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    Partials
    Partials
    Partials
    Ebook473 pages7 hours

    Partials

    By Dan Wells

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    For fans of The Hunger Games, Battlestar Galactica, and Blade Runner comes the first book in the Partials Sequence, a fast-paced, action-packed, and riveting sci-fi teen series, by acclaimed author Dan Wells.

    Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.

    Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.

    Supports the Common Core State Standards

    Editor's Note

    The best of humanity…

    What sets “Partials” apart from the glut of dystopian YA has been Wells’ focus on world-building, particularly the witty dialogue between his diverse cast of characters and the lengthier passages about the little details.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 28, 2012
    ISBN9780062071064
    Author

    Dan Wells

    Dan Wells is the author of the john Cleaver series: I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr Monster, and I Don’t Want to Kill You. He has been nominated for both the Hugo and Campbell award and has won two Parsec Awards for his podcast, Writing Excuses. He plays a lot of games, reads a lot of books and eats a lot of food, which is pretty much the ideal life he imagined for himself as a child. You can find out more online at www.fearfulsymmetry.net.

    Read more from Dan Wells

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    Reviews for Partials

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      As posted on booknook - YA and Fantasy book reviewsIt did take me a little while to settle into this book. I was really excited to learn about the world and the characters, but the first 50 pages started out a little slow. But around page 150 or so, things really picked up and I got completely hooked! This book is everything I love and more: strong heroine, deathly virus, biological robots, war, dystopia, and conspiracy. It has become one of my all time favourites!In the midst of the Isolation War against the Chinese, an American company called ParaGen created some biological army robots called Partials, hoping that they would help them win. The Partials did win the war for them, but afterwards, they turned on their creators and launched a new war against them. During the war, they released a weaponized virus that killed 99.996% of the human population, leaving only a few immune survivors on Long Island. It has been over a decade since the RM virus was released and humanity has a new problem: no baby has been born immune to the disease.In a desperate attempt to cure RM virus, Kira sneaks beyond the borders of Long Island to capture a Partial. She's convinced that Partials, who are immune to RM, hold the key to developing a cure to the virus. But once she captures a Partial, she begins to realize things about these robots that she had never considered. What if they had an 'almost' good reason for turning on their creators? What if they weren't the ones who released the RM virus? What if there's something larger and darker going on?Partials deals with a lot of science. After all, it is about a deadly virus and biological machines. The bulk of the story is about Kira working as a researcher, trying to analyze the RM virus and find a cure, so we read about a lot of scientific terms and experiments. It's far from dull though! While reading it, I was just as excited and eager as Kira to learn more, even though I know very little about science.But what really makes this story fascinating is being able to hear from both sides. The humans and the Partials had a terrible war, but in the book, we get to hear from both the human side and the Partial side. It's fascinating to read about their different perceptions and thoughts. Kira grew up learning that Partials are horrible, evil robots. But when she meets one, she finds herself listening to it and sympathizing with it. But the Partial is held in captivity, so as a reader you can't help but wonder if the Partial is actually telling the truth, or if he's just spreading lies as part of his plan to escape or infiltrate the human civilization.As much as Partials is about biological robots and viruses, it is also about politics. The small government on Long Island likes to have control. But the harder they try to save the human race, the more control they exercise and the more crazy laws they implement — like the Hope Act, which requires everyone 18 and older to get pregnant as often as possible. I loved reading about the Senate in this book, the laws they passed, the way they tried to keep control, and the way the citizens rebelled against it. At first I almost didn't know which side to take. Sure the government was a bit overbearing, but you could also understand where they were coming from and their desperate desire to save the human race. But soon enough, we start to see conspiracies and lies popping up, that intrigued me even more!I loved Marcus and Kira's relationship! At the beginning of the book they were already dating, and I thought that was such a refreshing change! Almost all books these days have a romance that is only just beginning. We watch the characters crush, have doubts, and fall in love. While that can be nice, it can also get a little routine. But in Partials, the two characters are already dating. They have a really sweet relationship and it's so nice to see them act like a comfortable — but still great and romantic — couple. They did have their arguments, and their ups and downs (some of which were really frustrating!), but don't all relationships? It felt very real and I loved reading about Kira's feelings for Marcus and her doubts about their relationship.I am so glad that Partials exceeded my expectations! I had high hopes for this book and it didn't disappoint. It reminded me of some of my favourite robot/virus movies like iRobot and I Am Legend. I'm dying to know more about Kira and the Partials and can't wait to read the second book, Fragments.
    • 3/5
      [Cross-posted to Knite Writes]Wells’ story is a breath of fresh air. His sorta-totalitarian apocalyptic world isn’t all that unique, nor are the reasons for the apocalypse (a virus) and the mortal enemies of humanity (genetically engineered super humans). Although I do believe this is the first time I’ve seen all those elements combined into one plot. Wells manages to handle all those elements well, too, as the humans, the RM virus, and the Partials are all intertwined throughout the story. There are a few discrepancies I picked up on while reading–a few points forgotten or left unresolved–but overall, the plot is pretty solid. (If not a little contrived; there are some occurrences that are just too coincidental, and at times, the whole forced pregnancy angle seems a bit cliche.)Wells’ characters are well-developed and likable, and they all have different enough motivations to make their actions seem believable. You’ve got your idealistic but brilliant protagonist, her clingy boyfriend, her government-wary friend, the government-insider who sympathizes with her cause, her pregnant friend whose baby she sets out to save, etc. etc. Surprisingly, we lose one major character and a couple of minor ones throughout the story (in very bloody ways), but seeing as Wells’ other works are about demons and serial killers, I don’t guess it’s that far-fetched. He certainly didn’t hold back on the death and destruction, and I commend him for that. Some YA is a little light on the reality of dangerous situations. Wells did not fall into that trap.All in all, I liked the plot of Partials. Some aspects of Wells’ world are a little on the less-than-believable side, but they don’t distract much from the good aspects of the plot for me to consider them a deciding factor.
    • 3/5
      Imagine if you will the skyline of Manhattan as it crumbles in disrepair. Whole buildings overgrown with creeping vines. Wild animals running through the streets. The chilling sound of your footsteps echoing through the emptiness around you. This is the reality that Kira and her fellow survivors live every day. If you are thinking that Partials sounds like a haunting story, you'd be right on track with me. When I first picked up this book I was so excited to dive into the dystopian world that Dan Wells had built. I wanted to get lost in the vast ruins of the New York area. So I settled in, and started to read.

      Kira's character was really the saving grace of this book for me. In fact, the majority of her fellow compatriots were. Kira is strong, opinionated, and one of the most selfless characters that I've ever met. Kira and her friends don't just sit by and let the government feed them lies, they stand up and do something about it. They of course still make mistakes, which shows the human side of them. These beautifully rendered characters are what brought the story to life for me. In this same vein, I loved the distinct lack of romance in this story. While there are still definitely connections between the characters, they don't overshadow the one goal that is key in this story. Survival.

      My love affair with Partials didn't actually start until the second half of the book though. I'll be honest, I understood the aim of Dan Wells in the first half of the book. He uses it to build up the desolation of the city, to describe the way that RM works, and to map out the way that the government functions. It's all necessary. Still, it just didn't flow for me. After pages of reading about Kira's findings and scientific jargon related to RM, I was ready to put this book down. Now that I've finished, I'm honestly glad I didn't. Once all of the groundwork is laid, Kira and her rebellion take center stage and things pick up speed quickly. If the pacing had been a little different, I know I would have enjoyed this book much more.

      At the end of the day, I also still had a lot of unanswered questions about the world in Partials. A few things had loose ends, and the ending felt to me like it came completely out of left field. It is intended to make things more interesting I'm sure, but I'm still not sure how it actually all fits together. On the bright side, this is the first in the series so I'm sure there is more explanation to be had. That's what I'm looking forward to. Though this started out slow, I would definitely still recommend Partials as a good first in the series. I'm excited to see what comes next.
    • 5/5
      In this dystopian wasteland, only a small fraction of the human population has survived war with the genetically engineered super-human Partials and the ravages of a virus. Although the surviving humans and all Partials are immune to the virus, no human baby has been born immune in over a decade. As a 16-year-old-medic, Kira experiences first hand the horror of the baby-killing virus and the violence caused by factions disagreeing about mandatory pregnancy laws. With astounding insight and determination, Kira pursues a solution – a possible connection between the Partials and the virus – in what may be humanities last hope for survival.This was an action-packed book right from the beginning. Events move quickly and the author does a great job incorporating background information into the action in a natural way. The writing was fairly standard for a good YA book, well done but not too complex. The protagonist, Kira, was one of my favorite YA characters ever. She has a very strong moral code and is willing to act in accordance with her beliefs even if no one else agrees with her. She’s also a great leader, capable of bringing other people together. I think her ethics, leadership abilities, and intelligence are what make her special, which made her a lot more relatable for me than a heroine who suddenly discovers super powers of some variety. She managed to be the driving force for change in this book, without unrealistically doing everything herself.I also enjoyed the complexity of the ethical questions raised by the plot, including everything from reproductive rights to the question of what makes us human. I feel like many dystopians are more black and white, while this book definitely reflected the shades of gray present in the real world. The science included in the book added another interesting layer to the story and was handled pretty well. You never get bogged down in the details and the information that was provided didn’t contradict any of the science I’m familiar with. Based on my recent read of Physics of the Future, the science is beyond anything we’re likely to have in the next 100 years, but it could definitely happen some day. Finally, the ending was just enough of a cliff hanger to feel satisfying but still leave me counting the days until the sequel, Fragments, comes out next month.
    • 4/5
      In short... 'Partials' is a strong story with well-written characters who, good or bad, you'll know and understand and want to see succeed (or fail). For a young adult book, it is refreshingly smart and complex and doesn't rely on romance as a driving force. Not to say that there isn't romance, it's just not of the in-your-face fairy tale variety. It's science-fiction, but it's grounded and not so focused on backstory that it loses focus and becomes hard to follow. I enjoyed it and am really looking forward to delving into the world again.
    • 5/5
      I was a big fan of Dan Wells “I am Not a Serial Killer” trilogy, I thought in those books he showed great promise as a writer. They were all thoughtfully written with great characters. So when I saw he was beginning a new series I was very optimistic, and he has not let me down. His new series, a planned three book trilogy, is called “Partials” and the first book was very well done indeed. The plot takes place in a dystopian future where humanities hubris with technology and warfare has reared back and destroyed them. In this future we have created a race of synthetic humans dubbed Partials. They were created to fight a war with China called the Isolation War. Afterwards they were reintegrated back into society as laborers. Eventually the rebelled and effectively wiped humanity down to a few thousands huddled in a compound village on Long Island. Then they simply stopped fighting and disappeared. But as part of the war a new virus called RM was released, and what the Partials didn’t kill the virus did. Now, 11 years after the Partials stopped fighting, the remaining humans seem to be immune to RM but their babies are not. No child has lived longer than a few days in those 11 years. Wells uses this as a back drop to examine what humanity really is, and how far we would go to “rescue” it. His characters are again well written and for the most part fleshed out. There are a few cardboard cut outs, but the main characters are interesting and well written. His prose is growing as well, this series looks like it will develop into a very good one, and I eagerly await book 2.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad read but felt too much like a young adult earth-bound Battlestar Galactica rip off.
    • 4/5
      I picked up this book because I LOVED I Am Not A Serial Killer. This was not nearly as good, but also completely different, so I suppose we can forgive it a bit. So I love YA scifi (yay that this is a genre that's growing!) and I love Dan Wells...why didn't I love this novel? Like other reviewers have said, it was a bit long. Perhaps more editing was needed, or some of the storylines should have been saved for the next installment. Also, a fair amount of the plot was not very believable. A 16-year-old girl figures out science that no adult has been able to in a decade? No one but she can think outside the box for a different solution than make-all-girls-have-as-many-babies-as-possible? Because that has been working oh so well. But I do like Well's writing, and the fact that Kira is a strong female protagonist. I'll read the sequel(s) when it/they come out.
    • 4/5
      I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was a very well written book, with a wonderful background, and great characters fighting to save humanity from extinction.The humans made the Partials to fight wars for them. The Partials made the RM virus to wipe out humanity. As a side effect of the RM virus no human babies live longer then a few days. Kira is trying to cure RM by working in the maternity ward. When Kira decides the cure may lie with the Partials (enemies of humanity) she goes against all the rules of their society to do what is needed to find a cure.This was an intricate world filled with well developed and interesting characters. The background story about a human invention, the Partials, becoming more adaptable than humans themselves and taking over humanity is a science fiction theme that’s been explored before. It is still really well done in this book and the Partials are so human-like that it makes the story even more interesting.The characters make this interesting as well. You have two split generations forming this society. The first are the adults that survived the RM virus, the second are the “plague babies”...the people who were very young when the virus wiped out the majority of humanity. These two generations have very different ideas on how things should be done.Kira is an excellent heroine. She is smart, incredibly driven, and determined to do what she thinks is right for humanity. She does’t let anything stand in the way of achieving her goal. All of the characters surrounding her are just as interesting and have just as much history as she does.The Partials are an interesting enemy as well. They remain very mysterious for most of the book. When we are introduced to them in person, we find out they have some interesting capabitlities...including a very borg-like hive mind ability.The plot is fairly complex and full of conspiracies. The elders of Kira’s city are trying to keep control of the city no matter what the cost; there is the Voice, a rebel splinter group of humans, and of course the Partials. There are lots of twists and turns and at times Kira doesn’t know who she can trust.The book explores lots of questions around human rights versus human survival. One of the pivotal issues in the book is a law requiring girls to get pregnant starting at age 16 to ensure the survival of humanity. There are many other issues of personal rights and privileges when faced with the extinction of your race.The writing style was easy to read and very well done. I enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down.Overall an excellent YA dystopian book. I didn’t like it as much as Hunger Games, but it was still a great book with an intricate world, engaging characters, and interesting issues to be resolved. I am excited to read the second book in the series, Framents, when it release in Feb of 2013. Highly recommended for fans of the dystopian genre.
    • 3/5
      Let me start off by saying I love Dan Wells. This book was good--almost excellent--but I measure it against his Serial Killer series, which I super-love. Partials was actually very intriguing. Surprising and intelligent. But I missed the characterization I was drawn to in the Serial Killer series.
    • 4/5
      This was another great book set in a futuristic dystopian world with a strong heroine! The version of the world was unique, and scarily realistic, questioning genetic engineering and how humans act in desperate situations. The fast-paced action scenes were written well--I knew what was going on but it wasn't choppy! The 3rd person limited POV was also done expertly. Characters were full of personality too! Can't wait to read the rest of the series :)
    • 4/5
      I love dystopian and post apocalyptic stories, especially the ones with solid science fiction elements included. Partials is heavier on the science than most YA sci-fi books I’ve read recently but don’t let that daunt you. Dan Wells expertly weaves the science elements with action and romance that creates a fascinating book that had me glued to the pages. Partials is set in 2076 in the aftermath of a war, a rebellion and a virus that wiped out most of the population. The humans who survived have made a stand on Long Island, barricading themselves against the partials, genetically engineered humanoid soldiers, and against human rebels who oppose the government. Instead of a big, faceless, evil government in most dystopias, this survivor community is run by a small but devious and power hungry group of senators. Before I start talking about the individual characters, I have to give Dan Wells massive kudos for including a racially diverse group of people in his novel. As a reader who loves to see multi-culturalism in fiction, I am thrilled to tell you that the population of survivors looks a lot like the world’s current population and the story is richer because of it.Kira is a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training who is super smart and determined. Weary of seeing newborn babies die from the virus and knowing that the government is not close to finding a cure, Kira comes up with a crazy, desperate plan to find a solution before her best friend’s baby is born. Kira is not the kick-butt character you typically see in dystopia but she is brilliant, brave, a quick thinker and has devoted herself completely to finding a cure. It’s her all-in attitude that makes her so awesome.Kira’s boyfriend, Marcus, is sweet and loves her but they have different priorities. Marcus wants to live a happy, safe life with Kira and let others worry about humanity’s future. Samm is the partial that Kira helps to kidnap and study and while there is no love triangle in this first book, I can see the possibility of some romantic tension in the sequel. Normally I don’t like love triangles but I may be in favor of one in this case.In the sea of dystopian/post apocalyptic YA novels, Partials stands out from the rest. Awesome world building, exciting action scenes along with betrayals and fantastic plot twists make Partials a great read. I cannot wait for Fragments, the next book in the series, to be released.
    • 5/5
      Wow. That's all that needs to be said about "Partials" as a novel - just...wow. I pretty much devoured this one in one or two sittings, and the world that Wells managed to build in 300+ pages was not only tightly and neatly packaged, but tautly wrought with a future that seems all too plausible complete with wars, epidemics, more wars, and a dystopia that seems necessary for everyone to survive. I wasn't expected to be knocked on my ass at how awesome this book was, but in the end, I was. "Partials" is very easily one of the best of 2012 so far because not only is it so well-written, but very accessible for those not used to or those not really into apocalyptic/dystopian genre books.Though we never do get a definition for what RM stands for, that's the virus that devours 99.9% of the human population fifty years from now. It seems that Wells did his virological homework, because all of the public health/infection disease aspects made sense. It wasn't some mystery infection, or one that seemed too far out of the realm of possibility. We all know that our extinction event is coming (I seem to recall Scully in "X-Files" calling it "The Sixth Extinction"), and a virus presenting itself as the human extinction event makes total sense. Even if Wells didn't do too much research, he did enough to start the basis of this world that he creates after a war with China and a war with our own supersoldiers. He ups the ante so much that there's only 40,000+ people left in the US, possibly in the entire world, which lays the foundation for the dystopia that's there to "save the human race". Tension on top of tension, Wells does all of this with surprising grace and with few words wasted. I did not lose interest, nor did any part of this novel drag at any given time. The characters he creates are also very well-rounded - the Partials, he gives a history that's short but just enough to get us through what seems to be this first book in what's at least a duology of books, and for the rest of our human characters, he gives them equally short but adequate backstory to get all of the arcs and sub-arcs up and running at the beginning of the book. Kira, because she's the heroine, gets the most backstory, but as there aren't too many people left in the US and as most of them are in this city/town of East Meadow, everyone knows everyone else, so they have a very large shared history together. Creating shared histories in one cast of characters is very difficult when they're all on one side (either a cast of protagonists or a cast of antagonists), but Wells pulls this off very well. Everyone feels like a real person, this future feels like a very real future, and the antagonists (Partials and various other characters) feel like very real antagonists. What's the best part? Wells leaves us on a cliffhanger, and a masterful one, at that. But Usagi, you say, I thought you hated/were tired of cliffhangers and series! Oh, to you, dear reader, I say that I usually am quite tired of both - but Wells does this so very well that I have no problem with Partials expanding into two (or possibly three) books. The world he built is definitely big enough for them, and there's so much more story to be told in it that it just couldn't fit into one book unless you want a George R. R. Martin-sized tome as a book. And one more thing I have to applaud - Wells bringing up the sticky issue of women's productive rights. Much like Julia Karr's "XVI" series and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaiden's Tale", there's the question with the Hope Act in this book if one makes pregnancy at least once a year from the age of 16 onward is a disruption of privacy or of the government putting its hands on the citizens' female bodies. I won't go much further into detail as it gets spoilery, but Wells asks the reader to think on it throughout the entire sub-plot of the Hope Act. For a female author to bring it up, well, as it's the female body in question, it makes sense. But when a male author brings it up, I just have to stand up and give him a sincere round of applause because it's just so ballsy to do that, considering where the usual comfort zones are in the western world about sex and the female body. Just look at that last Congress hearing we had last week, guys - no females on the panel about the question of employers having to give female employers help with contraception. The fact that Wells brings up this issue makes me love "Partials" even more.Final verdict? If you're going to read a dystopian book this year with very current politics involved, pick "Partials". It's sparse but elegant and will definitely get you thinking. "Partials" hits stores here in North America on February 28th, elsewhere, check with your local store. Definitely check this one out, guys. (posted to goodreads, librarything, shelfari, witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com
    • 3/5
      Plot: 3 stars
      Characters: 4 stars
      Style: 3 stars
      Pace: 3 stars

      The other day, I left for work early to stop by the bookstore to see if I could find a good book on the programming language I'm working on learning. When they didn't have anything that looked useful, I meandered sections for a while, looking for something interesting to read. I pretty much grabbed this because it was one of the few paperbacks in the YA section that looked interesting and I hadn't read yet. Despite hitting a lot of the standard trope options, I enjoyed this book. There was just enough going on in the background to make it less predictable than expected, which, well, is about all I expect lately from the majority of YA.
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars. So overall, I quite liked this book. It was on my to read list for a while, then i found it at chapters for $4.99, so i decided why not? It wsa kinda slow at the beginning but i surprisingly got really into it and wanted to know what happened :) pretty good read :)
    • 4/5
      actual rating : 3.5 stars on 5
    • 4/5
      In short... 'Partials' is a strong story with well-written characters who, good or bad, you'll know and understand and want to see succeed (or fail). For a young adult book, it is refreshingly smart and complex and doesn't rely on romance as a driving force. Not to say that there isn't romance, it's just not of the in-your-face fairy tale variety. It's science-fiction, but it's grounded and not so focused on backstory that it loses focus and becomes hard to follow. I enjoyed it and am really looking forward to delving into the world again.
    • 4/5
      It was pretty good. It had an unexpected twist I did not see coming at the end. There was action and riots and a government trying to control the remaining humans after 99.99% died, no children can be born, and their enemies are close by.
    • 4/5
      Dan Wells ("I'm Not a Serial Killer", "Mr. Monster") has joined the stampede of "adult" authors trying their hands at YA fiction. Having read this book, I have to say that while the heroine is 16, this is a novel that will go over with all sorts of ages. Yes, it deals with a dystopian scenario--99.9 percent of people in the New York area (and so, presumably, the rest of America if not the world) have been wiped out by a virus which was, they think, released by Partials, genetically engineered super soldiers who were designed as a defense in the last "great war", then turned on their makers. The virus not only killed millions of people immediately, it's now preventing any growth in the human sector--babies die within days, or hours, of their births. Only a handful of humans, and a million Partials, are immune. No one has seen a Partial in 11 years, though they've seen evidence of their continued existence across the Sound (the human side of this story takes place on what was Long Island).Kira is working as a medic and after the 5000th infant death at her hospital, she sees clearly that the search for the cure must take a radical new direction--they must study the immune to learn about what it takes to BE immune. Unfortunately, it turns out that even the human survivors like Kira are carriers of the virus. So she hatches a covert plan to capture a Partial, just her and a few well trained friends.This is a very military oriented book, with no small amount of violence and a great deal of science (served up in heavy but very clear doses). There's also a great deal of social/political machinations involved throughout the whole book. I found this sophisticated novel fascinating on many, many levels; it left me with many things to ponder. And certainly there is a cliffhanger of an end as this is a planned series. I absolutely will recommend this book to any one 16+.
    • 5/5
      Partials was a great read. I read it in three sittings and it definitely kept me interested. Kira is a strong female character and is not to be messed with. :) Marcus, Kira's boyfriend, was by far my favorite character. He had me laughing out loud(which i dont do often while reading). He was great and their relationship/romance was not like the normal gushy, mushy annoying teenage love. It was the perfect amount. Im really glad I bought this book so I can reread it...there was a lot of science stuff and I think I/You will get more out of it after a second time.The only complaint I have is there were too many characters. All the senators kind of formed into one and I couldnt keep them apart. I cant wait for the second one. :)
    • 2/5
      Very slow start. I almost gave up, but then it get somewhat interesting about halfway through. It still just fell flat for me overall though.
    • 4/5
      I’ve never been a fan of the dystopian genre. And by that I mean I read one, once, a couple of years ago and then never bothered to pick another one up. But this, this! I devoured.

      I liked the characters, they were diverse and each had their own personality. I liked that there was a bit of romance, but it wasn’t the focal point. But what I liked the most was the plot.

      Dan has given us a future that could actually happen. Army of super soldiers? We probably already have that. Virus that can wipe out 99% of the population? We probably already have that too. Whenever I’ve thought about how the world would end (that happens very little, just so we are all aware), those two things are always the first to come to mind. Both are a form of control; one causes fear and the other helps promote a sense of safety. It’s a very smart way to get humans to do what you want.

      It was fun to read the story from Kira’s point of view. She isn’t just some giddy teenager caught up in a bunch of drama. She’s smart, funny and doesn’t always put her heart before her brain (but she’s also human, so sometimes the heart wins out). When Kira takes on the mission to help save what’s left of the human race, she does it for personal reasons too, which adds some depth to the very scientific research she partakes in.

      Partials also explores some social themes, like a woman’s right to control her body. Because their numbers are so few, the Senate passes The Hope Act. This states that any woman over the age of 18 must become pregnant yearly (or as much as they can, I can’t quite remember). It’s their duty to the human race. I’ve always been pro-choice when it comes to your own body, but Dan writes in a way that almost had me going “okay, yeah I agree. Women of child bearing age, make babies. That makes sense.” And just as I was leaning one way, a character would voice their opinion and I’d be swayed back the other way. It made for some very interesting personal debates.

      Even though I say it’s predictable, it didn’t take away from the fun of this novel at all. I loved it from start to finish, and I was very upset when I had to put it down. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      Great book, I really enjoyed it. Only fault is that it got a bit too medical for me.Wonder what happens next?.....
    • 3/5
      I am not particularly shy when it comes to my general dislike of dystopian fiction. I tend to get angry when I read it, and since I read primarily for enjoyment and entertainment it makes little sense for me to seek out stories that do not provide those things. (There is also the fact that so much of the dystopian fiction I have read has strained my suspension of disbelief to the breaking point...that does not exactly recommend the genre to me.)

      So with that in mind, based on the way people have shelved and tagged Partials on Goodreads and other book sites, I shouldn't like it. The thing is, while there are definite dystopian elements to this book, I would not classify it as dystopian fiction. It is much more a post-apocalyptic survival story, and that is how it is presented from the start. The dystopian elements are not the front and center focus of the story, and with that I find I can care about the characters. I think it not being in first person also helps with this.

      Now I just need to find a print (or ebook) copy of the sequel to borrow.
    • 5/5
      I took Partials for review on a whim. Much of the YA dystopian genre is just awful, but the plot description reminded me in ways of Blood Red Road by Moira Young - a book that I adored - so I thought I'd give it a whirl. This was a great choice since this booked grabbed me right away and kept me reading everywhere I could right on through to the end. I then put the book down and began wondering when the next one in the series is due.Dan Wells combines elements of Isaac Asimov, the original Star Trek, and Margaret Atwood into a stew of utterly relevant paranoia. Reading this felt a lot like reading The Handmaid's Tale when it first came out during the Reagan era. At a time when the Evangelical Christian right-wing was gaining power Atwood's story was terrifying because it felt so very possible. In these days of paranoia over terrorism, disease and at a time when some individuals are working to actively disenfranchise everyone who isn't white and male, this reads all too familiar, as well.The Asimov elements have to do, of course, with the genetically engineered humans/robots who rise against their creators to gain their freedom by releasing a weaponized virus that kills most of the humans on the planet and makes the rest unable to reproduce. Year after year the age of required pregnancy is lowered and year after year, baby after baby, newborns die and die and die. Research is stagnant and humanity is relying on fascist political control over the bodies of the women who are left in the world. The hope, I suppose, is that the problem will be overcome by sheer force of numbers - a completely unlikely scenario.Kira Walker, the heroine, 16 years old at a time when the government will soon sentence girls her age to a lifetime of pregnancy and dead babies, decides to do something concrete about the problem. With the help of her friends, she goes out into the wilds and steals a Partial to attempt to track down the source of the virus and a way to cure it. Along the way she learns a lot about herself and about the essentials of diversity in any world (c.f., the original Star Trek with its message of unity despite race or species).This was an excellent read and I'll admit that I am on pins and needles to read the next one in the series. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I was so looking forward to reading Partials and it did not disappoint. I love all the characters, the good and the bad. I can't wait for book 2!
    • 4/5
      The war between the Partials (cyborg-like) and mankind destroyed the world. Kira was five when the collapse occurred she lost her mother and father. Now sixteen years later she is living in an abandon home with other young adults and working at the hospital. Kira is trying to save the babies from RM which is a virus that has been killing all newborns since the collapse. Now that her friend is pregnant Kira's efforts are even more urgent.
    • 5/5
      Okay I have too say I fell in love with this book. Not one of my normals, but Kira was an amazing Character to follow. Loved it.
    • 5/5
      This is a very interesting post-apocalyptic book. The characters are very interesting and there is a lot of action. I'm watching the BBC Survivors series on Netflix and this series is similar- an air-born virus that caused most of the humans to die. What makes it very different is the other group of characters- the Partials, created in the lab to be soldiers but soon became mankind's enemies instead. I can't wait to read the next book!
    • 3/5
      The war is over. The virus that was released wiped out humanity. The only human community left is in a small town on Long Island. The Partials that were created as a military weapon are still a threat. All babies that are born die within days. The Partials may hold the answer.I was kind of into this book, but for some reason it lost me in the middle. I don't know why. I like the idea of the partials and of bucking the establishment. Just lost me. I don't think I will read the next in the series.

    Book preview

    Partials - Dan Wells

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