The Electrifying Character of Michael Vey

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I recently finished Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25, and it was a very good experience. The book is told from the perspective of 14-year-old Michael Vey, a loner with a best friend named Ostin Lee. However, he is hiding a secret: he has electric powers, that allow him to send electric pulses through touch, basically like an eel. He is bullied in school, and one day he accidentally reveals his powers while defending himself. He soon finds out that his crush, Taylor, also has similar powers. Shortly after they all meet, his mother is kidnapped. Ostin, Michael, and Taylor set off for the West Coast looking for her. When they reach there, they meet other people like them. I won't say any more than this for fear of spoiling the novel, but you should definitely check this one out.
The author, Richard Paul Evans, does an excellent job making a relatively cliche situation into one that can bring the reader in. What I mean by this is that the starting premise of the book is a 14-year-old boy who has a geeky friend and is bullied. This is a relatively overused and bland scenario for the main character, but Evans makes it work through his writing style, making it seem believable. It makes you really feel as though you are Michael and that you are hiding a major secret. His usage of day to day events, such as friends coming over to play video games, or being in class, is fleshed out to sound like the way a normal person would describe such events. This makes extraordinary events even more jarring and shocking, giving an almost fear-like aspect to them.
Evans also makes the antagonist, Dr. Hatch, feel truly evil. He seems sadistic with the way that he treats Michael and his friends when they rebel. The Purgatory is a horrid place, and no sane man would ever come up with such a place. After I was done reading this book, I went on the fandom for the series and saw that he gets even more disturbing as the series goes on, making it very clear how sick he is. Dr. Hatch also has a backstory that seems believable and gives a level of motivation for the character. However, I do think that Evans fleshed out the wrong parts of the backstory, making us want more as to why he does certain things. It does not take away from the book's overall quality, though.
The relationships between characters are fleshed out very well, making the situations in which Michael is separated from his friends actually nerve-wracking, forcing the reader to actually feel for them unlike in other books. The occasionally awkward relationships between the original trinity (Michael, Ostin, and Taylor) can be humorous or relatable. The action that goes on between them really makes the overall submersion work, and you feel like you have been dropped into their world.
Overall, I think this is a very worthwhile book and is a great read. Evans fleshes out the antagonist, makes the relationships believable and adds a level of submersion to the book. I give this book a 10 on a scale from bad to good.





Comments

  1. TeoDecember 13, 2019 at 6:26 AM

    Good job on this post. I liked how you pinpointed some things you really liked about it, and you made the book sound unique and interesting, even despite it having a cliche beginning. I would like more description about what the superpower actually does, like maybe giving an example of what happened, as I found that part pretty interesting. Overall good job, and I'll look more into this book.

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