The Parasite (Michael Vey, book 8)
By: Richard Paul Evans
My Rating: Three out of Five Stars
Best for: 12 and up

Michael Vey is Back! Wait…why is Michael Vey back?

I have some great Michael Vey memories! The series ended in 2017 in a mostly happy place, and while book 7 fell a bit flat with a bunch of huge reveals in the last few pages, the series as a whole was excellent. I didn’t know we needed more Michael Vey. But…

Apparently we did. And I kind of wish we didn’t.

It’s been nearly 7 years, and suddenly we have a book 8? I was a little suspicious, but as a fan I needed to give it a try. Here’s what I found.

Michael Vey is a series written for middle graders. The original characters have aged forward with the rest of us and are now in college–and while that sounds like a pretty cool idea, it’s actually kind of weird. College kids don’t act like middle graders, so how do you write about college kids for a middle grade audience? I’m not really sure, but I don’t think this was it.

Plus, this book is clearly setting up another multi-book story arc because in this big return to Michael Vey–NOTHING HAPPENED. At least, very little happened. Like, there was literally no climax, and the book ends abruptly without a single conflict being resolved. In the scope of another 7 book story arc, it’ll probably make sense. But as the big reveal of a surprise return to a beloved series? This book fell pretty flat.

I’m sure a fun story will emerge over the next few years. But I’m going to pump the breaks on this one for now. This story didn’t rekindle enough of the good old days to be first in line for each new book as it’s released…in fact, I don’t even think there is a release date yet for book 9!

No content issues…except that it’s boring. With no next book to jump to, I’m thinking only mega-fans are going to enjoy this one. Safe to read aloud to all ages, but best for independent readers 12 and up.

Get your copy here

Happy Reading!