Should Samuel read MAXIMUM RIDE?

At the start of this school year, Samuel's teacher informed us that our children need to choose the books they read according to their Lexile reading level rather than the grade level they've scored....we've been choosing books by grade level since kindergarten, so this is a major change for us.  Even though I've gone to the Lexile web site, I'm still having a hard time understanding why/how choosing books by Lexile level is better or more appropriate overall for my 5th grader in choosing books.

What makes this whole book choice so very confusing is that Samuel's lexile score is over 900.  (Yes, that's pretty high for a 5th grader and yes, Mommy is bursting at the seams with pride that he's such a good reader!)  So, one of the first things Samuel and I have done is to go through all the books we have at home, trying to decide what he's going to read based on his high Lexile score.

Samuel has watched me read the Harry Potter series several times over the past year and has heard quite a bit about how much I've enjoyed it, so choosing to read the first book in the series was actually an easy one for him.  He is currently on book 4 but thinks he'll wait a while to read the last 3.  They are pretty thick, you know!  The interesting thing to note is that every one of the Harry Potter books' lexile scores are lower than or easily within the 900+ Samuel scored!

Book 1:  Scorcer's Stone = 880 lexile
Book 2:  Chamber of Secrets = 940 lexile
Book 3:  Prisoner of Azkaban = 880 lexile
Book 4:  Goblet of Fire = 880 lexile
Book 5:  Order of the Phoenix = 950 lexile
Book 6:   Half-Blood Prince = 1030 lexile
Book 7:  Deathly Hallows = 980 lexile

So, while especially the last 3-4 books are long enough to intimidate even the most excited readers, they're easily exactly the types of books Samuel could be choosing based on his Lexile score.  Granted, they are fairly easy and fast reads, but they do get darker and darker as the series goes on; dark enough that I am actually glad that Samuel wants to wait to read the last few books.

Which brings me to my original point:  should Samuel read the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson?  I ordered this series for Samuel some time ago because I'd heard great things about it and I thought that maybe he'd want to read the books when he's ready.  So, in preparation for Samuel possibly reading these books, I picked up the first one of the series.  I can see how kids, especially boys, would be drawn into this series....I mean, who wouldn't enjoy a series about 6 kids who've been genetically altered with bird DNA so they not only have beautiful and functional wings, but they also have other amazing bird-like qualities--while still keeping their humanity?!

I flew through the first book.  But I'm already frustrated and I'm in the 10th chapter of the second book:  1.  the main character, Max, keeps giving the bird (get it?  and yes, she's thinks she's very clever and funny for using that phrase)--not only do I take offense to a 14-year-old giving the bird (more than once), but I also have a major problem with said character thinking she's clever and funny for doing it; 2.  the same things keep happening over and over again, but nothing is done to change it--even though Max knows she's has a microchip embedded in her and that she's probably the reason they keep having to escape the enemy, she doesn't do anything to try to find out if her chip can be removed or if it even has a GPS-type device that keeps giving away their location; and 3. it's just not really good literature.  (I'm sorry, James Patterson, but Stephen King is right......)

So the question remains....should Samuel read the series?  Do I want him reading it???  Looking at the Lexile scores (I'm still learning the order of the books in the series, so they're not listed in order below, as far as I know):

Maximum Ride: Max = 770 lexile
Maximum Ride: Saving the World = 740 lexile
Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever = 660 lexile
Maximum Ride:  The Angel Experiment = 700 lexile
Maximum Ride: The Final Warning = 720 lexile

Based on the lexile scores, the books are way below Samuel's 900+ lexile score and should, therefore, be avoided.  He's supposed to stay within 100 points +/- his total lexile score which, I think, is 940.  So from the lexile perspective, this series isn't even an option for Samuel.

But, from a lexile point of view, neither is the Lord of the Rings series ones Samuel needs to tackle (yes, the lexile scores for the LotR series is below Samuel's!)!  And I checked the lexile scores for Dave Barry's wonderful series of books starting with Peter and the Star Catchers, and the lexile scores for most of the books in that series are way too low for Samuel!!!!

This is getting frustrating!  So I'm getting to the point where if Samuel wants to read a book, I don't even want to worry about the lexile score; I just want to encourage my son to READ.  How in the world are we supposed to choose books for him to read when even books that I consider OUT OF HIS [AGE] RANGE are too low according to his lexile score?! 

One positive note is that the last 3 How to Train Your Dragon books ARE within Samuel's lexile score, so he's going to finish that series after he finishes reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!  We love the How to Train Your Dragon series!!!!  The movie is amazing and the books are even more awesome!!!!  Cressida Cowell is a genius!  She deserves as much credit as a wonderful female writer of the 21st Century as J. K. Rowling already has!!! 

I know I'm all over the place with my discussion here.....I had planned on focusing on the first book of the Maximum Ride series because that's the most recent book I've finished reading, but obviously this Lexile scoring as a basis for choosing books for Samuel to read this year has me completely bumfuzzled and I just wanted to share.......


I'd love to hear your thoughts.........