Partials was
fantastic. Excellently written, with a unique twist on an old, post-apocalyptic
tale. America, in an effort to make world domination easy, has built a species
of half-human, half-machine soldiers called the Partials. Of course, the
Partials are physically superior to mankind in every way, so the plan backfires
when the Partials betray humanity and start slaughtering everyone in an attempt
to take over the world themselves. They have unleashed an incurable virus
called RM on the population of humans, and those who survived are immune, but
they cannot reproduce. Partials: 1, Humans: 0.
Which brings us to where the book begins. Enter Kira Walker,
16-year-old medical intern, who is hell bent on curing the virus and saving her
species. Kira can’t stand seeing all of the newborns in her maternity ward
dying any longer, and hatches a plan to cure RM that nobody has ever considered
before: kidnap a Partial and study it. The only problem, of course, is that the
government won’t let her, so in order to follow through on her plan, Kira has
to commit treason and bring down everyone helping her in the process.
The book was, as I said, incredibly well written. This is
Dan Wells’ first YA novel, and it is, to put it plainly, a great success. My
only problem with the book was a personal issue, because the whole “end-of-the-world-and-humanity-as-we-know-it,
fate in the hands of a 16-year-old” plot makes me anxious. It’s just not a
plot line I tend to read often.
Personal plot preference aside, however, it was fantastic. The
book ends on a cliffhanger, as most do, but it wasn’t so bad that you’d have to
wait for the series to be complete before delving in. I really enjoyed the
book, and I look forward to the sequel(s?).
Author: Dan Wells
Recommended for: 15+
Cautions: Minor language, frequent references to
reproduction but nothing necessarily inappropriate
Available in: Hardcover
Sequels: Fragments, to be released 2/2013, potentially more?
480 Pages
