Evans, Richard Paul.
MICHAEL VEY : THE PRISONER OF CELL 25
New York : Mercury Ink/Simon Pulse, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 1451656505


(2 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Ninth grade can be brutal, especially if you are an undersized boy dealing with Tourette’s syndrome. Add bullies, disingenuous authority figures, a geeky best friend, a loving but financially strapped parent, and you have a relatable protagonist who just happens to have an amazing superpower. Michael Vey can zap people with electricity. With his mother’s help, he has been able to keep his “mutation” a secret until the eventful day when popular cheerleader, Taylor, witnesses him defending himself against three tormentors. This event sets into action a chain of discoveries, deceit, and destruction that brings together an unlikely group of young people who must work together to save themselves and others. Throughout these adventures, the scientific explanation for Michael’s powers emerges: sixteen years ago, seventeen babies were inadvertently given special abilities. Now, evil powerbrokers want to use these young people to cause international mayhem and gain wealth through extortion. Short chapters with intriguing titles, excellent writing, and engaging characters make this action-packed story a compulsively entertaining read. The tale progresses with altering points of view. Michael tells his story in first-person and Taylor’s tale is narrated in third-person. This first book of a planned series has a satisfying conclusion but leaves the reader determined to discover what the next book, Rise of the Electroclan, has in store for our young hero and his friends. (Booktalk by Julie Bolin for 2014 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice nominee)

Booktalk #2

Fourteen-year-old Michael Vey has a dangerous power, and the bullies at his school just pushed him into revealing it.  When Michael tries to defend himself by using his ability to control electrical currents, he draws the attention of the evil Dr. Hatch and a team of scientists who have been hunting Michael for years.  In an attempt to control Michael, the bad guys kidnap Michael’s mother, whisking her off to their secret compound in California.  Taking along his friends Ostin and Taylor, Michael sets off on a quest to save his mom, free all the kids in the compound, and find out once and for all why he has these strange, electrifying abilities. 
(Booktalk by the Sequoya Youth Book Award committee, 2014)