Angie´s Letter Essay #6

Dear Blog,
I recently finished the science fiction book Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans. It is the first book in the Michael Vey series. The first book was written in 2011. I decided to read this book because I am very interested in the science fiction genre, and my brother reads a lot of this series- so I was curious.
This book is about a 14-year-old boy named Michael Vey, who is bullied relentlessly at every school he attends. Being stuffed into garbage cans and lockers has become almost his everyday routine, but when Jack and his gang try to pants him after school, Michael has finally had enough. Anger sends electricity pulsing through his body. The powerful voltage shocks the bullies and leaves them gasping in pain. They won’t bother him again. But the bullies aren’t the only ones to witness his impressive powers. Michael’s crush, Taylor Ridley, a cheerleader at Meridian High, is watching. Michael and his mom have tried hard to keep this unusual ability secret.
Michael avoids Taylor’s persistent questions until she reveals that she also has electrical powers. Taylor can’t conduct electricity the way Michael can, but she can reboot people’s brains, making them temporarily forget what they were doing or saying. She can also read minds. Taylor, Ostin and Michael form a club called the Electroclan. The group soon discovers that Taylor and Michael were born at the same hospital in Pasadena, California within days of each other. Ostin learns that in the 11 days surrounding their births, 59 babies were born at the Pasadena General Hospital, but only 17 survived. The deaths appear to be linked to a malfunctioning piece of hospital equipment that used a new technology called Magnetic Electron Induction (MEI). Elgen Inc. was conducting research on this technology until a technical malfunction suspended the research.
Taylor and Michael are both contacted by a prestigious school called Elgen Academy, located in Pasadena. They have both won a full scholarship. Neither wants to go, but Elgen Inc. won’t take no for an answer. Soon after, Taylor’s and Michael’s moms are kidnapped! Michael and Ostin are determined to drive to Pasadena to rescue them, but neither of them owns a car. Jack, the bully from school, does, though. Meanwhile, Taylor is living the high life at Elgen Academy. Having recovered from the indignity of her capture, she learns that she has a twin named Tara. Tara is also electric and has lived at Elgen Academy for almost a decade. She can manipulate the emotions of people around her. Taylor and Tara go on a whirlwind shopping trip and spend thousands of dollars on clothes and jewelry at exclusive shops. She also meets Dr. Hatch, the man in charge at Elgen Academy, and the rest of the electric children, called glows. Hatch convinces Taylor to reboot a singer in the middle of a song. She feels guilty later. When Hatch insists that she reboot a motorcyclist in the middle of a jump, Taylor refuses.
Taylor is tortured and locked in a cell with several other glows who have defied Hatch. Michael and Ostin break into their cell but are immediately captured, as are Jack and Wade. Hatch offers Michael safe passage for his friends and mother in return for his loyalty, but when Michael learns that he will have to electrocute Wade, he rebels. Hatch locks Michael in cell 25, where he is tortured by Tara, who makes him feel constant fear. However, his powers continue to increase daily. Michael finally escapes with the help of Zeus, a formerly brainwashed glow that he and Tara convince to turn against Hatch. They rescue the guinea pigs (ordinary humans that Hatch has imprisoned in the basement) including Jack and Wade. Michael defeats Nichelle, a glow who serves as Hatch’s main enforcer, and Hatch escapes in a helicopter with the glows who remain loyal to him. Michael and his friends decide to follow them and free his mom.
I am very glad that I read this book and I’m looking forward to reading the whole series. I would rate this book a 10 out of 10 because of its suspense and action.

Sincerely,
Angie

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