Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Partials by Dan Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Source: e-copy for review from publisher via Netgalley


Synopsis from Goodreads:
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s 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. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

Partials is an intense dystopian thriller.

This story is non-stop action, with tough characters who will fight for what they believe in a hard world. I liked the setting of the book- a futuristic world where there is very little left, and the population has been cut down to almost nothing. There is no economy anymore- if you want a house there are plenty around to spare, and if you need new clothes a visit to the abandoned malls you can find everything you need. But in addition to this, a virus means that every new baby born dies within a few days. The youngest child in the city is 14 years old, and many people have given up hope that the population will survive after the youngest generation.

Kira is a medical research student searching for a cure to the virus affecting the newborns. I love her for her spunky determinedness, and her passion to keep going even in the face of extreme opposition from governement officials. She is brave, smart and caring, and a fighter, and fiercely loyal to her friends and family.

There are a great cast of characters in this, from rebels and fighters to Kira's kooky foster mother, and sweet maternal best friend Madison. Kira is not always sure who she can trust, as there always seems to be some new twist and betrayal. One of my favourite characters is Marcus, Kira's boyfriend, who obviously cares a lot about Kira, and whose witty one-liners often added an element of fun and humour to the story, but he is too intense for Kira who is focused almost solidly on her job, when he is ready for them to settle down together.

Kira believes that the cure for the virus cannot be found in their bloodstream, or in however many babies they study. She wants to study the virus from the source- from the "Partials" who infected them in the first place- a created race of people who started the war and who broke away from human control to rule themselves.

Getting permission to take and study a Partial proves nearly impossible, but when Kira's best friend becomes pregant it becomes a personal mission to Kira to save the next baby. When Kira does get the chance to study Samm- a Partial, he is nothing like the evil machine she is expecting, and she has to contend with her own suspicions about him, as well as constant oppostion from her superiors. Samm is so much like a person with human emotions and a real personality that she can't help but empathize with him.

I loved the scary dystopian setting, the hard society, and the gritty characters, as well as the non-stop action, drama and suspense. This is a race against time, with dramatic fight scenes, escapes, betrayals and and engaging fast-paced plot. Exciting, dark and dangerous with kick-ass characters- I really enjoyed this new book! Recommended for fans of sci-fi, or dystopian books with an edge.

“Skousen remembered a world falling apart. Kira remembered a world pulling together to save itself. That was the difference. That was why Skousen and the Senate were too afraid to do what it took to solve this. If it was going to get done, it would have to be the plague babies who did it.”

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