Michael Vey #2: Rise of the Elgen

Children's Book and Media Review Volume 38 | Issue 4 Article 13 2017 Michael Vey #2: Rise of the Elgen Abigail Packard Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Packard, Abigail (2017) "Michael Vey #2: Rise of the Elgen," Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 38 : Iss. 4 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol38/iss4/13 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Children's Book and Media Review by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Packard: Michael Vey #2: Rise of the Elgen Book Review Title: Michael Vey #2: Rise of the Elgen Author: Richard Paul Evans Reviewer: Abigail Packard Publisher: Simon Pulse/Mercury Ink Publication Year: 2013 ISBN: 9781442475106 Number of Pages: 352 Interest Level: Intermediate, Young Adult Rating: Excellent Review Michael Vey and the rest of the Electroclan have narrowly escaped the Elgen and head back to Idaho to regroup. However, when they arrive they are surprised to find the Elgen waiting for them. All is not lost though when a mysterious “voice” calls Michael and helps him and his friends escape the Elgen. Michael has no choice but to trust the voice which brings the entire Electroclan back into the foray with the Elgen as they travel to Peru to find and free Michael’s mom. With the help of each member of the Electroclan and some new friends discovered along the way, Michael infiltrates the Peruvian Starxource plant and frees his mother. But he’s captured as he tries to create a diversion so that the others can escape. Dr. Hatch attempts to persuade him to join his force, but Michael refuses. Just before Michael is fed to the millions of electric rats that power the Starxource plant, Ostin, Taylor, and the others blow up the water cooling system causing the plant to overheat. Michael escapes, but he fails to rejoin the others and is captured by a group of tribesmen native to the Amazon. In a final twist, just as Michael demands that they kill him and then eat him already, the chief of the tribe turns to him and tells him that his journey is just beginning. This second installment of Richard Paul Evans’s series is just as exciting as the first. With mysteries, chases, and world travel, Rise of the Elgen is a page-turner. Again, Evans uses just enough science and reasoning to allow the reader to suspend their disbelief as they read about Michael’s amazing electrical powers. Evans does an excellent job of thickening the plot by adding in lots of information from Hatch’s and the other Glows’ perspectives. Amidst all of the adventure and action, Evans even brings up some interesting dilemmas and moral questions about friendship and loyalty, guilt and forgiveness. Evans’s writing is clear and interesting, with enough witty comments to keep the reader laughing while they turn page after page as quickly as they can. *Contains mild violence, scenes of torture, and an attempted suicide. Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2017 1  (...truncated)