Genesis Alpha: A Thriller
by Rune Michaels

    GENESIS ALPHA by Rune Michaels
    Category:  Mystery/Thriller
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  5/22/07
    Publisher:  Ginee Seo
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    There’s a quote on the front of GENESIS ALPHA from author Kenneth Oppel: “Dark, dangerous, and utterly
    riveting.”  I couldn’t agree more. The words “a thriller” are what convinced me to pick up the book; the fact that I
    was so deeply engrossed in the story and superb writing were what kept me reading for the next few hours as I
    devoured it in one sitting.

    Josh is a typical teen who isn’t actually, well, typical. Although he’s like any number of teen boys in that the better
    part of his day is spent playing an online computer game named Genesis Alpha, and that he aspires to grow up to be
    just like his older brother, Max, and even has a pretty normal home life, there’s one thing that sets him apart from
    everyone else – Josh is a “designer baby.”

    Specifically created in the hopes of saving his brother from a deadly form of cancer, Josh was once a small group of
    cells that were chosen because of their genetic makeup. When he was born, the healing cells from his umbilical cord
    were transplanted into his brother, and Max eventually became cancer-free. So the bond between these two
    brothers is stronger than most.

    Except now Josh’s world is falling apart. Where he once thought everything about his life was, if not routine than at
    least normal, now he’s discovering that things are never really what they seem. Max has been accused of a horrible
    crime – murdering a college girl. His father, a psychologist, and his mother, a biologist, are just as shocked as Josh
    is when they learn the charges against their oldest child. After all of the years of watching Max fight for life, and the
    tears and turmoil of waiting to see if Josh would be his cure, now he’s sitting in jail, facing murder charges? The
    entire family is in shock.

    Josh, though, more than any of them, is finding out things that he wishes he had never known. There’s a strange girl
    hiding out in the cat shed behind their house, and the story she has to tell him is one he at first rejects outright, and
    later has no choice but to take as fact. And it all revolves around Genesis Alpha, the game that both Josh and Max
    devoted so much time to. How is it that something that brought Josh so much joy could be the very thing that will
    show him the horrors of the world – and the deceitful double life of his brother?

    Rune Michaels has written a chillingly good thriller with GENESIS ALPHA. With action that never stops, a
    storyline that is all too believable, and flawless writing, she has managed to write a story that will captivate you from
    the first page. With Josh and Max, she has created a bond that was created by science and will be tested with pure
    human compulsion – and the existence of evil. This is a great read for anyone who loves a good thriller. I personally
    can’t wait to read more stories in this vein from the very talented Ms. Michaels.