When the Wind Blows (James Patterson novel)

When the Wind Blows is a novel by James Patterson. It is the precursor to The Lake House and inspired the Maximum Ride series.

The novel is currently set to be adapted into a movie.^[1]

Plot summary

The book centers on Frannie Devin O'Neill, a veterinarian, whose husband was killed a three years before the story takes place. The action takes place in Bear Bluff, Colorado. She meets Kit Harrison, an FBI agent, when he rents a cabin in the woods behind her house. One night, after a friend's mysterious death, Frannie sees a small girl with wings, running in the forest. Her name is Max, and they learn about Max's missing brother, Matthew, and the sinister place where they grew up. Kit, Frannie, and Max find and break into the School. They find the rest of Max's "flock", two Chinese siblings named Wendy and Peter, a blind boy named Icarus, and Oz, all of whom have wings. The group leaves the school and Kit calls the FBI for help. They try to go back to Frannie's vet clinic, the Inn Patient, but they find it burnt down. They are caught by the "whitecoats" (who work at the School) and the flock's previous Keeper, a cruel man named Harding Thomas (also known as "Uncle Tom"). The whitecoats force Kit and Frannie to come with them at the threat of shooting the children and they agree. Max, however, manages to escape.

The whitecoats take the adults and the rest of the flock to the home of Gillian, Frannie's friend who turns out to work at the School as well. The flock becomes excited when they see Gillian's son, Michael, who is one of the School's experiments. Gillian and Thomas try to get Frannie and Kit to tell what they've found out about the School, but neither cooperate. Michael guides them to where the flock is being kept. They find the flock, along with Matthew, and escape while Gillian holds an auction to sell the bird children to major corporations. Max, meanwhile, guides news helicopters to Gillian's house and they report on the bird kids and expose the whitecoats. Kit is shot nonfatally. Frannie, Max, and Matthew notice Gillian, Michael, Thomas, and Anthony Peyser (Gillian's husband and the leader of the School) escaping in a car. Max and Matthew fly after, with Frannie following in her car. The siblings dive-bomb the car and cause it to crash, killing everyone inside. During the explosion, however, Max is badly hurt. Frannie operates on Max at a hospital and she recovers, as does Kit. Kit and Frannie take the bird kids into hiding, however eventually they help the children find their parents.

Characters

• Note: This book's characters are distinct from those in the Maximum Ride series, even though some have the same names.

• Max – An eleven-year-old girl with long blond hair and bright green eyes. She is Matthew's older sister. She has white wings with silver-blue markings. Her wingspan is nine feet, twice as wide as she is tall. Frannie states that she has an IQ in the 180s, though Max herself says that it is only 149. Her name is short for "Maximum", and her codename is "Tinkerbell". She tends to be the unspoken leader of the flock.

• Frannie – A veterinarian who finds Max.

• Kit – An FBI agent who is supposed to be on vacation in Nantucket after a horrible tragedy killed his wife and his kids. He lives in the cabin in the woods behind the veterinary hospital. He has blond hair.

• Ozymandias – The second born and alpha male. He would be the leader of the flock if Max died, and Max is glad that he is there. He is not much younger than Max, and he appears to be, in some ways, stronger than her. He has brown hair and wings. He was named after Ozymandias, a powerful Egyptian king.

• Icarus – A blind kid whom Max rescues from the School. The flock communicates with him with chirps and whistles so that he doesn't get lost when he is flying. He has fine long ash-blond hair. He is named after the Icarus from the Greek legend.

• Peter – Wendy's twin. They are four years old, and therefore classified as "the young ones" by Oz and Max. They are of Chinese descent, with black bowl-cut hair. They are in the 'high genius' IQ range. He is named after Peter from Peter Pan.

• Wendy – Peter's twin. She has white wings, tipped with blue. According to Max, she calls all older women "Mama". She was named after Wendy from Peter Pan.

• Matthew – Max's brother. He loves his sister and tries to keep her away from the Doctors after she escapes. He is codenamed 'Peter Pan'. His wings are white, with silver and dark-blue markings.

• Harding Thomas – Works with the scientists. He is possibly codenamed 'Uncle Thomas'. He pretends to be kind to Matthew and Max to try to find out information or lure them back to the school, but is cruel if they refuse to cooperate.

• Eve – Adam's sister. The flock believed they were 'put to sleep' when they were babies, but they survived. According to Max, their IQ is 'off the planet'.

• Adam – Eve's brother. He was adopted by Gillian, Frannie's best friend, who renamed him Michael. He has blond hair. His life expectancy is 200 years, however he dies in a car crash at age four. When the flock is being held captive in Gillian's house, he helps Kit and Frannie escape to find them. He was born in the same year as Peter and Wendy, 1994, and was their closest friend. Like his sister, he was believed to have been 'put to sleep'.

• Gillian Puris – Frannie's best friend as well as Michael (and Eve's) mother, although it is uncertain as to whether they are biologically related or adopted. Although she seems smart and sympathetic, she is actually closely related to the School and was keeping an eye on Frannie after her husband's death. Gillian later holds Frannie, Kit, and the flock hostage at her house and tries to sell the bird children to rich companies. When that plan fails, she, her husband, and Michael try to escape but are killed in a car wreck.

• Dr. Peyser – The head of the School. He created the School and impregnates women to have children for the School. They were then put in test tubes and born in a different method.

References

External links

• James Patterson's official website
• Maximum Ride website