page count and nothing more, so the plot generally felt unfinished, as if there should have been at least another hundred pages to fill everything out. As much as I *wanted* to like this book (I read it in 3 hours), I have to flunk it.
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