REVIEW ~ PARTIALS (PARTIALS, #1) BY DAN WELLS

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.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of "I Am Not a Serial Killer," takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival. ~ From GoodReads

Wow. Wow,wow,wow! After falling in love with the post-apocalyptic world in Under the Never Sky, I didn't think I would find another novel to compete with it for quite some time, let alone this soon. But in Partials, that is exactly what I found, and I couldn't be more excited.

If you take a good look at the cover, the story is laid before you. The world as we know it is a wasteland, bleak and empty, with the buildings and homes humans once occupied nothing but an empty shell. The story is set in 2076, not so far ahead that it cannot be envisioned. And the circumstances that led to this downfall are entirely too plausible. The United States was involved in a war with Iran and another war with China, scarily possible. The government needed an unbeatable army, so they created Partials, who look like us, talk like us, but are much harder to kill. After the wars were over, the Partials were relegated to an oppressive existence. They revolted. They won. But not only did they win, they decimated the human population with the RM virus, leaving the human race unable to bring a child into the world longer than a few days. Which means the human race is going extinct. But things are not always what the seem. Who is the real enemy?

 

How scary is that? I found the plausibility of the plot to be a most terrifying, yet intriguing concept. My whole life, I've heard older people say that our technology would one day bring about our downfall. Robots would take over the world, and take us down. I always laughed that idea off, but what if it's true?

On top of the brilliant plot line, the author has created a terrific cast of characters. The interaction between the characters, the nonverbal and spoken communication was excellent. I had a great sense of who they were, how they felt about one another without the author having to overexplain. Main character Kira is a medical researcher, intelligent and resourceful. And the girl, only sixteen years old, never says quit. Willing to risk her own life to save humanity (and her best friend's baby), Kira is fierce and loyal. Tough as granite, she holds firm in the face of all adversity, including a huge bomb of a secret she is sitting on.

Kira's boyfriend Marcus was without a doubt the most entertaining character. He is always quick with a one-liner that diffuses a tense situation. He is faithful and believing in what Kira hopes to achieve. I loved him, so much. Xochi, another of Kira's friends and a partner, was also absolutely hilarious and endearing. Even with all of the drama going on, she was great for comic relief. Truthfully, there are at least five more characters that I would love to talk about in depth. But I'm going to hold back a bit because this is a review about a book and not an actual book.

I don't always enjoy post-apocalyptic books because many have become formulaic, in my opinion. That is absolutely not the case in Partials. The fact that not only is there one enemy out there, but two, in addition to the virus that will eventually kill of the human species, left me reeling. The terror is lifted to a whole new level, leaving you feeling surrounded on all sides. The author does not take the easy way out with the characters and the situations they face. Any character, shockingly, can be collaterol damage. The end of Partials left me frantic, flipping the pages as quickly as possible and crying. The story is tragic and bittersweet, yet promising. It was a terrific finish that left me wanting more, but not angry. But, honestly, I'm dying for more!


Favorite Quote:

" 'That is the second worst idea I've ever heard,' said Tovar, 'but since the first worst is you shooting me in the face, I'm all for it.' " (pg. 61, ARC)

"All we have left is each other, so let's enjoy it. Let's be together, like we've always said we'd be, and let's forget all this death and fear and everything else and just live. You want to leave this island, let's leave- let's go somewhere no one will find us, away from the Senate and the Voice and the Partials and everything else. But let's do it together." (pg. 133, ARC)


Browse Inside Partials.

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Listen to the PARTIALS playlist.

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 472 pages

Expected publication: February 28th 2012 by HarperTEEN

You can pre-order PARTIALS at:

Book Depository  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon

Find Dan Wells at:

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