Looking to lure your teen away from the tube? They may bite with Fang ...

Trying to get your teen to unglue his eyes from the screen or give his or her texting thumb a rest this summer? Fang, the sixth book in James Patterson's Maximum Ride series, could be just the book to hook some interest. Patterson is best known for his adult suspense fiction including the popular Alex Cross franchise.

In Fang, the best-selling author puts his flair for drama to work for a teen audience. He delivers an easy-reading, action-packed novel that offers fantasy without the magic of Harry Potter or the dark themes of Twilight.

First things first. Maximum Ride is not an amusement park attraction or a sports car. She is a human. Well, almost human. Max was created 14 years ago in a lab by mixing human and avian DNA. The result? A human-bird hybrid that is 98% human, but has bird-like wings and vision.

Max is leader of the Flock, a close-knit group of her teen-aged bird-kids friends. Each member of the Flock has special powers in addition to their ability to fly. Together, they have zoomed to the rescue time and again to save the world while dodging their nemesis - a pack of wolf-humans called Erasers.

Max spends most of her time leading the Flock. Her remaining time is spent staring at and thinking about Fang. He's "a teenage guy with longish scruffy hair, dark eyes, and a leather jacket." And a 12-foot wingspan. It's all enough to make Max's bird-kid heart flutter. She dreams of a day when the fighting is over, and she can have Fang all to herself in a happy ever-after. As Max discovers in the desserts of African Chad, that dream is only a distant, shimmering mirage.

There's trouble in the humanitarian aid camp where Max and the flock are working to feed hungry children. Jeanne, one of the aid recipients, has a special ability of her own—the power to heal with a touch of her finger. Jeanne also holds the key to a powerful secret that could endanger the Flock.

The danger deepens when Angel, the mind-reading member of the bird-kid circle, makes a startling prediction: "Fang will be the first to die. And it will be soon." As leader of the Flock, Max must decide between defending the helpless aid camp victims and protecting her dear Fang from Angel's mysterious prophecy.

Max faces even more inner turmoil when she's introduced to Dylan—another human/bird hybrid. Dylan is a muscular specimen with expressive blue eyes. He has also been genetically engineered to be Max's perfect match. Max's dreams of romance—and the fate of planet earth—are on the line. Will she hide from the challenges, or face them and fight?

Parents and teachers searching for a novel to inspire reluctant teen readers can find much to like about Fang. Max may be a super-human bird-kid, but she wrestles with the kind of issues teens without wings must face.

At one point Max asks her friends: "How can we save the world if we hardly know anything about it?" The underlying message of Fang is that everyone has abilities and we should all learn how to put those abilities to use for the good of others. It's a message that echoes Jesus' statement: "To whom much is given, much is required."

Those especially sensitive to mild language or descriptions of teenage romance may want to be cautious before clearing the bird-kids for take-off on their teen's summer reading list. But overall, Fang has a positive message and a plot that is free of the dark, magical elements that some find worrisome about much teen fantasy fiction.

If you are happy anytime you see your teen turn off the TV and computer and sink their teeth into a book, Fang makes a tasty read for young adults that parents can feel good about.

**This review first published on April 13, 2010.