The colony

Hang onto your socks! Evans' new teen book is a high-voltage ride that cranks up early and surges to a wild finish, setting up sequels to come. Fourteen-year-old Michael Vey tries to stay under the radar, but his small stature and Tourette's syndrome make him a target of bullies, and he has serious reasons to keep from losing his temper. Michael has dangerous powers. He can produce electrical shocks, and this power is getting stronger all the time. Only Michael's mother and his best friend, Ostin, know the truth, until Michael discovers that a lovely classmate, Taylor, also has strange electrically based powers. Forming the Electroclan, the two supernatural teens begin to investigate their pasts and discover a strange connection, but their research brings them to the attention of powerful men set on world domination. The highly charged plot generates a crackling pace, and the main characters are likable and compelling. It is best not to examine the world-building too closely, and the dialogue, especially in the final battle scenes, is melodramatic. Still, many readers will overlook these points as they are caught in the flow of this sizzling story. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Fans of Michael Vey will not be disappointed in this high-octane addition to the series featuring a boy who can manipulate electricity and who tries to stop the nefarious Dr. Hatch from controlling the world's power. Picking up from the final escape scene in Rise of the Elgen (2012), Michael finds himself in the Amazon rain forest. There, he joins forces with Tessa, whose ability to amplify powers comes in handy as they try to free the other Glows still held captive. Evading both the Elgen and Peruvian armies, the teenage Electroclan try to stop Dr. Hatch and return home once and for all. While the character development is shallow and the dialogue sounds dated, Michael and his friends are appealing, uncomplicated protagonists. Chaste romantic scenes and a conspicuous lack of profanity may widen the audience. Readers new to the series may be confused by the large cast and lack of backstory, but the relentless pace and constant one-liners should keep the pages turning easily. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Evans (The Christmas Box) enters the YA market with this fast-paced, if predictable tale of a teenager with superpowers and the conspiracy that created him. Years ago, a medical equipment accident killed dozens of newborns and left 17of them with assorted "electrical powers." In present-day Idaho, 14-year-old misfit Michael Vey, who can create electricity and has Tourette's syndrome, is one of the last two living outside of Pasadena. Coincidentally, the other "electric child" is Michael's crush, cute cheerleader, Taylor who is able to mentally "reset" people's brains. When a mysterious organization called Elgen kidnaps Taylor as well as Michael's mother, Michael, his best friend Ostin, and a pair of school bullies venture on a cross-country trip to rescue them. Taylor, meanwhile, learns that Elgen is just as dastardly an organization as she'd feared. Evans delivers a pair of believable lead characters—Taylor has wits and personal integrity, while Michael's Tourette's syndrome, coupled with an emotional jolt from his past, adds dimension—but generic dialogue and lackluster villains result in a by-the-numbers thriller. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)

Gr 5–9—Michael Vey, 14, has problems. Not only does he suffer from Tourette's syndrome, but he also has electricity coursing through his body. He can shock people without rubbing his feet on the carpet; he can jump-start his mother's car by holding the battery connectors and "surging," and he can knock bullies who attack him off their feet. Michael and his mother have moved to Idaho because there was an "incident" in his former town, and now he discovers that the prettiest girl in his new school has powers, too. Taylor can read people's minds. Ostin, Michael's best friend, doesn't have powers, but he is wicked smart and helps them to figure out that there is more to the mystery than the fact that they were born in the same hospital within days of each other. Soon there is a terrifying adventure afoot when they are captured and introduced to others with powers who, under the lead of the sinister Hitch, have kidnapped Michael's mother and have evil plans for the world. The dialogue and interactions among the teens seem more like they belong in the 1950s rather than today, but the fast-paced action and cool powers will probably outweigh any negatives.—Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO