When the Wind Blows/Abridged

Rating:
Summary: Patterson writes typically predictable catnap of a thriller
Review: Although I began "When the Wind Blows" with high hopes, so to speak, I was repeatedly disappointed with the slapstick, uninspired style Patterson used througout the book. The premise is inviting enough; greedy geneticists combine DNA of a girl and a bird, creating a virtual phenomen. Frannie, a Colorado vet, works with Kit, an inner-demon-battling FBI agent, to discover the hidden past of the child. Sadly, Patterson destroys the plot in more ways than one, never letting his moral issues with human experiments go past an angry "Damn them" from one of his beautiful characters. The manner of story-telling is a mixture of overused italicized fragments and an air so careless, you feel that Patterson himself could have written most of the insultingly short chapters in a single evening. One gets the impression that Patterson is intent on revealing his modern, new-age style by tossing around names like Sheryl Crow and L.L. Bean, but he misses his target entirely. Patterson ought to bring back the sensational homicide cop Alex Cross, a favorite in the far more exciting "Jack and Jill" and "Cat and Mouse." I'm only 18, but if this is what the rest of the adult population is reading and turning into bestsellers, then send me back to high school to read the likes of Salinger and Dickens.

Rating:
Summary: My first James Patterson Novel
Review: For my first James Patterson novel, I enjoyed his work. My mother, a Patterson fan, convinced me to read his novel; which proves that mother knows best. "When the Wind Blows" is a good novel because it touches the reality and fantasy world at the same time. "When the Wind Blows" was so good, I will start to read many more of James Patterson's novels. He is an easy,interesting read and a great storyteller. However, I did not like the fact that Patterson was switching from first person to third person. This constant perspective change confused me a lot.

For my english project, I must explain what happens in this novel. "When the Wind Blows" is about a Colorado veterinarian, Frannie, who is haunted from her husband's death. Later on, she stumbles upon a strange, astonishing phenomenon. She has met a girl with wings. Max, the girl with wings, helps Frannie and Kit Harrison (a FBI agant) a school where she had came from. They discover one of the most diabolical plots of modern science.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible, though not as original as one might think :(
Review: I have bought this book on a huge discount in a little factory for overstocked and used items, and have been reading it non-stop ever since. The idea is impeccable: a girl and a boy who can fly and have escaped the only place they know of all their lives. Now they must be tracked down, for some odd reason, since nobody is allowed to see them. As one can tell, I'm only on page 158, so I might write another review later.
The thing is, however, that there is a russian writer named Alexander Belyaev who'd written a piece called Ariel sometime in the first half of the 20th Century, in which a grown man and a younger boy are given the gift of flying. They are also created in a place called "school" in a science project. The difference is, from what I do know, that they don't have wings and there is nobody chasing them.
The truth is, though, that I wouldn't want to take any credit away from James Patterson for creating a book very closely based on one already written in a different country. Whether or not he did or did not come up with the idea on his own, the book represents his very talent at work and pulls you in an an incredible force, there saying that most of the effect of "When the wind blows" is due to him, period. But for those reading this who understand Russian, please take some time to find and read "Ariel". 'Cause even better than understanding a book is interpreting it after reading a similar one.

Rating:
Summary: When the wind blows
Review: I loved this book! It took me only one week to read this book because I liked it so much. The book is about scientists performing illegal experiments on young children. The experiments genetically enhance the children to make them fly! If you like science fiction novels then this is definitely a novel you should read! The book sometimes strays a little bit too far from reality, but that makes it all the better in my opinion. I loved how short the chapters were in this book; they usually consisted of 2-4 pages. The short chapters made it very easy to stop while reading. I am now currently reading the Lake house, which is the sequel to this wonderful novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book to escape reality.

Rating:
Summary: Nice story
Review: If you want to read a fairy tale that won't get you anything but a good reading time you can read this one, if this story could be true as it says JP at the end of the book I have my doubts.
You will never know what experiments the scientists did to get a flying girl, but you will have a good time reading it. In this book you can also see the great imagination of the writer.
The second book (The Lake House) is much more better.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: James Patterson was an author recommended to me but I unfortunately bought his When the Wind Blows first. I liked the short chapters. The plot was completely predictable though, and the book probably should have ended halfway through. I was constantly trying to figure out who the "I" was that was speaking because it read like a man's point of view and not the heroine, Frannie. If it were not for the very slight touch of romance and the swear words, I would recommend this book to my 11 year old. Having read some of the other reviews, I will choose a different one of Patterson's books (certainly not The Lake House since it is a continuation of When the Wind Blows)and try to figure out how his books have become #1 bestsellers.

Rating:
Summary: It Blows All Right
Review: Let me start by saying that I like the premise of the book: Flying children escape from evil scientists. It has basically the same plot as the old Disney flick, Escape from Witch Mountain, but the kids have wings instead of telekinetic powers. Or the Stephen King book, Firestarter, where the kid has pyrokinesis. Or ... well, suffice it to say that the plot's been done before. [probe] Unfortunately for this book it's also been done better. Much better.

Part of the problem is that Patterson has made Max, the winged child most prominently featured in the book, perfect. She's lovely, well-mannered, courageous ... and she can fly. Examples of the dark side of the eugenics program are few and far between. While we're given as scene early-on of an "enhanced" child surreptitiously taken from his mother, we don't see any Dr. Mengele evil until the final third of the book. Although the reader certainly sympathizes with Max because people are trying to kill her, at the same time it's easy to feel that her ability to fly is adequate compensation for her inconvenience (we should all have such problems). If Patterson had had the lab making half-leech, half-child mutations it would be a completely different story - a better story, too, in my opinion.

Another problem has to do with the two non-mutated protagonists, FBI man Kit and lady veterinarian Frannie. Other than being our eyes and ears into Max's world, they serve no purpose except to eventually get romantically involved. Kit can shoot and Frannie can patch things up, but that's about all they do, and they don't do it often enough to keep things interesting. They're given a bit of backstory, but they don't have to work too hard at overcoming their personal traumas. On the plus side, Patterson should be given some credit for creating a strong female lead (whether it's an accurate portrayal of a woman who has lost her husband and is trying to come to grips with a changing is another question, but I'm all for strong female leads - although Kit was a bit more "domesticated" than I'd have liked).

The story is told primarily from Frannie's point of view, but it frequently switches to third-person when we see things from Max's or Kit's or a few other characters' perspectives. Sadly, everyone's "voice" sounds the same. Case in point: Max refers to several of the experiment children being "put to sleep;" it makes sense that the lab would use a gentle euphemism like that instead of saying they were killed or euthanized. Now in Frannie's chapters, she uses it too; again, it makes sense because that's what vets are called to do to beloved family pets from time to time. What doesn't make sense it that it creeps into Kit's chapters: an FBI agent may kill, terminate, blow away, off, slay, or riddle with bullets, but unless it's his child at bedtime he never puts anyone to sleep.

For the most part, though, there's not a lot here to really get bent out of shape over. It's a lightweight story that keeps your interest while you're reading it, but falls apart if you think about it too much. The final chapter of the epilogue was a disappointment, but I guess it makes way for the sequel. If you fear your literacy skills will atrophy while you wait for the next Alex Cross or Women's Murder Club book, go ahead and give this a read, otherwise you're not missing much by giving it a pass.

Rating:
Summary: A Science Fiction..that's for sure
Review: Okay, so maybe I don't care for science fiction. And that's the reason for the 3-star. But overall, I stayed with this book because I wanted to know how it ended. So that makes three Patterson novels for me in less than a week. I could see myself either tiring of this writer's work or feeling the book simply wasn't right for me. Now grant it, the book might really float someone else's boat...but not mine. I'd say if you like science fiction, then this is a fairly good book. If you don't..then don't go there. Children with wings and flying all around, and things that you just find almost impossible to believe. It's time for me to move on and read someone else's work. Patterson is an excellent writer, but even excellent writers get carried away at times. ;-)

Rating:
Summary: HE SHOULD TRY LEARNING HOW TO WRITE
Review: This book is absolutley one of the worst books that I have read, and I'm a compulsive reader. How this trash ever got published I haven't a clue!!! It is FILLED with MAJOR inconsistencies, he even forgot how the property around the compound was set up!! No wonder he has to advertise his books on TV to get people to buy them!!! What a complete waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful with a diiferent side to patterson
Review: This book is quite different to Pasttersons other novels. It was a fresh surprise. A great mystery with a twist of sci-fi. I would recommend this to anyone who lies mysteries and scifi-fantasy!