Partials Review

Partials

Dan Wells

HarperTEEN

February 28th 2012

Summary:

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Review:

Noramally I'm not a fan of books that delve too deep into the sci-fi genre, but Partials is one of the few exceptions. I found everything about this book to be amazingly well done, writing, plot, and characters. The science behind the virus and how it spreads throughout the human body was very well researched and developed and I found myself learning things while enjoying myself.

The beginning of Partials is a bit on the slow side, but all great books need room to develop, right? The world that Partials takes place in is a very complex one that can't be described in one chapter. Trust me though when I say that this set up is necessary. I really enjoyed Kira as a main character, being a medic in training makes her a very intelligent protagonist and one that I can respect and take seriously. Kira is also a very strong, loyal, and determined character who is driven to find a cure to the RH virus to save her sisters baby. If I lived in a world that just over a 1000 people are left alive I know I would most likely want to give up.

As I said before the science behind the virus is so well thought out and described that I learned something about viruses. Dan Wells shows his intelligence through his writing and the main character her created, Kira. The Partials are very fascinating and maybe a bit scary at the same time. But as the book goes along when you learn more about them you actually come to love them or at least like. Especially a certain one named Samm. I suggest that people who choose to read this book read it at a reasonable pace so that all the information can get a chance to sink in, that way it's more understandable and leaves no room to get confused.

Partials is a fast paced book for the most part, with a terrifying but possibily real world that will take readers on an action packed adventure. The most enticing part in the logic behind that story and the ways the it is shown throughout the book. After reading Partials I have no doubt that someday, somewhere that this may be possible however far fetched that may seem. The plot is written flawlessly and has an intelligent main character that will be refreshing to read from. Partials in definitely a book that should not be missed.