BookBreather: Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (REVIEW)

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey #1) by Richard Paul Evans

Genre: YA Science Fiction - Publisher: Mercury Ink - Publication date: August 9, 2011 - Pages: 326 - Source: Simon Pulse It

My name is Michael Vey, and the story I’m about to tell you is strange. Very strange. It’s my story.
To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers.

Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive. (Goodreads.com)

I think that the best part of this book is that it is suitable for all ages. This book is clean, fast-paced, and an all around fun read! I was hooked from the beginning!

This book is original. I;m just putting that out there. I read a lot of YA and electric kids - who call themselves the Electroclan - do not pop up very often. The first time that Michael demonstrated his powers I was absolutely amazed, and then here comes Taylor, who also has these awesomely mind-blowing powers.

One thing that was incredibly impressive to me was the research that must have gone into this. I mean, I'm no expert on electricity, so if some of the facts were wrong I would have no idea, but there was obviously a lot of work put into figuring out electric waves and whatnot. And the best part is, the author puts it into terms that are not very confusing. There is nothing I hate more than a confusing plot!

Michael has a fun voice and a great personality that I really enjoyed reading, however, I felt sort of disconnected from him towards the end. In the beginning his emotions came through loud and clear but in the end they were a little fuzzy. The crush that Michael had on Taylor was definitely amusing, and didn't subtract from the plot at all, which is obviously essential if there is going to be a romantic aspect.

The bad guys were intriguing and I actually loved reading their dialogue and speeches in my mind and seeing what they had in store next. I loved the variety of powers that the different electric kids had. The unique ways that electricity was used to make powers added a really cool twist to everything.

In my opinion, all of the characters were great. The ending was marvelous. It was happy, but not resolved. The plot for the next book was set up, but the characters got a little breathing time.

This book, while it had violence in it, was a light read that provided a good distraction from the paranormal.It's definitely a book that'll leave you wanting more and waiting for the next installment.

The premise. Original, clever, and fun! I've never read anything like it before.
The protagonist. I love male main characters. That's something I've been saying for a while, and something I'll continue to say for a while. And I don't just say it because guys are guys and I like guys. I say it because guys have a totally different perspective of things than girls. Michael has some totally awesome qualities about him that make him incredibly loveable. First of all, he's strong-willed even if it doesn't appear that way. Second of all, boy loves his mama! He's courageous and funny. I love that he has Tourettes, too, because it just adds more depth to his character, and he doesn't let it get in his way.
The action. Like I said before, there is violence in this book. There are guns and grenades and mind crippling, but none of it is gory. I think that's important because I really don't want my stomach to turn when I'm reading a book like this.
The solutions. A group of kids with powerful electric inside of them and a genius. Odds are that if they put their brains together than they could figure out a problem to any solution. And they did. It didn't always come easy and it didn't always come quick, but instead of panicking and completely shutting down, the group managed to come up with clever ways to get themselves out of certain ruts.