326 pages
"'HAVE YOU FOUND THE LAST TWO?'
The voice on the phone was angry and coarse, like the sound of car tires over broken glass.
'Not yet,' the well-dressed man on the other end of the phone replied. 'Not yet. But we believe we're close - and they still don't know that we're hunting them.'
'You believe you're close?'
'They're two children among a billion - finding them is like finding a lost chopstick in China.'
'Is that what you want me to tell the board?'
'Remind the board that I've already found fifteen of the seventeen children. I've put out a million-dollar bounty on the last two, we've got spiders crawling the Web, and we have a whole team of investigators scanning global records for their whereabouts. It's just a matter of time before we find them.'
'Time isn't on our side,' the voice returned sharply. 'Those kids are already too old. You know how difficult they are to turn at this age.'
'I know better than anyone,' the man said. 'But I have my ways. And if they don't turn, there's always Cell 25.'
There was a long pause, then the voice replied darkly, 'Yes. There's always Cell 25.'" -Back Cover
My mom is a huge Glenn Beck fan. (I think she might think his word is law.) He promoted this book on his show, saying it was one of the best books he's read. I think he's also friends with the author. Admittedly, I've never read a Richard Paul Evans book. I tend to steer away from the sappy/cheesy novels. This is his first foray into the world of young adult literature so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm always a sucker for a good sci-fi novel so my sister, mom and I all ordered it. Actually, we went to Barnes and Noble to get it but we were a week early. Thanks, radio people.
{SPOILERS}
My sister finished this book first and said it was really boring until the very end. So, I went in with basically no expectations whatsoever and that probably helped my overall opinion of the book. It's good, not great. There were several elements that were borrowed from other stories: Michael Vey has Tourette's Syndrome. Hello Percy Jackson and Dyslexia. Obviously I'm not against a main character having a disability; it just didn't really add anything to the story in my opinion, unless it factors into the reason why he's probably the most powerful of the electric children. Like Percy, Michael is not popular. He's picked on in school. He spends time in detention for being shoved in his locker by the school bullies. He hates the principal. He is an only child and lives with his mother in an apartment. Lots of similarities to Percy Jackson.
Michael's best friend is Ostin. He's named for the Texas town but apparently his mom couldn't spell Austin, which just struck me as dumb because Ostin is somewhat of a genius. You'd think his mom could at least spell. He's also picked on at school. I like Ostin. He helps Michael out of some tough spots and his smarts are believable...just not inherited from his mom.
Jack and Wade are the bullies who pick on Michael one two many times and find themselves victims of Michael's gift. This led to the most implausible element of the story for me. One minute Jack and Wade are picking on Michael constantly and the next they're all buddy buddy. I guess that was one heck of a shock Michael gave them. I really like their relationship towards the end of the book, I just wish they would have come to it a different way.
Taylor is the cute cheerleader. She also has electric abilities; she can "reboot" people and read minds. I didn't quite get her instant attraction to Michael. Maybe it was an electric thing. She, Ostin and Michael form a club - the "Electroclan." Dumb name.
There are seventeen electric children, fifteen of which have been at the Elgen Academy for varying lengths of time. There was a strong resemblance to X-Men here. The kids all have different abilities. Some can shoot lightning from their fingertips, bring down planes, create a sense of fear, induce serious pain, etc. All but three of them do Dr. Hatch's bidding. The three who refused are locked up in the dungeon.
Hatch is like Magneto only without powers of his own. He wears a metal helmet for protection, not because it looks cool. His sidekick/bodyguard Nichelle protects him by inflicting mental anguish on whoever tries to harm him. They're both nasty pieces of work. Hatch is all sugar on the outside at first but Taylor's quick glimpse into his mind shows how deceitful and cunning he is even while he's trying to buy her Harry Winston diamonds. He has absolutely no regard for human life, his only ambition is power. His true nature is quick to emerge as he tries to get Taylor and then Michael to show their commitment to him. Michael winds up in Cell 25 when he refuses to kill Wade, where he's then tortured by Taylor's twin sister. In the end Hatch escapes with those kids still loyal to him. He's not the boss however. I like that we have yet to meet who he answers to.
I thought the second half of the book was much better than the first. The first half was a little slow. The ending set up a sequel, with the enlarged Electroclan planning on rescuing Michael's mom, who was kidnapped by Elgen and used as leverage against Michael. Book 2 should be pretty interesting.
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