Book Review: Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans (Michael Vey, #1)

by The Book Pup on [date]

Blurb (on Goodreads):

My name is Michael Vey, and the story I’m about to tell you is strange. Very strange. It’s my story.

To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric powers.

Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael’s friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children – and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he’s to survive.

My Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Michael Vey has a secret — he can shock people with electricity. When he discovers he's not alone, and that a powerful organization has been hunting kids like him, his quiet life quickly unravels. What sounds like a fun, action-packed superhero adventure takes some very dark turns.

My Review

⚠️ If Michael Vey is a beloved series for you, this is probably not the review for you. I genuinely respect that it has its fans — it just wasn't for me at all. 🐾

Here's the thing: it started well. 🦊 The premise is genuinely intriguing: a regular teenager with electric powers, a mystery surrounding how he got them, a secret organization hunting kids like him. Fun! Engaging! I was on board!

And then the book decided to take a hard left turn. 😕

What I was NOT prepared for was how much of this book is dedicated to an adult — Dr. Hatch, the villain — systematically tormenting, manipulating, and torturing children. 🌙 We're talking coercion, psychological manipulation, threats against family, and genuinely disturbing scenes of an adult wielding power over kids in deeply uncomfortable ways. At a certain point it stopped feeling like plot and started feeling like scene after scene of a child being broken down, with very little actual story happening around it.

No plot. No momentum. Just... that. 🦉

I want to be careful here because I don't like making assumptions about authors. But I'll be honest — the sheer volume of these scenes, and the level of detail given to them, made me deeply uncomfortable in a way that went beyond the story needing a villain. It felt like dwelling. And dwelling in that territory, in a book marketed to kids and teens, is not something I can get behind. 🚫

This is a 1-star from me and a book I'd actively caution parents and younger readers about before picking up. 🌲

1/5 pawprints 🐾

You can find the book on Goodreads here!

⚠️ Strong Content Warning: Contains extended and detailed scenes of an adult tormenting, manipulating, and coercing a child, including threats against family members. Despite being marketed to middle grade and teen readers, these scenes are genuinely disturbing. Please research fully before giving this to a younger reader. 🚫

The Book Pup 🐾

P.S. Life is too short — and there are too many good books out there — to push through something that makes you this uncomfortable. DNF is always an option, and I wish I'd used it. 🌙✨