Runaway Max (Stranger Things #3)
Published June 4th 2019 by Random House Books for Young Readers, Hardcover 233 pages
Don't miss this gripping, emotional prequel to the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things! The never-before-told backstory of the beloved Dig Dug maven, Max Mayfield, written by New York Times bestselling author Brenna Yovanoff.
This must-read novel, based on the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things, explores Max's past--the good and the bad--as well as how she came to find her newfound sense of home in Hawkins, Indiana.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Love love love Max! This book I would say, didn't do her justice though. As strong of a character as she is...this was just meh. Still fun for fans, but ya know...it's MAX. It could has been epic. Definitely more of a YA feel than the first two books.
Rating: really liked it
***3,5 stars***This is the third book in the "Stranger Things" Extended Universe. As the title hints at, it explores Max's past, while also rehashing events we've seen already in season 2, but seen through her eyes. It's basically half prequel, half retelling.
The story's well written and I think that Brenda Yovanoff captured Max's spirit and personality perfectly. We also get to see an emotional depth to Max's family, something that was missing from both season's 2 and 3 of the series; as well as much needed information and character background for Billy. I can't make up my mind if I think he's just a rotten person, or if I actually understand him and see the reasons why he is the way he is 🙈 but I enjoyed getting a glimpse into his twisted personality.
Overall a great, fast paced read that I would definitely recommend to any Stranger Things fan.
Rating: really liked it
This is a book based on the television program. This book coincides with season two of the television series. It tells events from the side of Max. It also shows events in her life before she comes to live in Hawkins. This book is basically a character book for Max that fleshes out her character.
This book is a very quick read and I believe should only be read by fans of the show. As for the writing I would consider this a YA novel and could be read by fans of all ages. Even though this book is about Max I did think this was a great character book for Billy. We get to see some of his motivations in season three of the series but in this book we dive more into his rebellious teenage ways. There were few scenes that were actual scenes from the series as this book was more about the life of Max and really concentrated on this aspect. That being said fans will recognize and rejoice at the familiar scenes especially the junkyard scene with Steve.
Overall, this book doesn't add much to the story arc as fans probably figured out that Max and her family wasn't the strongest family unit. It fleshes out her character more and I enjoyed that as I always said that was one of the weak points of season two. They brought in new characters during the season that were not fleshed out properly. Fans of the show might like this book as its purpose is for background information.
Rating: really liked it
Max is a great addition to
Stranger Things in season two, so I was really looking forward to this prequel/ companion YA novel from her perspective. The best part of this novel are the flashbacks set shortly before she comes into the show. It's pretty great getting to see all of her strengths and internal feelings about what's going on in her life and her family. The weakest points of the book are scenes that happen during the course of the show involving the main characters and plot instead of sticking with her and her family. The main reason for that is because the writing really glosses over it, so basically if you haven't watched the tv series you would really out of the loop. Otherwise, though, the writing's quite good and we get some nice character insight on Max. I definitely want to rewatch season two again.
Rating: really liked it
2.5 stars.
This book is season 2 as told through Max's eyes, which actually doesn't bug me as a concept. I liked delving into Max's home life and her thought process, and there were some really solid scenes. To be fair, the first half was really enjoyable.
But ultimately, it didn't even attempt to fill in any blanks or add to the story of the show. The ending of the season, which is arguably Max's best stuff, was skimmed over so quickly that, as a ST fan, I was genuinely insulted. Add that with repetative prose (she describes figuring out who Nancy is twice on two separate pages) and typos and it's clear that no one really cared about the ending of this book.
Lucas is presented as "nice," but nothing else. We actually get more emotional Mileven stuff in here than Lumax, which I thought was just.... odd. Isn't this about Max? Wouldn't this be a great opportunity to really focus on their relationship? One would think.
As mentioned above, no creative attempt was made to give any supplement to the show. We don't get anything about, maybe, what went on after that last night- did Max go home and face her mom? Or did she camp out at the Byers' with the guys and wait for everyone to come back? How might that first awkward conversation between her and El have gone? Instead we get a summary so brief and pointless it's basically a sparknotes of the end of the show. We end at the snowball, not even with Max looking at Lucas but with her "craning her neck" to watch Mileven. Whut. Even.
Like I said. Enjoyable through the first half. Insulting in the last half. I went down from a 4 star rating to a 2.5 because of the last 75-100 pages. If you want a purely movie tie in, you'll enjoy this. But don't look for anything to expand the ST universe because this one just kind of gave up on that halfway through.
Rating: really liked it
This emotional, must-read book tells the background of the beloved and independent Max Mayfield, and of her arrival in Hawkins, IN. While Max does her best to accept the reality of her new home, she also has to deal with family issues at home and a step-brother with a horrible temper. But then she meets Lucas and Dustin; could she have finally found friends?
Runaway Max takes place during the events of season 2 through Max’s point of view, and we learn of her background in CA (including meeting Billy for the first time) through flashbacks and what led to her family’s move to Indiana. There was a good bit of content from season 2 in the book from the parts where Max was present, and it was really insightful to see things from her angle, like meeting the team, growing closer to Lucas, fighting the demodogs, and finally standing up to her brother.
I’ve seen that most of the negative reviews of this book stated that it offered no new material or information into the world of Hawkins and the Upside-down. Yes, this is true. But if you can go in knowing that, I think you may enjoy it more. Go in expecting to learn more about the spunky redhead Max and her bullying step-brother Billy, and I think you’ll enjoy this little companion book to the Stranger Things TV series. Such a quick, fun read that helped me fall even more in love with Max Mayfield.
Rating: really liked it
Max a whole legend, an icon.
Billy can choke, so glad that mf is dead
Rating: really liked it
3.5 - This was at its strongest when it was focused on scenes that weren’t already part of the show. Exploring more of Max’s backstory in California and her relationships with her mom, dad, and then Billy and Neil when they were introduced were great parts of the book. There’s some pretty rough stuff in the book when it comes to Billy and Neil, but that’s to be expected based on what we see of them in
Stranger Things. I really liked Brenna Yovanoff’s writing and the themes she was exploring through Max’s story.
But what dragged this book down for me was seeing all of the season 2 scenes play out on the page. It’s way more interesting to get all new content rather than having to see scenes rehashed from Max’s POV. For the most part I don’t think it added that much to what was already in the show. It also erased a lot of narrative tension from the book because I knew what was going to happen in a bunch of parts. I think it would’ve been a stronger book if it was all pre-Hawkins or a dual timeline story with her backstory interspersed with an all new story in between seasons 2 and 3.
Rating: really liked it
I’m not sure what I expected but what we got is a retelling of season 2 through Max’s narrative (which anyone could have gotten from watching the show) and a little bit of backstory. Nothing was added to the canon of the show that felt important.
Rating: really liked it
I really enjoyed this! The book takes place during the actual events of Stranger Things, season 2. We get the story from Max's perspective, as she gets to know Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will. It's not a shot for shot, line by line remake of pivotal scenes, and I really like that. Where the book shines, is showing what it's like in Max's home life. We know from the show that things aren't shiny perfect in her home environment. The book delves into that a little more and I would add that there are trigger warnings for scenes of physical abuse.
Out of all the stranger things novels that have been published so far this one is definately my favorite.
Rating: really liked it
max mayfield you’ll always be famous
Rating: really liked it
i love max so goddamn much
Rating: really liked it
Through what I'm sure was no fault of the author, who probably was working within guidelines on a project like this, I was a little disappointed with the shortness of the book, and the fact that much of it re-tells events from the show's second season. I was expected more of a full-fledged prequel, leading up to Max's arrival in Hawkins, with more of a full story in that timeframe. Once I got used to that, though, I did really enjoy it. We are re-watching this season in preparation for the third, and getting the story from Max's point of view really adds to it. But yeah -- this proved I could read a whole series of books from Max's POV. She's a great character, her struggles were really relatable (despite the over-the-top family drama and the threat from the Upside Down, both which come from the show), and her victories were way more emotionally satisfying than I expected.
Rating: really liked it
Initial Review:
This has left me feeling very ambivalent. On the one hand, very excited to get something new from Brenna Yovanoff, on the other hand, media tie-ins never work well for me.
I'm going to think happy thoughts and hope for the best.
After Reading:
This wasn't bad for what it was, but I was left feeling that I didn't read a *true* Brenna Yovanoff book.
3.5 Stars
Rating: really liked it
It's like looking Netflix in your head lol.It all happened so fast at the end..I think the series of Stranger things on the TV are better than this book.But it was good
