I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and finally my library got a copy! It wasnt as good as I had anticipated it would be, but its a clean YA book with lots of action. There is a lot of violence and drama in the story, but nothing gory. I really thought of the book Uglies (one of my fave YA books) with Partials even though they are very different stories. Partials is a dystopian novel thats part of a series although it can be read as a stand alone (I havent decided if I will read the sequel or not, Fragments).
Partials went to war with humans and even though the Partials were winning, they decide to release a virus that comes from their body that ends up sweeping over the entire world killing MOST humans. I was never very clear on that part of the plot because later it turns out that Partials worked for humans, but were mistreated and abused. Then the war started because their conditions did not get better and humans were too inhumane and greedy to give Partials fairness or equality. Maybe that subplot will be explained further into the sequel.
The entire book is from Kiras perspective. Kira is a teen girl and newly appointed medical intern who quickly gets transferred into the research department. Shes a brilliant young scientist/medic who gets a golden opportunity to study a live Partial to determine a cure for RM, the virus that killed most of humankind. Oh, one other little problem. Since the war ended 11 years ago, not one infant has survived. Then one of Kiras best friends gets pregnant and Kira decides its time to find a cure and preserve human existence. Many babies die while Kira is interning, but only one death is described and its heartbreaking. I was in amazement at the risks Kira takes to find a Partial, she is such a fearless girl who is willing to give her life to find this cure. Her boyfriend Marcus, also a medic, wants to get married and have a family with her. He was sweet in the beginning and made me laugh more than once, but by the middle of the book he got to be really annoying. Marcus and Kira do not have a strong relationship and when she decides to break the law and find a Partial, she realizes that despite her feelings for this guy she has much more important plans than getting married. Marcus turns out to be a great friend and ally in the story, also risking his life to help Kira at the end. Im hoping that Kira will hook up with Samm, the Partial she ends up befriending while studying his blood work. Also, Partials are considered not human but weapons and they have superhuman abilities. They dont age, are faster, stronger, heal very fast, have linked minds, trained for war/fighting, and they have superior technology, but they look like humans and can blend in without being detected. Their only weakness is that they cannot reproduce.
So how is Partials like Uglies? One teen girl decides to go against her government in order to do the right thing for humanity even though the odds are completely against her. Also, in both books the government is corrupt and untrustworthy. In Uglies, the parents were not available or involved in Tallys life. In Partials, they are deceased or unknown. Supposedly, the Partials are now looking to make peace with humans because they need help and they have the means to cure RM.
Even though I did enjoy the book, it really didnt grab my attention until 10 chapters in and then I had to find out what happened to Kira. I didnt like how much shooting goes on at the end, but once you get into the story its nearly impossible to put away. I also liked how the author shows the enemy in a new perspective. Throughout the book you read how Partials are barbaric monsters after what they did to humanity, releasing this horrific virus and all, but then Kira encounters one personally and she doesnt have the stomach to torture him and then she realizes theres so much more to Partials than what she has learned. And the Partials in the story are not terrorists, the humans are. Its a happy ending, but it ends in such a way that you know there will be a sequel.
I've been on apocalyptic trip lately; I think the last 5 YA books that I have reviewed have been an "after the world ends" novel. This will be the last one in this category for a little bit I think. I enjoyed Partials, but it was way longer than it needed to be.
Summary: Kira is a medic working in the maternity ward. She's only been there for a little while and has already seen the death of several babies. Since the Partial war and the release of the plague virus RM, new births have not been possible. The only survivors have some immunity to RM, but the babies do not. The council is doing all that they can to increase the chances of survival for the human species, but their actions have consequences. The HOPE act has been put into place forcing all women over the age of 18 to become pregnant as often as possible. This has caused unrest in the community, and a new group called the Voice has begun to rebel. As the council begins to contemplate lowering the age of pregnancy to 16, the Voice pushes harder blowing up buildings and generally causing unrest. Kira also has an idea on how to research a new cure for RM. She wants to go into New York city and capture a Partial to test on. Backing up slightly, a partial is a manufactured humanoid that was developed to be a war machine. They look exactly like a human, but are virtually unstoppable. After their job was done in the war, they ended up turning against humans and causing the Partial war. At this time, RM was released and wiped out most of the human race. Fast forwarding again, Kira and a group of friends travel to Manhattan to get a test subject to cure RM and save the human race.
My thoughts: I already said this, but this book was REALLY long. Overall, it was not that there was a lot of pages, it just seemed like there were several story lines that were introduced and then solved. I am very certain that this is going to be a serial book, so why shove so much in the first one? Kira is a likeable character. She is very intelligent and trusting. I like the fact that she reveals prejudice and fights against it. I think that is a very positive message throughout the book. I don't like how the adults are all bad or killed off. Any time that a new adult was brought up, you could bet that they were evil or going to die. After the first couple of pages, this was evident.
----SPOILER ALERT----
I wanted the book to end once the kids escape with the Partial. I felt like that was a natural end to all of the adventures that they had gone through. Then, the development of the activities that happen with the other Partials could have been detailed within their own book. I would have liked to have more insight into the Partial world once Kira is captured, but if it was incorporated into this book it would have been upwards of 700 pages. This is really what drew me away from the second part of the book. There were just too many beginnings and ends for me.
Wow! A great read! A very frightening world and a devastated human race. There are surprising twists in this page-turner. It made me grateful for many things in our world, but made me think of some things differently. It is one scary future, but also a tale of hope. I loved it and can't wait to read the next book!
Post Apocolyptic Teen Fiction. Life-like, artificial human soldiers were developed, to fight a war for the United States. When the war was over, the soldiers weren't welcome in Society. Then humans started dying from a virus, presumable created by the artifical humans, or "partials." Ten years later only a small population of humans survive on Long Island. Every baby born, dies of the virus. Kira, a medic is tired of watching babies die, and thinks that saving humanity depends upon studying a partial.
When Kira does meet a Partial, everything she thought that she knew about her life and her world quickly changes.
The book started off a little slow, but gets much better. Now, I can't wait to get my hands on the second book.
