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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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The story follows Michael Vey, a teenager diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. Although Michael appears normal and has typical hobbies such as playing video games with his best friend Ostin, he secretly has the ability to pulse or surge electricity out of the palms of his hands. After school one day, Michael gets beat up by bullies Jack, Mitchell, and Wade as he is leaving, and a popular cheerleader named Taylor witnesses it. Out of self-defense, Michael touches the three bullies and they fall to the ground. The next day at school, Taylor confronts him about the occasion. After explaining himself, she confesses that she has the ability to "reboot" people and that she can also read minds when she touches someone. They later on discover that they were born in the same hospital near the same date, and a machine made by a company named Elgen was used during their births. The machine went under testing and out of the fifty-nine babies born in the time period only |
The story follows Michael Vey, a teenager diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. Although Michael appears normal and has typical hobbies such as playing video games with his best friend Ostin, he secretly has the ability to pulse or surge electricity out of the palms of his hands. After school one day, Michael gets beat up by bullies Jack, Mitchell, and Wade as he is leaving, and a popular cheerleader named Taylor witnesses it. Out of self-defense, Michael touches the three bullies and they fall to the ground. The next day at school, Taylor confronts him about the occasion. After explaining himself, she confesses that she has the ability to "reboot" people and that she can also read minds when she touches someone. They later on discover that they were born in the same hospital near the same date, and a machine made by a company named Elgen was used during their births. The machine went under testing and out of the fifty-nine babies born in the time period only sixteen survived, including Taylor and Michael |
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Shortly after, both Michael and Taylor receive scholarships from the prestigious Elgen Academy, which claims that it only accepts 17 students every year. When Michael tells his mother about the scholarship, she immediately makes him leave the restaurant they are eating at. On their way to the car, a strange man attempts to rob them. When Michael shocks him, a different man wearing sunglasses, steps out along with two other teenagers. The man reveals himself to be Dr. Hatch. Michael then passes out after being hit by an unknown electrical pulse from one of the teenagers. When Michael wakes up, he is in a hospital and Ostin's mother tells him that his mom has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Taylor has been taken captive to Elgen Academy in Pasadena, California, where she finds out that she has an identical twin. |
Shortly after, both Michael and Taylor receive scholarships from the prestigious Elgen Academy, which claims that it only accepts 17 students every year. When Michael tells his mother about the scholarship, she immediately makes him leave the restaurant they are eating at. On their way to the car, a strange man attempts to rob them. When Michael shocks him, a different man wearing sunglasses, steps out along with two other teenagers. The man reveals himself to be Dr. Hatch. Michael then passes out after being hit by an unknown electrical pulse from one of the teenagers. When Michael wakes up, he is in a hospital and Ostin's mother tells him that his mom has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Taylor has been taken captive to Elgen Academy in Pasadena, California, where she finds out that she has an identical twin. |
Revision as of 13:09, 24 September 2012
Author | Richard Paul Evans |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Publisher | Mercury Ink |
Pages | 336 |
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 is a 2011 young-adult/science fiction novel by Richard Paul Evans. The story follows Michael Vey, a teenager diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome who discovers that he has electrical powers. The book was published by Glenn Beck's company, Mercury Ink.
Plot
The story follows Michael Vey, a teenager diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. Although Michael appears normal and has typical hobbies such as playing video games with his best friend Ostin, he secretly has the ability to pulse or surge electricity out of the palms of his hands. After school one day, Michael gets beat up by bullies Jack, Mitchell, and Wade as he is leaving, and a popular cheerleader named Taylor witnesses it. Out of self-defense, Michael touches the three bullies and they fall to the ground. The next day at school, Taylor confronts him about the occasion. After explaining himself, she confesses that she has the ability to "reboot" people and that she can also read minds when she touches someone. They later on discover that they were born in the same hospital near the same date, and a machine made by a company named Elgen was used during their births. The machine went under testing and out of the fifty-nine babies born in the time period only sixteen survived, including Taylor and Michael
Shortly after, both Michael and Taylor receive scholarships from the prestigious Elgen Academy, which claims that it only accepts 17 students every year. When Michael tells his mother about the scholarship, she immediately makes him leave the restaurant they are eating at. On their way to the car, a strange man attempts to rob them. When Michael shocks him, a different man wearing sunglasses, steps out along with two other teenagers. The man reveals himself to be Dr. Hatch. Michael then passes out after being hit by an unknown electrical pulse from one of the teenagers. When Michael wakes up, he is in a hospital and Ostin's mother tells him that his mom has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Taylor has been taken captive to Elgen Academy in Pasadena, California, where she finds out that she has an identical twin.
Taylor soon discovers the dark side of Dr. Hatch; he likes to use the teenagers' powers for his own benefit and pleasure. When given an order by Dr. Hatch, Taylor disobeys him and gets put on Floor D with three other kids. After getting a car ride to Pasadena, Michael unsuccessfully attempts to free Taylor. After being captured, Dr. Hatch tells Michael that Michael killed his own father, and he makes him choose between his own freedom and his friends. Taylor, Ostin, and the other rebels on Floor D escape their cell only to be caught again. Michael is then forced to shock Wade to prove his allegiance to Dr. Hatch. He refuses to shock him and so his mother is shocked and Michael is sent to Cell 25, the torture cell for those who don't "agree" with Dr. Hatch's methods.
After 26 days, Michael is released from Cell 25 and is taken to the same room where he "failed" his first test by not shocking Wade. Hatch leaves Michael (who is very ill from his treatment in Cell 25) alongside Ostin, and Taylor, who are restrained in chairs. Ostin and Taylor are supposed to be killed by Zeus, but after Michael tricks Zeus into shocking him, he grows more powerful from Zeus's lightning and his able to pulse and knock him unconscious. He checks on Taylor who is okay, and then Ostin, but finds that his heart has stopped. After applying two shocks in a fashion similar to a defibrillator Ostin's heart starts up again. Taylor then goes into the mind of Zeus and searches his memories, to find that Hatch tricked him into believing that he killed his family while swimming in a pool at the age of 7. He then sides with Michael and the rest of the Electroclan and helps them break Ian, McKenna, and Abigail out of their cell, and using his powers, disables all the cameras they come across. A lengthy battle between the Electroclan and Dr. Hatch's loyalists occurs, Michael's group is able to take control of the control room and released the human captives (including Jack and Wade) who overpower the remaining guards that Michael and his group haven't already disabled, while Dr. Hatch escapes from Elgen Academy in a helicopter with most of the other electric children that are loyal to him (with the exception of Nichelle whom he leaves behind) to another location.
After the battle, Taylor goes to call her parents, and after dialing three digits walks up to and kisses Michael. Afterward another electric child, Grace, who supposedly ran away from Hatch shows up wanting to join the "Electoclan". With the suspicion that she may be a plant, Taylor reads her mind and confirms that she is against Hatch. Grace also says that she was able to download all of the Elgen's computer files, before they were deleted, onto herself (her power being that she is able to upload and download data from computers like a flash drive). The book ending with Ostin proclaiming that "This is the rise of the Electoclan!".
Characters
Dr.Hatch
Dr.Hatch is the main antagonist of the book. He recruits (or kidnaps) the glows to the Elgen Academy and gives them what ever they want (no matter the cost) at first but then later guilt trips them into using their gifts for his own personal pleasure (usually the pain of others).
Jack
Jack is one of the bullies that attack Michael daily. He is also friends with Wade and Mitchell, and drives Michael to Pasadena with Wade.
Wade
Wade is one of the bullies that attack Michael daily. He is also friends with Jack and Mitchell, and drives Michael to Pasadena with Jack.
Mitchell
Mithcell is one of the bullies that attack Micheal daily. He is also friends with Jack and Wade.
Michael Vey
Michael Vey is fourteen at the beginning but turned fifteen during the book. Micheal is the main protagonist of the series. Michael has been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, which results in him involuntarily blinking and/or gulping when he is stressed or nervous. Due to his small stature Michael has endured many years of being bullied and unable to retaliate from fear of his powers being exposed. Michael's powers consist of him being able to shock people by contact or if they are connected with something that that can be conducted. He can also cause electrical surges that can destroy electrical equipment and stun people. Michael not only is immune to electrical attacks or discharges, he is also able to absorb them which makes him more powerful. According to Hatch, Michael could possibly be the most powerful Glow alive and has hinted that Michael may have killed his own father on accident. His best friend, Ostin, and girlfriend, Taylor, formed the Electroclan and as a group learned that there were fifteen other teenagers like himself and Taylor.
Taylor Ridley
Taylor Ridley is a fifteen year old high schooler who has been characterized as being beautiful, smart, popular, and likeable. She was adopted when she was young and thus did not know that she had a twin sister. Her abilities are mainly attributed to electrical signals in the brain. These abilities include being able to "reboot" a person's brain, making them forget what they were doing at that moment. She is also able to read people's minds through contact, with this ability being stronger if she is touching foreheads with a person.
Ostin Liss
Michael's best friend and is considered a genius by everyone. It is said he has a GPA of 4.00 but only because it doesn't go any higher. His mother named him after the city in Texas but spelled Austin wrong which Micheal finds ironic because Ostin is a genius and his mom can't even spell the city they lived in.
Zeus
His real name is Frank but he is named Zeus due to his ability to shoot bolts of electricity that are similar in appearance to lightning. He became part of Hatch's group when Hatch fabricated his memories, saying Zeus killed his whole family by jumping into a pool they were in, thus shocking them to death. Due to his inability to touch water, he rarely -if ever- bathes, thus making him sensitive and violent about people commenting about his stench. He joins the Electroclan after the truth about his family is revealed.
Ian
An African American fourteen year old who is first introduced in Purgatory when Taylor is sent there. Although he is blind, it is not a weakness, as his ability is what is called electrolocation where he can track anything with an electrical current meaning everyone. This is most helpful as he is able to track Glows as well as see through almost anything.
McKenna
A Chinese American girl who is first introduced in Purgatory. Her ability allows her create heat and light from any and all parts of her body.
Abigail
A white blonde haired girl who is first introduced in Purgatory. She is known as Abi. Her ability allows her to relieve pain by contact. The drawback of this is that the pain returns once physical contact is broken.
Tara
Taylor's identical twin sister that is completely and unmoveably loyal to Dr. Hatch. Like her sister, Taylor, her abilities also deal with the mind, although that is the extent of their similarities. Tara can stimulate different parts of the brain to cause pain or pleasure and everything in between. She is able to make the person she is using her powers on see and feel what she wants them to, as seen when she causes Michael to believe there were black widows crawling on him and a shark was going to attack him.
Quentin
He is a flirt. His ability is to produce a small EMP or electromagnetic pulse. Both Tara and Kylee have a crush on him.
Sequel
Mercury Ink announced that the sequel, Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen, would be released on August 14, 2012.
Honors
- Number one book on the New York Times Chapter Book list for the week ending August 28, 2011.[1]
- Number one selling book in Barnes and Nobles, number 2 in Amazon.com[2] for Michael Vey.
- On August 25, it was ranked number 38 on USA Today's best sellers.[3]
- Michael Vey reached number Seven on the chart for USA Today in August.[4]
- The Salt Lake Tribune announced that Michael Vey made number seven on the Deseret Book for the week of Aug. 22 through Aug. 27 chart.[5]
Reference List
- ^ New York Times Bestseller List: Children's Chapter Books, <http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-08-28/chapter-books/list.html/>.
- ^ It's Official: Glenn Beck Is The New King Of Book Publishing Business Insider Glynnis MacNicol 3 August 2011 http://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-beck-michael-vey-2011-8
- ^ "USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS." USA Today. 08252011: n. page. Web. 21 Sep. 2011. <http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/25/usa-today-best-sellers/>.
- ^ Donahue, Deirdre. "Best-selling novelists dive into young adult genre." USA Today. 20092011: n. page. Web. 21 Sep. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2011-09-19/grisham-picoult-gregory-young-adult-novels/50474590/1>.
- ^ ""A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries" among best-sellers at Desert Book ." Salt Lake Tribune . 06092011: n. page. Web. 21 Sep. 2011. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsburger/52530658-53/book-mormon-anita-aug.html.csp>.