Maximum Ride is a series of young adult fantasy novels by the author James Patterson, with a manga adaptation published by Yen Press. The series is centered on the adventures of Maximum "Max" Ride and five other characters after their escape from the lab facility known as The School. Their group is labeled the Flock, reminiscent of the fact that each of the main characters are avian-human hybrids, (they have wings) a result from the Flock's past involvement with The School. The series was inspired by but is not a reboot of Patterson's earlier novels When the Wind Blows and The Lake House.