Pages: 326
Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens
Genre: Supernatural Thriller
Notes for parents: Some violence, but it’s never gratuitous.
The Inside Cover
To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is just your average, ordinary fourteen-year-old. But Michael is anything but ordinary—in fact, he is electric.
When Michael’s best friends, Ostin Liss and cheerleader Taylor Ridley, make an accidental discovery, the three of them learn that there are other kids with similar powers—and that someone, or something, is hunting them.
After Michael’s mother is kidnapped, Michael will have to rely on his wits, his unique power, and his friends to combat the hunters, free his mother, and save the others.
What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:
This is the first book in the Michael Vey series.
What’s good?
Michael Vey is a reluctant but likeable hero, Ostin is his charming and intelligent side-kick, Taylor is a strong female lead, and Jack & Wade nicely round out the members of the Electroclan. This is an engaging, well-paced classic battle between good and evil that sees a group of powerful children tempted to ignore morality in favour of superiority and material gain. There is a lot of action and adventure mixed with mystery and suspense packed into short chapters which makes this an easy and enjoyable read.
Best part: I like that all of the “electric” have different powers.
What’s not so good?
I was a bit unnerved by the depth of cruelty. Hatch’s manipulative method was too obviously malicious to be believable as a successful technique. His I bought you something pretty so now you have to hurt someone for me seems very...lame. Similarly, Nichelle’s relentless brutality is a bit over the top. She must be psychotic to be so cruel. While it didn’t ruin the story, I prefer my antagonists with a little vulnerability, which these two don’t seem to have in any amount.
Worst part: Hatch’s attempts at manipulation. It’s hard to believe they worked on anyone.
Recommendations þþþoo
Richard Paul Evans is best known for his conservative, Christian-themed books for adults and children. This is his first book for teens. It’s an edgy, action-filled adventure with moral quandaries and power-hungry bad guys. This should appeal to most teens.
Evans, Richard Paul. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. New York: Simon Pulse/ Mercury Ink, 2011.
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