Genre
Science fiction, young adult, contemporary
Setting and Context
Present-day Idaho and Peru, continuing from the settings of the first novel
Narrator and Point of View
First-person limited POV from the perspective of Michael Vey, one of the electric teenagers trying to save the world.
Tone and Mood
Apprehensive, straightforward, humorous
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Michael Vey, an electric teenager trying to save the world from the Elgen. Antagonist: Dr. Hatch, a madman with electric students and megalomaniac qualities.
Major Conflict
The Elgen are holding Michael's mother prisoner; they're also trying to take over the world's economy through a devious plan involving clean, renewable energy. Michael and the Electroclan are trying to stop both of these.
Climax
Hatch tries to feed Michael to the rats, but he absorbs their electric energy and becomes incredibly powerful, vaporizing many rats and escaping the compound.
Foreshadowing
In the third chapter, Michael tells Jack that everything will be okay before wondering whether that statement was true. This foreshadows the upcoming hardships, and yet an ultimately positive resolution.
Understatement
"...which, since I was next to Taylor, wasn't the worst ride of my life." - Michael, Ch. 1
Clearly, since Taylor is his girlfriend, this is an understatement.
Allusions
"as if I'd just ridden the teacups ride at Disneyland for an hour" - Ch.11
"just like Grand Theft Auto. Only better" - Jack, Ch. 12
Imagery
Jack's house, burned down, is a visual representation of the fact that their lives can't go back to the way they used to be.
Paradox
Hatch wants his "eagles" to transcend the "chickens" of the world, but he wants them to do so by abusing and manipulating them, which is precisely the way the rest of the world acts in pursuit of power, so really they're not distinguishing themselves at all.
Parallelism
The way the Voice's organization saves Michael and his friends at the last second by blowing up the Escalade during the car chase parallels the way the Electroclan saves the world from the Elgen by blowing up their power plant.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"Vey will be back in our hands" - Hatch, prologue.
Clearly, he doesn't mean their actual hands but their possession.
Personification
"The Elgen diet ... Guaranteed to scare the fat away." - Jack, Ch. 3
