YA Book Review- Partials by Dan Wells

Paperback
468 pages
Release date: Feb. 28, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins Childrens)
Series: Partails #1
Author: Dan Wells

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.

Wow, was this a FUN book! Well, fun in a kind of 'end-of-the-world-humans-are-dying-off' kind of way. ;)

It's no secret that I love dystopian novels, but even I get tired of the same old thing after awhile. Luckily, although it's yet another post-apocalyptic book, Partials feels fresh and different.

As the blurb above says, it's a bit reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica, and in that way, it felt a bit like coming home (Yes, I LOVED BSG).

Kira is a great character. Strong and smart and clever, but also very normal with flaws and fears and doubts.
Life in 2036 is tough, made even tougher for Kira, who works in the maternity ward, watching babies die day after day of the dreaded RM virus that's killed off 99.9% of the world's population.

What was very, VERY cool about this book is how, at only 16 years old, these children are essentially adults.
They have adult jobs and adult lives and adult intelligence. I LOVED that Mr. Wells realizes that teens, when faced with tough situations, ARE strong enough to learn to adapt and deal with life just as well as--perhaps even better than--'adults' do.

There's not a ton of romance in this book--and, forgive me, but I was MORE than okay with that.
I find it a bit tiresome when a dystopian novel--which is supposed to be dark and even disturbing--is full of mushy BS. Forgive me, but if the world has all but ended, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be smooching it up in the middle of the apocalypse. ;)

The supporting characters are also really well written and believable.
This is a story that you will easily fall into and find yourself invested in.

There IS a great twist, so watch carefully. You'll see it coming if you're paying close enough attention.
And that's all I'll say about that! ;)

The end is GREAT, and it'll leave you desperately wishing Mr. Wells would write faster so you can get your hands on book 2 of the series.

I highly recommend Partials to teens 15+, and to you moms, too. The subjects brought up in this book would make for some great conversations with your teens.

Have you read Partials? Let me know you're thoughts about it in the comments below if you read it!