Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

A girl in my middle school book club enthusiastically recommended that I read Richard Paul Evans’ Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Book One) so I set aside the 20 other books I have stacked on my dresser…I am so happy I did. This is a middle grade/young adult sci-fi thriller that keeps the reader on edge. Fourteen-year-old Michael Vey has a huge secret that only his mother and best friend, Ostin (pronounced “Austin”), know about. When he is bullied by one of the meanest guys at his high school and his posse, he lets loose and fights back with his electrical powers. A popular cheerleader named Taylor witnesses the way he single-handedly fights off his attackers. She confides in him and eventually Ostin that she also has secret powers. They decide to research if their powers are connected in any way. The results are astonishing, but their online search ends up leading powerful, dark people straight to them. How will Michael fight back when the secret society kidnaps both Taylor and his mother? My student says that Book Two: Rise of the Elgen gets even better – can’t wait to read that one.