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Heightened: Project Evolve
When he lived at Hope Street School for Boys, all Kai wanted was a family.
Now that a group of government-led mercenaries want to kill him for the Heightened abilities he didn’t know he had, Kai’s goals in life have changed.
Master his new abilities.
Protect the Heightened.
Stop Stratus.
Survive without further embarrassment.
Fifteen year old Kai lived a mundane and unsatisfied life - no friends, no family. Even worse, he had no memory of his life before being dropped off at Hope Street School for Boys ten years ago.
When the chance to discover his past presents itself in the form of a disheveled man wearing tattered sneakers, Kai sets aside his common sense and follows his heart to an underground village. At The Sanctuary, he meets people like him; those with unique abilities. The government has labeled them as too dangerous for society and has spent the past decade hunting them down. With the help of his new friends, Kai will need to master his Heightened abilities before it’s too late.
Now that a group of government-led mercenaries want to kill him for the Heightened abilities he didn’t know he had, Kai’s goals in life have changed.
Master his new abilities.
Protect the Heightened.
Stop Stratus.
Survive without further embarrassment.
Fifteen year old Kai lived a mundane and unsatisfied life - no friends, no family. Even worse, he had no memory of his life before being dropped off at Hope Street School for Boys ten years ago.
When the chance to discover his past presents itself in the form of a disheveled man wearing tattered sneakers, Kai sets aside his common sense and follows his heart to an underground village. At The Sanctuary, he meets people like him; those with unique abilities. The government has labeled them as too dangerous for society and has spent the past decade hunting them down. With the help of his new friends, Kai will need to master his Heightened abilities before it’s too late.
197 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2025
7 people are currently reading
2275 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 28, 2025
Kevin E. Morris's Heightened is a fast-paced, emotionally layered YA science fiction novel centered around Kai, a teen orphan struggling with trauma, mysterious memories, and unexplainable auditory visions. When Kai starts hearing events from miles away, he’s pulled into a world of genetically enhanced people known as the Heightened. The narrative follows his journey from the confines of Hope Street orphanage to a secret underground society, revealing long-buried truths about his family, abilities, and the sinister government agency that wants him dead. What starts as a quiet mystery spirals into a full-blown adventure involving betrayal, secret powers, found family, and the growing pains of discovering who you really are.
I genuinely enjoyed the writing. Morris has a gift for voice—Kai’s inner thoughts are sharp, sarcastic, and often painfully vulnerable. The bursts of humor are well-placed and don’t undercut the gravity of what’s happening. His dialogue is natural, making even the exposition-heavy moments feel conversational. Structurally, the pacing is solid. Short chapters keep the action moving, and the moments of quiet—Kai lying on the roof, dreaming of a different life—are haunting in their stillness. The world-building doesn’t try to do too much at once. Instead, it layers slowly, revealing only what Kai learns, which makes the reader feel like they’re discovering things right alongside him.
What hit me most was the emotional undercurrent of the story. This is a book about abandonment, but also about resilience. Kai’s grief, anger, confusion, and hope are all tangible. Some scenes, like his first realization that his nightmares are real, or the moment he discovers his parents were murdered and not just absent, genuinely made my chest tighten. At times, I wanted to shake Flint (his mysterious protector) for being too vague, too secretive, too late. But that's the point—Morris doesn’t write flawless saviors or heroes. He writes about damaged people doing their best in a broken world. And that makes the story feel real, even when the powers get borderline supernatural.
Heightened is ideal for readers who crave emotional connection in their sci-fi, who don’t need nonstop battles to be hooked, and who love underdog protagonists with grit and heart. If you liked The Maze Runner or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, you’ll probably fall for this one too. Teens and adults alike will find something to hold on to here.
I genuinely enjoyed the writing. Morris has a gift for voice—Kai’s inner thoughts are sharp, sarcastic, and often painfully vulnerable. The bursts of humor are well-placed and don’t undercut the gravity of what’s happening. His dialogue is natural, making even the exposition-heavy moments feel conversational. Structurally, the pacing is solid. Short chapters keep the action moving, and the moments of quiet—Kai lying on the roof, dreaming of a different life—are haunting in their stillness. The world-building doesn’t try to do too much at once. Instead, it layers slowly, revealing only what Kai learns, which makes the reader feel like they’re discovering things right alongside him.
What hit me most was the emotional undercurrent of the story. This is a book about abandonment, but also about resilience. Kai’s grief, anger, confusion, and hope are all tangible. Some scenes, like his first realization that his nightmares are real, or the moment he discovers his parents were murdered and not just absent, genuinely made my chest tighten. At times, I wanted to shake Flint (his mysterious protector) for being too vague, too secretive, too late. But that's the point—Morris doesn’t write flawless saviors or heroes. He writes about damaged people doing their best in a broken world. And that makes the story feel real, even when the powers get borderline supernatural.
Heightened is ideal for readers who crave emotional connection in their sci-fi, who don’t need nonstop battles to be hooked, and who love underdog protagonists with grit and heart. If you liked The Maze Runner or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, you’ll probably fall for this one too. Teens and adults alike will find something to hold on to here.
January 12, 2026
Heightened: Project Evolve, by Kevin E. Morris, is a YA adventure story following teenage Kai, as he begins to understand that the things that make him feel strange are actually special powers.
The story follows his journey from the orphanage where he grew up to a secret underground society of genetically enhanced humans, explaining who his real parents were and how he manages to do things that other teenagers cannot. He ditches orphanage school for wild hands-on lessons exploring his powers and learning about other like him. But these powers come with dangers, including a shady agency with the goal of controlling or destroying everyone with these special abilities.
Character dialogue flows well, which adds realism to some of the wilder scifi elements. This also keeps the worldbuilding feeling natural — Kai’s curiosity mirrors the reader’s. As Kai gets to know the other Heightened, these are also well-developed characters. Kai’s found family is made up of imperfect people, with their own goals and their own conflicts, which adds to the realism. The realistic moments of, say, a little kid hero-worshipping his cool teacher, or a new friend sharing her special interest, work so well with the drama of secrets and special abilities.
Heightened: Project Evolve is listed as YA, but it’s less of a teen coming-of-age story and more of a fast-paced adventure with a teen protag. Kai is a fun and sarcastic character, and the focus is on the mystery and the world discovery. This would be a solid choice for a young adventure reader outgrowing middle-grades fiction. The world of the Heightened includes a lot of danger and suspense, with many surprises and twists for readers to discover along with Kai.
Although Heightened: Project Evolve is a fast-paced, interesting scifi adventure story, it’s also a book about resilience. Kai copes with grief and change, and still learns to trust and connect with others. This creates a readable story with a relatable, developed protagonist.
The story follows his journey from the orphanage where he grew up to a secret underground society of genetically enhanced humans, explaining who his real parents were and how he manages to do things that other teenagers cannot. He ditches orphanage school for wild hands-on lessons exploring his powers and learning about other like him. But these powers come with dangers, including a shady agency with the goal of controlling or destroying everyone with these special abilities.
Character dialogue flows well, which adds realism to some of the wilder scifi elements. This also keeps the worldbuilding feeling natural — Kai’s curiosity mirrors the reader’s. As Kai gets to know the other Heightened, these are also well-developed characters. Kai’s found family is made up of imperfect people, with their own goals and their own conflicts, which adds to the realism. The realistic moments of, say, a little kid hero-worshipping his cool teacher, or a new friend sharing her special interest, work so well with the drama of secrets and special abilities.
Heightened: Project Evolve is listed as YA, but it’s less of a teen coming-of-age story and more of a fast-paced adventure with a teen protag. Kai is a fun and sarcastic character, and the focus is on the mystery and the world discovery. This would be a solid choice for a young adventure reader outgrowing middle-grades fiction. The world of the Heightened includes a lot of danger and suspense, with many surprises and twists for readers to discover along with Kai.
Although Heightened: Project Evolve is a fast-paced, interesting scifi adventure story, it’s also a book about resilience. Kai copes with grief and change, and still learns to trust and connect with others. This creates a readable story with a relatable, developed protagonist.
May 20, 2025
A lonely teen discovers dangerous truths and buried powers in Morris’s compelling sci-fi thriller. Fifteen-year-old Kai Chapman has spent a decade in a bleak reform school with no memory of who he was before. When a stranger appears claiming to know his murdered parents, Kai follows him into the desert and into the hidden world of the Heightened, a persecuted population of humans with enhanced senses, once used by global governments and now hunted by them. Kai must master his Heightened abilities before time runs out.
Morris’s decision to ground his sci-fi world in quiet introspection rather than spectacle is a bold one, and it pays off. Kai’s early revelations: that he can hear real-life events from impossible distances, hint at a supernatural thriller, but the novel is less concerned with cool powers than with the emotional toll of having them. The story slowly shifts from psychological mystery to dystopian survival tale, taking readers from bleak school hallways to shadowy deserts to the lush subterranean haven, the Sanctuary.
Kai’s journey from isolation to agency is sensitively handled, and Morris’s clipped prose, peppered with dry humor, fits his narrator’s guarded worldview. Themes of institutional betrayal, inherited power, and fear of difference are handled with nuance. A thought-provoking blend of speculative fiction and psychological realism, the book critiques the systems that erase identity under the guise of protection and explores what it means to fight back, not just for survival, but for selfhood. A gripping SF thriller that interrogates control, erasure, and the cost of reclaiming the truth.
Morris’s decision to ground his sci-fi world in quiet introspection rather than spectacle is a bold one, and it pays off. Kai’s early revelations: that he can hear real-life events from impossible distances, hint at a supernatural thriller, but the novel is less concerned with cool powers than with the emotional toll of having them. The story slowly shifts from psychological mystery to dystopian survival tale, taking readers from bleak school hallways to shadowy deserts to the lush subterranean haven, the Sanctuary.
Kai’s journey from isolation to agency is sensitively handled, and Morris’s clipped prose, peppered with dry humor, fits his narrator’s guarded worldview. Themes of institutional betrayal, inherited power, and fear of difference are handled with nuance. A thought-provoking blend of speculative fiction and psychological realism, the book critiques the systems that erase identity under the guise of protection and explores what it means to fight back, not just for survival, but for selfhood. A gripping SF thriller that interrogates control, erasure, and the cost of reclaiming the truth.
September 23, 2025
This would make a good action movie. It is very fast paced, which makes for a quick and entertaining read.
A little too fast, for my liking. I wish that there was more time spent developing the characters and their relationships with each other. I also wish we had seen more of Kai trying to learn how to use his powers and the culture of the Sanctuary. There are brief moments of introspection where Kai would reflect on his life and circumstances that were really compelling. However, the plot quickly moves from one thing to the next at break-neck speed so I was always left wanting more.
The ending was also very abrupt. I found it a little disappointing and wish there had been more time spent wrapping things up to give more closure. I can understand wanting to leave room for a sequel, but it feels more like they forgot to include the last chapter.
The characters are likable and the worldbuilding, especially in regards to the Sancuary, were intriguiging so I'd probably read the next installment.
I enjoyed reading this, but not as much as I could have. As a result, it ended up landing somewhere in the middle for me at 3.5 stars.
A little too fast, for my liking. I wish that there was more time spent developing the characters and their relationships with each other. I also wish we had seen more of Kai trying to learn how to use his powers and the culture of the Sanctuary. There are brief moments of introspection where Kai would reflect on his life and circumstances that were really compelling. However, the plot quickly moves from one thing to the next at break-neck speed so I was always left wanting more.
The ending was also very abrupt. I found it a little disappointing and wish there had been more time spent wrapping things up to give more closure. I can understand wanting to leave room for a sequel, but it feels more like they forgot to include the last chapter.
The characters are likable and the worldbuilding, especially in regards to the Sancuary, were intriguiging so I'd probably read the next installment.
I enjoyed reading this, but not as much as I could have. As a result, it ended up landing somewhere in the middle for me at 3.5 stars.
January 29, 2026
This book balances action, science fiction, and character surprisingly well. The concept of human evolution and experimentation is engaging without becoming overly technical. The pacing is tight, keeping the tension high throughout.
What really works is that the characters don’t feel like stereotypes. Their reactions to power, fear, and moral compromise feel believable. The story asks real questions about progress and control without sacrificing entertainment.
A strong, gripping read that delivers both plot and substance.
What really works is that the characters don’t feel like stereotypes. Their reactions to power, fear, and moral compromise feel believable. The story asks real questions about progress and control without sacrificing entertainment.
A strong, gripping read that delivers both plot and substance.
April 13, 2025
This book felt like the love child of Percy Jackson and X-Men. Tropes: found family, chosen one, hero’s quest.
Do I want to eat roasted squibits? Yes.
Did this book cause me to research Peruvian geography? Also yes.
Do I want to eat roasted squibits? Yes.
Did this book cause me to research Peruvian geography? Also yes.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews