The Prisoner of Cell 25

Oh, why why why why why why why why WHY did I read this horrible, cliche-ridden book? So I can give a bad review of it, that's why! So, in brief, this book is about Michael Vey, a teenager that has electrical powers. Here's the cliche part: Michael Vey is a scrawny teen that's constantly bullied, his best friend's a nerdy loser, and the main girl in the story is the most popular and prettiest girl in school. Oh, she's also a cheerleader.Michael soon finds out that Taylor, aka 'most popular and p [...]

Michael Vey, The Prisoner of Cell 25, by Richard Paul Evans, is a fun fantasy with lots of funny and yes, stupid humor too. It is not like the Alex Rider or Jason Steed series and maybe not quite as good. The story lacks the emotion from the Jason Steed novels and the skill of Anthony Horowitz on the Alex Rider series. It is about Michael and his best friend Ostin. Ostin has his name because his mother mistakenly misspelled Austin, as in the Texas city Austin.Michael was born with powers that ar [...]

I was asked by Left Bank Books to check out this book. Man, I'm glad they pointed it out to me. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 was an unexpectedly good read for me. I actually didn't read too much about the book, so all I knew going in was that it vaguely had to do with super powers.Michael Vey seems to be an ordinary 14 year old, but we find out in the first chapter that he has a hidden power. To make matters worse, he has Tourette's, which makes him have the unfortunate habit of saying t [...]

More reviews at Rondo of a Possible World: YA Book ReviewsOh man! Everything, just everything about this has me tingling up and down from excitement. The Michael Vey series is one of my favorite summer reads and I'm so upset that I have to wait for the sequel. But hey, the wait is worth it!I know people are saying that this book could be the next "Harry Potter" but I think it shouldn't be compared to Harry Potter, not dissing Michael Vey but this story and Harry Potter are great in their own way [...]

I am clearly not the target audience for this (since I'm not a middle/high-grades boy), yet I still found it sufficiently compelling. If I had a middle/high-grades son, this would top the list of books I'd want him to read.The MC is of lower socio-economic status and has a mental disorder (Tourette's) that is not brushed aside as a cute quirk. Well done, author! There are multiple secondary (eh, maybe tertiary) characters of color, which is a step in the right direction, although some of the nam [...]

It started off so well. Cliché, yes; too much like Percy Jackson, yes. But it had potential.Too bad the characters couldn't pull it off.YA romance is filled with female MCs who have little to no personality - a vessel into which girls and women can project themselves for a vicarious romantic fling. Though for some reason it's never been quite as annoying, I've noticed that many male MCs are beginning to have this characteristic, as well, as a vessel for a vicarious adventurous fling. The only r [...]

Story Description:“My name is Michael Vey and there’s something you don’t know about me, something that scares people more than you would believe. It’s my secret – and it’s part of the story I’m about to tell you.”To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is just your average, ordinary fourteen-year-old. But Michael is anything but ordinary – in fact, he is electric.When Michael’s best friends, Ostin Liss and cheerleader Taylor Ridley, make an accidental discovery, the [...]

The Michael Vey books have been hailed as the next Harry Potter or Hunger Games series. Let me spare you the suspense: they're not. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't good. I think if I were a middle schooler, especially a boy, I would eat these up. They are quick, unique, vampire and werewolf-free, and completely clean. But for me as an adult, I wouldn't say I felt like I HAD to get back and finish it. I feel like he has a unique and fresh take on a suspenseful YA novel, fun characters, and g [...]

I've had both adults and teens recommend this book to me, so I ordered a copy for the library. I really want to give this book 5 stars, but I just can't. Where, oh where, was your editor Mr. Evans? He/She should have really caught some of the flat dialogue in the first part of the book. You see, I have this thing that I dislike with some books. If the writing seems to stop a smooth flow, my brain gives a little "hitch" (for lack of a better word). In other words, my brain jerks a little bit, and [...]

Richard Paul Evans ruined Christmas for me one year. I sat in the corner of the living room, reading The Christmas Box and cried. In fact, I was in a rather obsessive mood and considered how it would look if I disappeared for a couple of hours and drove to the cemetery to see if the grave marker really existed. How much of this story was true? Then I calmed down enough to just be ticked off at him for making me cry. I hate contrived tragedies which is why I never watch Little House on the Prairi [...]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!! Shall I continue? This book is absolutely, positively. . . marvelous!Haha! Yes, that gif needs to be here too. But seriously, the story, the characters, the writing style. . . it's just all so amazing and brilliant!MichaelYou know, since I kind of hate books with a first person writing to it, I tend to stay away simply because my experience with first person main characters has not been well. They're too cocky and seem to know better than ever [...]

This book was recommended to me as something fun to read. I thought it was horrible.The story included just about every stereotypical bad high school story plot point *spoilers below* - Michael gets stuffed in lockers by big bad mean bullies and the principal won't help him; he had a big crush on the prettiest cheerleader, who, voila, happens to also have special electric powers; his best friend/sidekick is a fat and socially inept genius kid; in the course of the adventure, he ends up befriendi [...]

I was amazed at how awful this book was. If you're reading this, I'll assume that you know the plot, either from the handy synopsis up top or from reading the book yourself, so I'll just go on. Evans took a pretty cool idea- kids with electricity-related powers- and ruined it via poor writing and flat characterization. No matter what Vey was doing, the writing did not change. Kissing his longtime crush? Being tortured? Fighting to the death? This is what he sounded like. It was the written equiv [...]

What an awful, horrible villain! Love the whole idea of electric powers and the wide variety of abilities the kids display. Really cool stuff. Really like Michael as the hero. He's relate-able. I could easily imagine him as my brother. His best friend is awesome too.

Riveting, Addictive, Funny & Exciting! An Excellent Read! I Loved It!

Wow! What a good start to a series, I haven't read a sci-fi book in SO.LONG! And I'm glad I read this one! The best part about this story has to be that all the kids' powers are unique but related specifically to electricity. I picked up this series because the synopsis reminded me loosely of the Gone series, but even in the Gone series the children had a variety of powers. I think having it focused on electricity made it even more unique in a way. I absolutely adored the clumsy side romance bet [...]

I think that your reaction to the summary of this book will be the best judge of whether or not you are going to like this novel. As I was first reading it, phrases like "It's my story," "but Michael is anything but ordinary," and "Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers and friends if he's to survive," stuck out at me. Not in a good way. In fact the whole summary screamed, "I'm an ordinary book." And it was.Richard Paul Evans has written many best-selling novels for adults, and this is hi [...]

In this book there was a day when 17 electric children were born. They were all separated and raised as normal children. There are 2 electric children that live in the same city in Idaho. There is a man in LA California, named Hatch, who is trying to gather all the electric children and take over the world. Micheal and Taylor are trying to escape from Hatch and release the rest of the children. Hatch and his apprentices go to Idaho and kidnap Micheal's mom, and Taylor Ridley. Micheal and his bes [...]

I held off writing a review of this book because, well, if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all, right? Well, bullshit. I very much wanted to like this book, and the fact that I wanted to like it made me give it 3 stars when I might have given 2. My problem wasn't so much the main character, who is a guy we've all seen before but whose lack of originality I can get over. My problem is the villains. The head bad guy comes straight from Austin Powers' Dr. Evil, but he's not funny [...]

Wat een geweldig science-fiction verhaal! Ik heb er echt van genoten! Een minpunt is dat soms alles te makkelijk lijkt te gaan, en het verhaal wordt daardoor een beetje onwaarschijnlijk.

Ugh, got to about the last 75 pages and just didn't really care. So much the all action, no depth ofand the just-one-damn-thing after another ofand just a comic book mentality of evil empires.Okay, so it's not subtle. I'm usually pretty good at "boy books"--even likedbut not . Like in this one: it just seemed so much for the game-obsessed and short-attention span, I-want-to-read-a-movie, not-think set of 12-15 year olds that I just couldn't find my inner tween-teen boy, even though I live with o [...]

This book was one of my all-time favorite books I have ever read. On a scale from one to ten I would rate it a nine. One of the things I loved about the book was how descriptive Richard Paul Evans was. Every scene I could paint a picture in my head with every movement of the characters to the setting behind them. My favorite part was when they over-ran the Elgen Academy and let the prisoners go. With Richard Paul Evens descriptive words I could see the whole thing happen in my head. Another thin [...]

Grade/interest level: Middle SchoolReading level: 550LGenre: Fiction Mystery/AdventureMain Characters: Michael, Taylor, Ostin, Dr.HatchSetting: Elgen Academy in Pasadena California & IdahoPOV: 1st personMichael Vey is a different kid from any other kid. He has electric powers, that only is mom and best friend, Ostin, knows about. He acts like an ordinary kid. One day during science class, his teacher gets mad at him. The most popular girl in the school, Taylor Ridley, reboots the science tea [...]

Wow. The first part of this book was absolutely horrible. It seemed like the author was trying to be really cool, and instead it was a collection of the worst similes, metaphors, writings, and genuinely unfunny jokes EVER. All the characters were so freaking stereotypical, you probably could have made them cardboard cutouts and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Every line, every trick in the book was played, making this very uninteresting. And while I was reading, I was strongly reminded o [...]

I had seen many of my classmates reading the Michael Vey series, and I had always wondered why it was so popular. However, as soon as I started reading it I understood the excitement. It is an action-packed book with a great story line. The author makes you connect with the narrator, making your hate for his enemies greater. This book keeps you wanting to read "one more chapter", and before you know it you're done with the book. Michael Vey was a nicely written book, and I would recommend it to [...]

This book is amazing my third time reading it and it's just like picking it up for the first time!

I've never read anything by Evans, but I noticed that he was well-known for romantic fiction. I hate romance. So I was surprised to see that this is a YA novel, and one that dodges the ever-so-popular "supernatural romance" trap.I was pleasantly surprised by Michael Vey. The protagonist has a distinctive voice and is very easy for teens or tweens to relate to with the usual teen foibles -- bullies, irrational authority figures, an absent father, unpopularity, a hopeless crush -- and the not-so-u [...]

Let me first preface this by saying. Although I have not read a Harry Potter book all the way through.(Twilight or Harry Potter just isn't my thing). I will always be great full to the Harry potter series for helping my little sister overcome her Dyslexia. So I have no frame of reference with the series that this one is trying to compete with, but I have a healthy admiration.I won't presume that this series will compete for the title. That is a big contender to knock off it's throne. I can howev [...]

I had high hopes for this book. Glenn Beck hyped this up as "the next Harry Potter and Twilight." I also had high expectations from Beck's new publishing label Mercury Ink (of which Michael Vey is its first offering), which Beck described as providing "educational" and "values-promoting" books to the youth. I'm very glad I read this book before giving it to my kids. This book is very dark and inappropriate for kids. It has kidnapping, brainwashing, and torture as prominent parts of the plot. Bul [...]

My daughter read this book when it came out and really enjoyed it and said I should read it. I finally got around to it. This is a great story for readers from middle grade on up. It is fast paced and very engaging. While I didn't "love it" as much as I have other books similar to this I thought it was very well done. I'll be passing it on to my 12 year old as it seems like something he will love. There will be 7 books in this series and book 4 was just released. I will likely wait a couple year [...]