Partials

by Dan Wells

I was excited about PARTIALS by Dan Wells because I was reading on his blog about it. As someone who would like to have children someday, the idea of all of the children dying from a disease really peaked my interest. I had a few, small, issues with the book, but overall I felt it was fresh and original. The book is geared for a YA audience, but like many young adult books, adults will like it just as much. It is an apocalyptic story that takes place in year that many of us may actually see come to pass.

Kira is a 16-year-old who works in the medical field. She is trying to find a cure for the disease that kills every infant born. This same plague wiped out 90% of the population. The youngest person that they know about is a fourteen-year-old boy. The ruling body of government dictates everything, including the age at which healthy, fertile women must get pregnant. Kira only has two more years before she must become pregnant, whether by marrying the boy she likes or through medical means. She hopes that by capturing a genetically grown human, called partials, she can find the cure that she is looking for. The only problem is that partials are perfect engineered soldiers and aren’t willing to go easily. They are the reason the virus came about in the first place.

My small issue with PARTIALS is though the major plot line is original, in my idea, the romantic plot line leaves me feeling bored. It is something that I’ve seen before and I wanted more than just teenage love. But since they are teenagers, and I don’t feel like there has to be a plot line involving romantic tension, I can’t really complain. I have a feeling many people won’t have the same issue that I do. I am glad the sequel comes out in February.