Review: Partials

Partials by Dan Wells

Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Publication Date: 2/28/2012
Pages: 472
Format: ARC
Source: Won from Jen at YA Romantics
Genre: Dystopian
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.

When I first heard what this book was about I really couldn't get the idea out of my head. I'm really a by Dystopian fan and this one automatically sounded amazing to me and I'm really glad that I was able to get a copy when I did. 

Humans a pretty much an endangered species after man-made partial humans that had been created for war unleash a virus that kills 99% of the world's population and any new born children die within hours of their birth. It's been 11 years since any children have been born and the human population is only diminishing. Science has been rapidly trying to find a cure with dead ends in every direction. Kira thinks she has a solution to their problems, but when her idea is rejected she and some of her friends go out to find their most dangerous enemy: The Partials. 

This book is gripping, entertaining and mind-blowing all at once. Though the story was a little bit slow at first I am glad I kept reading. It's really scary how real the society begins to become to you once you really get into the story and you become familiar with what might be going on. After a few chapters the scene was very detailed in my mind and I really was able to fall into the story as if I were a character.

The main story line of this book consists of Kira trying to find a cure for this virus so that babies are once again able to be born. There was a lot of medical talk in it and I really didn't get all that lost and I'm glad that the terms weren't very complex.

The thing that really intrigued me the most in this story was the Partials. I felt like I was one of the people in the story who was so uncertain about the Partials intentions but at the same time I was fascinated. When a partial was first introduced to the story I kept wishing that he would talk so we could learn about him. I found them really interesting characters.