Part One
1 Chopstick and Spiders
The first chapter is a conversation between two individuals talking about two escaped prisoners. There are seventeen of them. The two agree that if nothing else works there is always Cell 25.
2 The Beginning
Michael, who is also the narrator, begins to tell his story. He is a teenager going to school in Idaho. He has Tourette's syndrome but he also has a scary secret.
3 The Armpit
Michael talks about the mean principal of his school called Mr. Dallstorm. Mr. Dallstorm has a tendency to blame the victim. He is at his office now and he received detention for being bullied by Jack and the team. He goes to the classroom and we are introduced to Ostin, his best friend who is also a genius and Taylor, his longtime crush.
4 The Cheerleader
Michael goes to the classroom for his detention. While leaving the school he is ambushed by Jack, Wade and Mitchell. Taylor comes out and tells them to stop. The bullies are about to humiliate him by pulling down his pants and Michael fights back with his secret electric powers. Taylor has seen everything and Michael is in trouble.
5 Hiding the Evidence
Michael goes back home with a swollen eye. He is trying to hide from his mother but is not successful. He tells her what happened.
6 The Morning After
The morning after Michael tells his mother that Taylor saw him use his powers. Ostin comes by to his house and when his mother leaves Ostin questions Michael about what happened. We discover that Ostin knows about Michael's powers. The boys go to school.
7 The Cheerleader's Story
The next day Taylor sends notes to Michael during their exam about what happened. She asks Michael to go to her house with her so that they can talk and she will tell him her secret as well. Taylor tells Michael that she also has electric powers which make her control human minds. The two agree to form a club together with Ostin.
8 The Multimeter
Ostin comes to visit Michael with his multimeter tool to measure his electric power. It turns out to be very high. Michael's mother comes home and she finds out that Ostin knows about his powers. She gets angry at him at first but later asks him about Taylor. Michael reveals that she is like him.
9 A New Crowd
Michael gets to know Taylor's clique, the popular kids at school and him and Ostin even get invited to a school basketball game. Michael and Taylor like each other more and more. Taylor invites him and Ostin to the party.
10 A Suspicious Coincidence
Michael and Ostin go to an after the game party. Michael gets into a friendly strength show-off with one of the jocks and with Taylor's electric help manages to not look like a fool. Taylor tells Michael the new information that she discovered-they were both born at the same hospital at Pasadena, California. Ostin is filled in the information and the three conclude that it probably isn't a coincidence and that it is linked to their powers.
11 Birthday Wishes
It is Michael's birthday and his mother gives him his father's watch.
12 The First Meeting
Ostin and Taylor visit Michael for his birthday. They have a club meeting after and Ostin shares that he discovered that the hospital records where they were born were all destroyed around the days of their births. He also discovered that fifty-nine babies were born during those days in that hospital in Pasadena and that only seventeen of them survived. Michael invites Taylor to come with his mom and Ostin that Monday to properly celebrate their birthdays.
13 Spiders
That Monday at school Ostin called Michael and Taylor for an emergency meeting. He discovered that during the days when they were born a new MRI machine was set up in that hospital at Pasadena, California. The machine eventually failed but they concluded that it had to have something to do with the deaths of all those babies and why Michael and Taylor have powers. Ostin warns Taylor that she has to delete her search history on her computer about the hospital because the people responsible might track them down. Taylor says it's already too late because a strange man visited her parents talking about an academy called Elgen Academy in Pasadena, California and she realizes she's been tracked down.
14 A Change of Plans
Michael gets called to the principal's office and Mr. Dallstorm tells him he was offered a scholarship at the Elgen Academy. Later that day Michael, his mom and Ostin go to pick up Taylor from her cheerleading class but one of her friend tells Michael that she wasn't feeling well so she won't able to come with them.
15 The Man Who Wore Sunglasses at Night
Michael, his mother and Ostin celebrate his birthday watching exhibitions. Lastly, they go for a pizza and Michael finally tells his mother what happened with the Elgen Academy. His mother gets scared and urges them to leave. Ostin forgot his jacket so he goes back inside. Michael and his mother get ambushed in front of their car and Michael uses his power on the man. Suddenly, a man with sunglasses and in a suit approaches them and praises Michael for how he used his powers. There are three teenage kids close to his age with him. One of the kids uses electric power on Michael's mother and she drops unconscious. A strange girl starts making Michael feel dizzy with her powers and he as well drops to the ground.
16 Gone
Michael wakes up in a hospital and discovers that his mother was kidnapped.
17 Lieutenant Lloyd
Michael gets a visit from Lieutenant named Lloyd who asks him about what happened. Michael tells him everything except leaving out the part about electric powers. Later Ostin comes in and Michael tells him what really happened. The two boys are upset but feel comforted that at least Taylor is safe.
Analysis
The first chapter is seemingly separated from the rest, possibly a jump-cut from the future events and we get a glimpse into the meaning of the book's title-the prisoner of cell 25 appears to be someone extremely dangerous.
There are two different narrators; one is Michael Vey, the main protagonist of the book, and the other is third person omniscient.
In the last chapter of Part One the two main characters are unaware of what happened but it's clear to readers that things aren't what they seem.
Part Two
18 Kidnapped
Taylor was kidnapped after her cheerleading practice and wakes up in a van tied up. The people who kidnapped her are the same people who attacked Michael and his mother. There is a girl in the van who has powers to drain Taylor from her electric powers. The girl is called Nichelle and she seems to be enjoying the torture Taylor's in.
19 Taylor's Arrival
Taylor is taken to a building with a wire fence and there examined by some doctor. After that she is taken to her assigned cell.
20 A Surprise Visit
After being released from the hospital Michael gets a visit from Taylor's parents telling him that she escaped from home. After they leave Michael calls Ostin and tells him that "they" got Taylor.
21 Dr. Hatch and the Twin
At her cell Taylor gets a visit from Dr. Hatch. He tells her that she is at Elgen Academy and he seems to be the one in charge there. He tells Taylor that she is a special Glow. All of the kids with electric powers produce a faint glow. He tells her the plans of Elgen to make a new superior kind of people just like her. He introduces her to her long lost twin sister Tara, who is a happy member of the Elgen Academy. Dr. Hatch tells Taylor that Elgen Academy is her new home for the rest of her life. Analysis Part two is mostly concerned with what happened to Taylor and untangling the thread of what Elgen Academy is all about. Part Three
22 The Revelation
Michael and Ostin talk about the new discoveries and they realize that the people from Elgen Academy are looking for those who survived when the machine broke down and caused babies to die. They realized that the people kidnapped Michael's mother because they knew he will come for her. Thy also realize that Elgen Academy in Pasadena, California is the place to go. Michael decided to first talk to the man who ambushed him and his mother that night. The man's name is Clyde and Michael calls Lieutenant Lloyd to arrange a meeting with the gunman.
23 Clyde
Lieutenant Lloyd picks up Michael and they go to the police station. Michael goes in to talk to Clyde and Clyde angrily tells him that there are other Glows just like him, that he will never find his mother and that the man in sunglasses, which he actually uses to see Glows, is called Hatch and he is the one in charge with Elgen Academy, which is not an academy. Lieutenant Lloyd dubs the man insane and Michael leaves with new information.
24 Jack
Michael packs to go to Pasadena and Ostin insists to go with him. Michael decided to ask Jack the bully to take them there.
25 Tara
Tara pays a visit to Taylor's cell and the newfound sisters talk about what happened and Tara tries to convince Taylor that Elgen Academy does the right thing and that she is lucky to be a part of it.
26 Harry Winston
Tara and Taylor go on an expensive shopping spree. Dr. Hatch joins them at a restaurant and tells Taylor to come with him to Harry Winston, the jeweler. Dr. Hatch wants to buy an extremely expensive necklace for Taylor but she refuses.
27 Hitching a Ride
Michael and Ostin take the road with Jack and Wade to Pasadena, California.
28 Road Trip
On the road Jack and Michael talk about his power and Michael shares that he was never shocked himself. When he was little he remembers feeling good after he chewed on a power cord. Ostin is determined to test this again.
29 According to plan
Hatch is watching the news of British Airway planes crashing with a smile on his face. He is on the phone with a British person and we discover that Hatch is using one of the Glows to destroy the planes in order to extort money from companies. He also knows about Michael coming to the academy.
30 Chickens and Eagles
Taylor meets other Glows at the Elgen Academy. Dr. Hatch takes Taylor and rest of them to Taylor's favorite singer's concert. Dr. Hatch pushes Taylor to use her powers on the singer. When they get back home Taylor is depressed because of what she had to do and Tara tells her the story of chickens and eagles to comfort her. The story is about an eagle living with chickens and acting like them but the moral of the story is that eagle is always an eagle and always above chickens. Tara says Dr. Hatch told her that story and that they are the eagles and normal people are chickens. Taylor misses her chicken coop.
31 The Road
On their trip to Pasadena Michael and Jack have a heart to heart conversation about their lives. Expectedly, Jack didn't come from a good home.
32 Another Simple Request
Dr. Hatch takes the group to X Games to celebrate their birthdays. There he asks Taylor to reboot one of the contestants so he doesn't win. If she reboots him the man could possibly die from falling from the motor-bike. Taylor refuses to do it but Tara does it instead of her. Dr. Hatch is furious and urges them to leave. Taylor sees terror in Tara's eyes for what's about to happen. Dr. Hatch takes Taylor to a dark basement and makes Nichelle punish her for her ingratitude.
33 The Lesson
Nichelle is torturing Taylor by draining her electric powers. Taylor tries to fight back by telling her that when she is not needed they will throw her away. Nichelle responds that they will always need her as long as there is mutants out there like Taylor and the rest.
34 Purgatory
Taylor awakes in a dark place. A boy called Ian approaches her and tells her that she is in purgatory. He tells her that it's the place where they put disobedient ones aka those who won't go with Hatch's murderous intents. There are two more girls there, McKenna and Abigail. Abigail has the power to ease her pain and Taylor falls asleep.
35 Breaking into Prison
Michael and the team arrive to the Elgen Academy which looks more like a prison. They steal a food van and get past the first gate. Now they are at the more secure one.
36 A New Glow
Ian tells Taylor that he can sense a new Glow outside the building. It is Michael and Taylor is devastated because he's going to get caught as well.
37 Discovery
Michael and Ostin enter the building and take the elevator to the last level. There they discover Taylor locked up.
38 Michael's Induction
Hatch and Nichelle enter the cell and take Michael with them.
Analysis
The true plans of Dr. Hatch and Elgen Academy are revealed. Dr. Hatch tries to buy Taylor's obedience with expensive gifts but Taylor manages to resist. The chicken and eagle allegory is an interesting one. Part Three ends with a cliffhanger. Michael is in Dr. Hatch's hands now and we are left wondering what will happen to him.
Part Four
39 Initial Findings
Dr. Parker enters Dr. Hatch's office to tell him about the initial findings about Michael. Michael is able to absorb electricity and contain it making him more and more powerful. Hatch tells that he could be the model for Glows 2.0 and he is certain he won't be able to resist because he loves his mother.
40 A Talk
Michael has a talk with Dr. Hatch about Michael's choice for the future. He can either stay and be obedient to Hatch and all of his friends and his mother will be safe or he can refuse and lose them all. The first choice seems like the only option to Michael.
41 Ostin's plan
Ostin talks to Taylor and suddenly comes up with a plan how to get out of there.
42 The Attempt
Ostin and rest of the imprisoned group fake a fight in order to escape. They escape their cell but are met with too many guards on the fourth floor.
43 Relocation
Hatch talks to a British guy on the phone again and they plan relocation to Italy.
44 The Contract and a "Simple" Demonstration of Loyalty
Michael agrees to work for Hatch in order to save his friends and mother. He signs a contract and Hatch tells him he has a test for him to prove his allegiance. Hatch shows Michael that he has to kill Wade in order to prove himself. Michael refuses to become a murderer no matter the price. Hatch is furious and tells the guards to take Michael to Cell 25.
45 Cell 25
Cell 25 is a dark room with no objects other than a toilet. Upon entering it Michael got a feeling of paranoia and terror and that feeling does not cease during the time he's kept there. After being in the cell for some time Michael notices a toilet pipe glowing and upon touching it realizes that it is Ian, McKenna and Abigail who are helping through the pain.
46 Lack of Trust
Michael is released from the cell 25 and enters the same room where Hatch ordered him to kill Wade. Ostin and Taylor are there tied up to chairs. Michael gets tied up to a chair as well. Hatch enters with Zeus and Nichelle and gives an order to Zeus to kill Ostin and Taylor in order to convince Michael that his threat was serious. Hatch and NIchelle leave the room and Zeus begins pacing deciding who to kill first. Zeus's power is that he can shoot electricity from outside of his body. Michael begins to make Zeus angry and he falls for it and attacks Michael. Michael isn't hurt in fact, he is absorbing the electricity and becoming stronger. Eventually, with Taylor's powers Zeus forgets the ideas Hatch brainwashed him with and joins the Electroclan. The team sets out to release Ian, McKenna and Abigail and all of them begin the path to escape. They realize that Hatch is probably on his way to escape the building as well.
47 The Escape
The group is on a mission to escape. They set out to release prisoners among whom are Jack and Wade. Jack and Wade are released and they join the mission of escaping. Ian warns Michael that Hatch is coming for him with Nichelle and one other Glow called Bryan.
48 Overload the Circuit
Hatch breaks the wall separating him from Michael and immediately orders Nichelle to drain everyone's powers. In the middle of it Ostin comes up with an idea and gives Michael a broken electric cord to charge his powers and then tells him to give Nichelle a full dose of it. It works as Ostin predicted and Nichelle falls to the ground helpless. Hatch is about to escape and leaves her behind telling her that she is of no use to him anymore. Now that Hatch is gone the team starts planning what to do next because he won't stay still until he destroys them. Ostin comments how this is the rise of the Electroclan with all the new friends joining them.
Analysis
Dr. Hatch is a villain who is unaware that anything he does is wrong and egoistically justifies it with talk of a higher purpose. The story doesn't end with the last chapter and it is obvious that there is more to come, this is only the beginning.
