Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

If Michael Vey was a normal 14-year-old boy, the only things he would have to deal with would be his mild case of Tourette’s Syndrome, the bullies who throw him into lockers, and his unsympathetic principal. But, Michael Vey is far from ordinary—he’s electric. Michael Vey is one of 17 surviving infants from a failed medical experiment. As a result, these children, including Michael, and as he finds out later, his classmate, Taylor, have unique electric abilities. Michael, Taylor, and Michael’s brilliant best friend Ostin form a secret club known as the Electroclan to track down how and why Taylor and Michael have these powers. Meanwhile, Dr. Hatch, leader of Elgen research lab and part of the group responsible for the accident, has spent more than a decade tracking down all the “Electric Children.” The Electroclan’s snooping regarding the accident sets in motion their captivity by Hatch. Hatch’s self-righteous ambition is to study the surviving teens, control their power, and create a new world of superior humans. The Electric Children live pretty glamorous lives at Elgen with a $200,000 expense account and lavish living quarters, but the utopian environment masks dark manipulation and murder. Michael and his friends must do whatever they can to avoid Hatch’s temptation, protect their families, and escape their imprisonment.

Richard Paul Evan’s first YA book is filled with non-stop action, memorable characters, believable dialog, and is a unique take on the whole ‘world domination by a new breed of humans’ troupe. Luckily, this is only the first novel in the Michael Vey series. Don’t miss this book!

'The Person Just for Me'--Review of Girl Parts

Girl Parts by John Cusick begins with a young girl overdosing in front of her computer; the webcam has its eyes on her and hundreds of viewers are glued to their screens, watching her die. After being confronted for watching the suicide by his computer-tycoon father, seventeen-year-old David Sun is diagnosed with “dissociative disorder”… and he’s not the only one. What’s the cure? For David, the cure for his disorder is to pick out his perfect ‘companion’ from the well-known Japanese Company Sokora Solutions who specializes in creating custom made fem-bots to help males around the world.

Beautiful, red-headed Rose is everything David could ever want in a woman. Yet, David needs to learn to keep control, seeing as her intimacy clock is specifically designed to keep David in line and train him to form proper connections with females. This is done by sending him mild electric shocks to try and condition his behavior. And when the time finally does come for them to be completely intimate, David and Rose find out that despite Rose’s life-like looks and attitude, she’s still not a human girl. David and his lonely classmate Charlie both become emotionally involved with this unique girl, while Rose slowly learns what it’s like to truly be human.

From the very first page, to its disconcerting ending, Girl Parts addresses our growing reliance on technology and the importance of feeling connected to others. The book explores themes of humanity, artificial intelligence, and the role of the Internet in our lives. The concept is intriguing, combining science fiction with the real world. While it takes place in the present, technology is more advanced than it is today: students sit in front of computers all day for ‘school,’ and research in artificial intelligence is thriving. Though the story takes a while to build up and tends to drag in certain places, Girl Parts is a fun, quick read.

Fans of anime and manga will recognize these themes from numerous popular series, particularly Chobits, by Clamp. It was for Girl Parts’ striking resemblance to Chobits that I was attracted to this book. Artificial intelligence creatures desiring to be human and questioning their role in society is not a new concept, but Girl Parts does a good job at setting itself from the mainstream in an interesting and unique way.