Michael Vey Hunt for Jade Dragon Hunt for Jade Dragon /

Michael Vey and the Electroclan gear up for another adventure in the fourth volume of the popular series. A method of replicating the electric children has been discovered, but the formula is locked inside the brain of a deaf, mute autistic savant named Jade Dragon, and Dr. Hatch will stop at nothing to get her to reveal it. Vey and his team must travel to Taiwan to rescue the girl, but Hatch has a powerful army and his own team of Glows that would like nothing better than to see Vey die. Expectant fans will find much to enjoy, with plenty of plot twists, double-crossing characters, and endless action that propels the classic battle between good and evil. Michael and his crew embody strong moral values, emphasizing loyalty and bravery, but the heavy reliance on antiquated Asian stereotypes is off-putting. Purchase for collections with heavy demand for the series.--Hayes, Summer Copyright 2014 Booklist

An autistic genius is in the hands of the enemy, and it's up to Michael Vey and his fellows in the Electroclan to save her. The Electroclan is regrouping on a top-secret ranch after striking a major blow against the villainous Dr. Hatch and the Elgen. The evil empire's flagship vessel, the Ampere, has been blown out of the sky, but Hatch's plans for world domination are still strong. His next nefarious deed is the abduction of the young Jade Dragon, a girl whose special gifts can make all of Hatch's evil dreams come true. The author mixes this sci-fi nonsense with just the right amount of fun, evoking Saturday-morning-cartoon heroics. It's hard not to see the influence of GI Joe and The Transformers in the Electroclan's adventures. Dueling factions and two-dimensional characters never get bogged down in the superserious mumbo jumbo that trips up many teen adventure series. This individual episode has a refreshingly intimate feel. The heroes' main objective isn't destroying a secret base or executing an evil potentate but instead a simple rescue mission. The relatively narrow focus allows for a more tangible, and therefore more satisfying, victory. A brisk pace and smart characterization make this an easily digestible adventure, and the requisite cliffhanger promises larger stakes for the next go-round. A series that is shaping up to be quite a fun ride. (Adventure. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Michael Vey 4 My best friend, Ostin Liss, told me that there is an ancient Chinese curse that says: MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES My name is Michael Vey, and I'm definitely living in interesting times. Just a year ago that wasn't true. In fact, my life was about as exciting as one of Ostin's clogging recitals. I was just an average, no-name freshman at Meridian High School in Meridian, Idaho--a small town where the only thing above average is the cow-to-human ratio. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Meridian, Idaho. Neither has anyone else. I lived with my mother, who worked as a checker at the grocery store, in a tiny apartment with eggshell-white walls and green shag carpet. I walked to school every day; avoided bullies, the principal, most types of math, and organized sports; and played video games with my best (and only) friend, Ostin, six out of seven days of the week. And I watched Shark Week twice a year. That pretty much summed up my life. I suppose the only thing vaguely interesting about me was my Tourette's syndrome, which isn't really that interesting because I don't do any of the fascinating things that some people with Tourette's do, like shout out swear words in public or make animal noises. I mostly just blink or gulp a lot. I know, boring. Actually, what I just said about Tourette's being the only interesting thing about me isn't really true. There's something about me that has always been very interesting--I'm just not allowed to tell anyone. I'm electric. Which is what's led to my new and very interesting life. For those keeping score, in the last year I've done the following: • Made friends with a group of kids with electric powers like mine. • Been locked up in a cell and tortured. • Shut down a private school. • Scored a really hot girlfriend. (Still can't believe that one.) • Flown to Peru and rescued my mother. • Been tied up and almost fed to rats. • Blown up a major power plant. • Made Peru's list of most wanted criminals. • Been chased through the jungle by helicopters with flamethrowers. • Lived with the Amacarra tribe in the Amazon jungle. • Attacked the Peruvian army and rescued my friends before they could be executed for terrorism. • Blew up the Ampere, a billion-dollar superyacht, before the Elgen could take over and enslave the entire island nation of Tuvalu (which, like Meridian, Idaho, you've also never heard of). Now we're preparing to fly to Taiwan to rescue a nine-year-old Chinese girl from the Taiwanese army and a group of Elgen superninjas called the Lung Li. I have a feeling things are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Excerpted from Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.