The Apocalypse Gene by Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark

From Amazon:

Global pandemic is raging. Olivya Wright-Ono's once loving home has been converted to a hospice for the dying.  Her ability to see auras forces her to witness, with agonizing detail, the vibrant colors of life consumed by malignancy.  The beautiful and troubled, Mikah, is an elite Empath in the ancient Kindred clan, led by the brooding, ever-morphing, monster named Prime. Mikah has learned a terrible truth . . . the plague is linked to Kindred origins.  When Olivya sees evidence of disease creeping into her mother's aura, she has no one to turn to but Mikah. Can he unearth the Kindred secrets and find a cure?  Can she trust this boy whose power allows him to  manipulate her very emotions? With her mother's life, and that of the world, in the balance, Olivya and Mikah embark on a quest to stop the Pandemic, only to discover it is far, far more than a mere disease . . .

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Parker Publishing Inc. (July 30, 2011)
• Genre: YA/dystopia/fantasy 

 My Review

The Apocalypse Gene fits in to lots of different genres and is so different from all the other dystopian titles out there. The authors have taken things to another level and the descriptions are vivid. Special thanks to Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark for sending me over a review copy.

There are two main characters in this book, Olivya and Mikah. Olivya lives with her mum, their home now turned into a hospice. With most of the population riddled with cancer, with no cures, hospices are the only businesses doing well in society.

Olivya is really good natured, smart, funny and she helps her mum out whenever possible. She goes to cyber school in a place called Cy-chi and has spent a long time perfecting her Holo-sim, trying to make it like her as much as possible. In Cy-chi she meets a guy called Mikah, she really likes him. Olivya also has a talent, she sees peoples auras, all the wonderful colours, peoples intentions, but she can also see the dark colours of sickness creeping into the sick.

Mikah is part of an ancient Kindred clan, he is an Empath. The leader of the Kindred Clan has many names, he is known by Mikah as Prime. Prime is a freakishly scary, ever morphing figure, who the rest of the clan respect and look up to, but Mikah is terrified of him. When Mikah suggests to Olivya that they meet up for real that night, Olivya says yes but she will have to sneak out when her mother is sleeping. The pair agree to meet that night in the zoo.

Olivya runs into some problems on the way, she is attacked by a group of Doom Criers. Someone comes to her aid, they move like lightening and have what she describes as 'Othercolour' in their aura, at first she thinks it is the monster, Prime that Mikah spoke of, But shockingly it turns out to be Mikah. Mikah tells Olivya everything about the kindred and what he knows of Prime. The pair have an instant connection and seem to really like each other.

Olivya makes it back to the hospice but is caught by her mother, she gets all her privileges taken away, no internet, which means no talking to Mikah. That's when she sees the dark grey colour of sickness creeping into her mums aura. Olivya knows she must do something, she can't loose her mum too.

Everything really picks up pace from here on in. Mikah has to go through some serious stuff with the Kindred and he also makes some shocking revelations. Olivya and Mikah's futures are intertwined, Olivya has a mission that she will need Mikah if she hopes to complete, to try and save mankind and stop the pandemic forever.

To be completely honest I was a little bit confused at times throughout the book. And I found I enjoyed Olivya's story more than Mikah's. The storyline is really fast-paced and action packed, it reads brilliantly for the most part. I was laughing out loud in places and was interested from start to finish.

The ending wrapped things up really well and as a whole I really enjoyed the book. I would really like to read more about the world, so I really hope there is a sequel.

My favourite characters have to be:

The Holo-sims: Avyilo and Hakim. Especially Avilyo, She is wild, wacky, brave, and has some serious attitude. The pair work really well together.

The Neo-Twins, Ash and Kaiman, the ultimate double act. They are sly, sneaky, and fearsome. The pair are very intriguing.

If you haven't picked up The Apocalypse Gene already, but enjoy dystopia titles, then this is definitely the one for you.

3.5/5 stars

Carly :)