Requested Review: The Apocalypse Gene by Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark

Synopsis: 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 . . .
 
Review
Plot: I haven't read a lot of dystopia/post-apocalyptic, but this book has changed my sights on the genre. The book follows Olivya and Mikah who both have special abilities during a time of a great pandemic. As they try and find a cure after Olivya sees her mother is sick, they have to fight new creatures and handle their abilities to find the cure they've been looking for. There is action around every corner and is descriptive enough to let the reader imagine what the fight would look like. The imagery in the book is so vivid I could see when Olivya was walking through the streets or when she first sees Mikah. It is a story that consists of a lot of technology and characters that are different creatures. There are very unique names and descriptions for each one that you will get confused. However, as the story progresses, you will be able to know whose who and what's what. The plot is very complex and suspenseful that I couldn't stop reading once I started. Olivya and Mikah bring a certain zest to the book that adds to the unfolding of the plot.
 
Characters: Olivya - Olivya is a African-American and Japanese girl, which I was glad to see. It is rare to find minority main characters and Michelle and Clark did such a good job on it. They gave her enough dignity to make her embrace her uniqueness but also not let it rule the plot line. I loved her courageousness and bravery that she had from the beginning. She doesn't let anyone tell her what to do and she protects those she cares for.
Mikah - Mikah is different from many other love interests I've read. He's coped up and barely has many people to talk to and even then they're not the best people to confide in. He knows only the life he was born into and even though he's different from the rest, he still doesn't know if he is good or bad. This comes as a constant reminder of him whenever he sees Olivya. He's choosing between what life he wants to live and what's best for them.
 
Cover: The cover does not do the book the justice it deserves. I love the integration of the lightning and DNA strand to serve the purpose of what the pandemic is.
 
Overall Rating: I'm giving this book a three out of four. It is a fantastic dystopia book and gives a look at what a pandemic can create and what the healthy would have to do for the sick. It also does a nice job of creating a new world for us and new creatures to think about. There are many characters in the book, but it is only a small flaw in a wonderful plot.

Peace and Fangs,
Alisha