Partials audiobook

It seems as though YA Science Fiction is experiencing a bit of a resurgence lately. Like many other readers, I'm a little tired of the barely-dystopian trend, so it's great to see a very firmly science-oriented book like Partials come along. Airborne viruses + survivalist action drama + human interest story is a great combination, and one I think most fans of post-apocalyptic thrillers will enjoy. In the year 2076, 11 years after an airborne viral outbreak, the average newborn lives just 56 hours. 16-year-old Kira Walker, a young medic interning at a hospital, thinks that the key to human survival lies in studying Partials, a group of rogue cyborgs described as "unthinking, unfeeling human killers." Since Partials released the virus to begin with, surely they have the answers to a cure--whether it's through their genetic makeup or through their knowledge. When her friend Madison gets pregnant, Kira embarks on a dangerous mission: to find and capture a Partial so she can save her friend's child.But you've seen some positive reviews and some negative ones, right? So here is the type of person that I think will have a blast with this book.You're a Battlestar Galactica fan. There are many similar BSG elements in this book, in a very good way. Partials are very similar to Cylons, and there's a war between humans and Partials that will decide the fate of both. There are also some elements of Star Trek: TNG, and The Matrix in this book, which aren't bad influences to have at all. But lest you be concerned about knockoffs, this is definitely an original story, told in a very engaging way.You like medical thrillers. Kira runs a lot of tests on a captured Partial in this book, and while some readers may have an issue with all the medical business that goes on, I personally love books about viruses and analyses of scientific data, etc., so I very much enjoyed all that. Do Kira's experiments require some suspension of disbelief? Sure. Especially since a. she's a student b. we don't get all the answers we might be asking and c. this disease doesn't actually exist. (True story!) But what worked for me was that the author did a great job of walking us through the steps and logic and reasoning behind Kira's methodology.Post-apocalyptic books rock your socks. Something about this book reminded me a lot of the feel of Mira Grant's Feed and Deadline, but for the YA crowd--and I don't make those comparisons lightly. There is a great blend of virological talk, exciting action sequences, and entertaining twists and turns that will appeal to fans of the Newsflesh series. Plus there are some survivalist elements I also really enjoyed. Worrying about energy conservation, day to day needs, salvage runs? Please, tell me more!You appreciate butt-kicking heroines. I really liked Kira, who is a smart, responsible heroine, even if she is a little too narrowly focused on her ideals and a little too quick to fly off the handle. I would liked to have felt more of an emotional connection with her, the way I did with the very intriguing Samm (view spoiler)[who is SO much more interesting than the sweet but frustrating Marcus (hide spoiler)], but I did feel as though I understood her. And it's great to have a girl scientist portrayed in YA.Do any of these sound like you? If so, get thee to a bookstore and grab a copy of Partials asap!I will say that some of the secondary teen characters blended together for me, so that it wasn't until significant things happened to them that I remembered who was who and what part they were playing in the story. All the adults are there primarily to advance the plot as well, and basically serve as foils and obstacles to the teens. And even though it's understandable that teenagers have taken on more advanced roles earlier on due to the outbreak, they have such huge responsibilities that it does make you raise an eyebrow a bit; it's almost as if Partials was written with adult characters, but was adapted for the YA market. While some of the specifics of the story may strain credulity when you stop to look at the big picture, I have to admit that during reading, it's hard to care, because the story is so well-paced and entertaining. I'm hoping that in the sequel, we'll see deeper character development and further exploration of the ramifications of the Hope Act as the story continues.All in all, Partials was a lot of fun for me. My immediate reaction when I finished the book was "fan-freaking-tastic!" and I'm excited that there's such a great science fiction option out there for YA readers. Don't get me wrong, I love fluffy novels or the types of books that feature girls in pretty ballgowns. But I like the kind of girl who wears lab coats, doesn't mind risking her life for what she believes is right, and argues passionately about the civil rights of cyborgs, too.This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

You can now check out the Partials trailer right HERE on Goodreads! A Partials-themed Acrostic! Pregnancy obligations for the young like in Bumped.Amateur military of Falling Skies.Rioters and mercenaries threaten way of life like in The Survivors.The MC is a bad-ass female scientist like in BonesInfertility woes of the women on the Lost island.Artificially created humans similar to Cylons from Battlestar Galactica.Lots of myths being busted.SCIENCE!!! The Rundown  The world has been decimated by an airborne virus that killed 99.9% of the population. The virus was released by beings called Partials, genetically engineered soldiers that look just like us but with 10 times the strength and stamina.The Partials have let the few remaining humans live in peace as long as they don't cross the border into Partials territory. Every female of age is required to be pregnant as often and as soon as possible. The current reigning government, the Senate, figures that if the citizens have enough babies, some of them will eventually be born with a natural immunity to the airborne virus that fills the air around them and decimates their newborn population. After a decade of births, this still has not happened. Every baby dies within mere hours. Our main character, Kira, has this brilliant idea that the scientists should focus on discovering how the immunity really works and figure out why the remaining adults and the Partials are immune.And now for an intermission of Lyndsey Thoughts:Me: Wait a tic - Kira thinks of this?! No one else in a decade, not even the Senate, has thought of that?Other Me: Duh, Lyndsey. She's the main character. Of course, she thought of it!Me: Right. I guess she's pretty smart then.Other Me: Also, the Senate is full of bozos.Me: Okay, thanks for clearing that up, Self.In order to investigate the Partials immunity, they need to find one that will help them and the chances of that are pretty much zero. So they have get a hold of one somehow. Here's where it gets interesting! Veddy, veddy interesting!! The Enevitable BSG Comparison At first, I expected to be comparing this to Battlestar Galactic as I read. And sure, the storyline and background of the two share a lot of similarities, but Partials and BSG are two completely different beasts. I was completely caught up in the science and the questions of this book. Battlestar Galactica is so epicly character based, and I can't imagine it any other way. Characterization was not a strong point of Partials. I never heavily connected to the characters, but I was SO captivated by their surroundings and their story. The tone of this book felt more like a science-based procedural crime show set in a post-apocalyptic world populated by cyborgs and a few remaining humans. This is Battlestar Galactica if Battlestar Galatica had been written by the writers of Bones. Characterization and Romance The weak link in Partial's chain was it's characterization. It's written in third person and I found it difficult to truly hear the voices of the characters. In fact, the only one I ever emotional connected to was the one that wasn't even human: the Partial that we meet later on, Samm. But considering that I am actually a cylon, you could say we share a certain kinship and all.The Senate, Kira's arch nemesis, is full of people who are delusional and one-dimensional, seeming to be so set in their ways that they don't care if it destroys them.Romance does not play much of a part AT ALL in this novel. It's an extra, meandering about in the background, sipping it's vente chai soy latte and speaking in a fake British accent. In fact, I couldn't have been less interested in the so-called "romantic" storyline between Kira and Marcus.  But even so, this book and it's story managed to transcend it's characters. Does this put the SCI in SCI-FI? This is pretty hard science fiction... for YA. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely seen harder.Did you know that robots now play ping pong? And have ROCK HARD ABS?! Humina humina.But that's usually in adult fiction, so this is a welcome move into the realm of young adult novels. Partials is an excellent choice for fans of "sciencey" science fiction. (That's me!) Kira spends time actually asking questions and analyzing data. And I loved every minute of it. Amazingly and most importantly, I felt like I understood it all.I don't really know anything about how viruses work. But when reading this book, I am operating on the assumption that the author writing about viruses knows at least more than I do. That being said, I felt Dan Wells did an amazing job at breaking down the science, especially toward the end. I had a lot of questions while reading. Why do the babies get sick only after they are born? If the virus is airborne, why couldn't the babies survive in a filtered clean room? Conveniently enough, Kira had a lot of the same questions and managed to answer many of my concerns.I've recently come to the realization that my obsession with literature stems from a quest for knowledge. I constantly feel the need to learn and grow and change. To see and imagine new things. I feel like this is one of those novels. One of those novels that attempts to push thinking forward, that focuses on the questions of life, as opposed to the problems in it.Many post-apocalyptic novels are problem based, not question based. They encounter a problem and they push through. In Partials, Kira encounters a question and she answers it. A problem is just something that you have to work through and solve. You either solve it or you don't. A question is something that opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. Questions are often accompanied by their own problems, however. This is a story about solutions. Solutions to the questions asked and to the problems that come along with it.The mark of a great science fiction author is having the ability to make the reader believe that they are a freaking rocket scientist. Or in the case of this book... A virologist. Write it so well that the reader is sciencing that science right along with the main characters. Dan Wells certainly excelled at doing just that. The Pacing I started this book with a straight face. Twenty five percent in, I was pursing my lips in question. Fifty percent in, I was nodding my head in agreement. Seventy five percent in, I was grinning with excitement. At the end, I was passed out from exhaustion and amazement.The story moves along consistently, but not at a breakneck pace either. It has quite a bit of action and a constant crawl of information. The Verdict Partials is a dense post-apocalyptic delicious dessert, swirled with dystopian undertones, and topped off with dark military themes. Who wouldn't want a piece of that?Well, what do you know? There's actually a BOOK for that!I worry that it may have a hard time finding an audience as a young adult book because it is so heavily grounded in science. Sci-fi in YA excites me, and this book was a great start to what is hopefully a new trend in the young adult world.The story is not character or romance based, but it is high in concept, plot and science. It is also not a standalone as I previously assumed, seeing as it ends on a semi-cliffhanger. It is questioning, yet not too philosophical. Light cerebral sci-fi.If you're looking at experimenting with science fiction (And, come on, science fiction and experimentation go GREAT together!), Partials would be an excellent place to start.

Intense with highly sophisticated world building- Partials is a fantastic addition to the dystopian genre. Babies don't survive and the youngest human on earth is now 14 years old. With 99% of the population gone, killed by a new epidemic, Kira is determined to find a cure to save humanity.I have to start with Kira because she is an excellent protagonist. She is incredibly determined, and this presence throughout the novel of pure dedication to her cause is all consuming. You want her to succeed so badly that it becomes a truly captivating read. This is not her only quality; she is also strong, confident and outspoken. These are all traits that make a well-rounded, easy to root for protagonist if you ask me. I clicked with her almost instantly. She is shadowed by quite a few secondary characters as well who are equally of value to the story. Some of them are more developed than others, but they all have great personalities that really fill up the pages.One thing that stands out from this book that actually surprised me, is the lack of a romantic plot. Yes the protagonist has a boyfriend, but we barely see them together. She's not one to forget that this is the end of the world because a cute boy happens to pass by. The plot - saving humanity - comes first! Surprising right? I do enjoy romance, but I was relieved to see that, finally, we've got a dystopian not powered by a love story. I had heard this novel was a bit on the scientific side which made me a bit wary because me and science are not great friends. Therefore, I surprise even myself when I say that the science added to the story is what makes it the most interesting. It turns everything that is happening in this future world completely realistic, and truly alarming. Instead of simply being told that there is a virus without a cure, killing all our babies, we go in deeper with Kira researching what exactly is happening inside our bodies, and why a cure still hasn't been found in over a decade. It's not overwhelming by any means. It was neither confusing, nor boring. The only thing it made me, was fascinated.The Partials almost made us extinct, the Voice is rebelling against the few surviving humans, this leaves us with a story full of villains. What does this promise? Intensity! It does take a little bit to get into a fast pace, but once it does it's especially action packed until the very end. We also quickly realize that there is no clear picture on who the enemy really is, or who we should trust. This essentially turns an already exciting plot into an intense roller coaster ride full of fear, uncertainty and surprise. With no shortage of dystopian novels on the shelves nowadays, make sure that this one ends up on yours! --For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

Oh, wait while I find my mouth under my bed where it dropped. ..So, are you ready for this wonderful journey into the future?Here we go…It all came down to a war - the worst of them all.It was not between humans, but between them and the Partials.Because what if robots didn’t look like robots anymore?What if they looked exactly like humans? What if they were genetically programmed and made into the best weapon alive, a dangerously thinking one? Breathing flesh-and-blood robots meant to kill - stronger and faster than us.What if they’ve decided to take over the world?What if they’ve almost succeeded?What if humanity would be collapsing each day?Well... Here's where the story begins... "I lost my father, my mother, my wife, my children, my friends, neighbors, patients, colleagues, students. I was in a hospital at the time; I watched it fill up and spill over until there weren't even enough survivors to carry away the corpses. I watched my entire world eat itself alive, Walker, while you were playing with your dolls. So don't tell me I'm not doing enough to save the human race, and don't you dare tell me we can risk another Partial War." It’s not only that the premise was absolutely wonderful; it’s the fact that the whole book is so amazing.I am not going to tell you too much about the story, because you need to read it by yourself, I am just going to keep telling you about all the things I liked about it.Yes, I must confess that it was a bit slow for my taste in the first half, but by the ending I needed to remind myself to breath – because the action was breathtaking, with so many turnarounds, so many new informations about the this world, and the insecurity was killing me (not knowing who’s bad, who’s god, who’s gonna betray next).There were so many questions I had not only about the Partials but also about the humans. I got some of the answers, but also the number of questions started to grow with every page, keeping me on the edge of my seat.There were many people comparing this series with Newsflesh by Mira Grant, and they are quite right. I thought about it too while reading this book. There is this big challenge to find a cure, and to discover all the dirty politics and the people behind them all. It also has the same feeling and many of you might like it just as much. I know I did. "It had been easier, in some ways, when Kira was a kid and the Partials were the big bad guy. Everything terrible that had happened could be explained, and while the explanation might be scary, at least it was simple. Darkness was clearly divided from light. These days... Kira had no idea who the enemy was, or who you could blame, or who you could trust." There were not many characters that I got to really care about, but for the first time it didn’t bother me (there were many other things to keep me entertained).From the beginning we are introduced to Kira and her friends and family. I really liked her for being smart, strong, and mature for her age. Even though some times her actions brought her more trouble then needed, she always had the very best intentions. She cared about her people and the future of humanity.Her story with her boyfriend didn’t hold my attention, but it helped us see another side of her. Also, all her discoveries were surprising even for me, and now I am more interested then never to know her better. "Forget love, forget freedom, forget choice, just get yourself knocked up and save the damn world already" Talking about intriguing characters, I should mention of course Samm - a Partial about to turn Kira’s world upside down. Every time I thought I’ve figured him out something happened, changing my mind completely (not always in a good way, but still). "Was that your plan?" asked Kira bitterly. "To use us as slaves? As labor to maintain your infrastructure?""You mean the same thing you have done to us?" There are some pieces missing from this puzzle, but this was a great first book in the series, and I can't wait to find out what happens next. I am all on the Partials’ side, but still I want our people to survive, so I’m a bit conflicted.Anyways, if you want a story full of adrenaline and plot twists, this one is for you. A great dystopian, post-apocalyptic world that promises a lot in the next installments :) This review can also be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.comBook source: ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you!____________________________________________Blog (EN) | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Bloglovin' | Blog (RO)____________________________________________

The YA genre is certainly rife with dystopians. You can't go out without tripping over one. Okay fine, that is an exaggeration but I can't help but get weary of the same plots with a few subtle differences (you know, differences like the cause of the ultimate breakdown of modern society). There's usually a girl. She usually has powers. There's also usually a society with tyrannical rulers/dictators/whatever you wanna call them (a rose by any other name and all...). Then there is a boy. Mysterious. Intriguing. Attractive. Whom the girl will feel attracted to against her will. And who will make her see her the things wrong with the system she has been blissfully living in. Okay fine, not blissfully. Let's say complacently. How does that sound? Good? Okay. There, I have described the majority of dystopians out there. It's almost formulaic. I'm almost ready for it to be a girl the other girl is attracted to. Or a robot. A cyborg! (Though, I'd say Prince Kai already has that down, hur.)Anyway, to the review proper now. All the things I mentioned above? The stereotypical elements of a dystopian novel? These are all present in Partials. But you know what? They all work splendidly together to create a novel that is, a lot of times, breath taking. And no, I'm not even being cheesy (okay maybe I am, slightly) saying that but it's just. Well. Partials, as all really good dystopians do, gives a peek at a future that may very well be our own. It really could be taken as a warning to all the scientists out there, you know, the ones playing God. Please be careful with whatever you are genetically creating. Seriously. Anyway, Partials is really, really entertaining. Since I said two reallys, you know I mean serious business. There is wit, there is a touch of romance with Marcus and a whole promise of more romance with Samm. There is intrigue and boy, is there action. Lots of action. Casualties. Too many and some of them were senseless. So on a purely shallow level, I was very satisfied by Partials. It promised to be entertaining and it was. Very. The writing was sharp (and I mean this as an adjective to describe how very readable the novel was), the plot was well constructed and the pacing was spot on. Totally awesomesauce.But. Well, you knew it was coming. I had some troubles with the novel. Not huge troubles. Just ones that niggle at me until I speak them out. And this may be because I analyze novels on a daily basis and I can't let a passage pass me by without analyzing the hell out of it but...I felt that the synopsis or rather the excerpt that we read on the back cover of the novel, you know, the final words of the last president? The gravitas conveyed by his final message, the sorrow, the melancholy, the loss, the utter devastation...these elements were subsumed by the overly action oriented novel. I liked the action, I did but I would have liked for us to take a breath and dwell on the immense loss of humanity. And perhaps it's just me, but I felt distanced from all the characters in the novel. As though there was something that kept me from getting inside their heads and knowing what they were thinking and feeling and I didn't like that. It kept me from connecting to them which in turn kept me from empathizing with them and all these things interfered with my final enjoyment of the novel. Sometimes you read a book and it resonates within you; you keep on thinking about it. I remember being affected by Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brian (we will forget book the two exists) but I didn't quite get the same feeling from Partials. Maybe it was because I went in expecting quite a different novel than I got. That being said, I still enjoyed the novel tremendously. In fact, I think this will make a kick ass movie. Is someone out there listening? You could sell millions. Anyway, I am definitely reading the second one in the series and I wholeheartedly (with ALL my heart, not just three quarters of it) recommend it to you. Yes you, the one who's still wondering. Go read this.

This book is so much fun!!The plot is crazy and there is so much action. I am a Biochemistry major and I love science, and this book had a ton of science in it. There is a virus called RM that inhibits babies from living past a couple of hours, so a large portion of the book is dedicated to finding a cure for this. It goes pretty in depth with the research and specifics of the virus and I just think that's so cool :) I did like the main character Kira, although she was annoying at points because she had to save EVERYONE, even if it was a lost cause. Sometimes I just wanted to knock her in the head. She is really smart though and I enjoyed her personality. This book isn't as much character driven as plot driven, so I don't see myself getting real attached to the characters, which is kind of a downside.I just loved the plot developments and twists, there were points where I was just like "oh my gosh", it was awesome. There are so many mysteries and secrets in this apocalyptic world, it was so exciting figuring them all out! It literally keeps you guessing the whole time!!! I have no idea who the real enemy is.If you like science, science fiction, or apocalyptic stories, I would highly recommend this book!

How do I love thee, Partials? Let me count the ways….1)Thy witty, spicy dialogue. If you’re a fan of Firefly/Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s (the show, not the movie) whip-sharp banter, you’re going to love this book. It’s got the same kind of effortless, rapid-fire discourse Joss Whedon injects in his cult-classic shows. A lot of authors shoot for this and fail miserably; Wells doesn’t just succeed, he excels at dialogue. I could seriously have read and enjoyed this book purely for the banter. 2)Thy heroine be neither ninny nor copycat. I never thought I’d say this, but…Katniss, this girl Kira could kick your ass. Kira’s genius-level smart, loyal, brave, stubborn—and, though we’ve seen these characteristics a million, billion times, somehow wholly unique. Maybe because Kira’s not running around trying to sacrifice herself for a boy; she chooses the cause every time, no matter what the cost. And, on that note:3)Thou art a great crossover book for boys. I don’t care what authors and publishers say; there’s too much romance in mainstream YA to make it attractive to boys of the same age group. The romance in Partials, though, is minimal. Kira is already involved in a healthy relationship when we meet her, and the introduction of Samm doesn’t threaten that relationship—at least, not in the way we’re used to seeing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy sampling the fruits of forbidden and/or starcrossed love as much as the next YA reader—but I didn’t realize how burned out on breaths catching and long, meaningful stares I was until they weren’t there, and I felt refreshed by their lack. So, if you’re looking for a book for a teenage boy, one that has hardly any mushy scenes, but many gunfights and military maneuvers and escapes by sea and ASPLOSIONS—get him Partials. 4)Thou makest science fiction easy and fun. I was a little nervous when I realized how important virology was going to be to the plot. I like a little science in my books—it adds to the realism—but lots of books go overboard on the intricacies of the science, and then I just get confused. But Partials took a complex idea and broke it down into smaller, digestible pieces. I understood it without feeling talked down to, and therefore my enjoyment of the story and all its implications wasn’t dulled. 5)Thou layest thy foreshadowing with a light hand on the brush. It’s annoying to predict how the book is going to end within the first three chapters and then, three hundred pages later, find out you were completely right. Partials has two major plot twists. One I sort of saw coming, but the clues were so subtle, and buried in conflicting information, that I doubted myself until the reveal. The other I was completely blindsided by—but when I found it, I was annoyed that I hadn’t guessed it earlier, because everything I needed to figure it out was there all along. And there you have it—a book that I’m going to go out on a limb and include in my top five of 2012, even though we’re not even a quarter of the way through yet. Please to enjoy.

¿Vieron cuando un libro te atrapa?Bueno esto es lo que sucede con este libro.Sin lugar a dudas es una historia FASCINANTE. Una vez que empezas a leer no podes frenar. Reí, llore, ame y odie. Este libro agarró mi corazón y lo partió en dos, después lo piso, lo reventó, lo molio a palos, los destrozó en mil pedacitos y asi y todo lo ame. La historia es desgarradora, completa, bella, con un millón de giros que te mantienen al filo.La protagonista tiene carácter y hace lo que cree mejor para mejorar el mundo y deja todo por sus ideales. Me gusto el personaje de Kira Lo recomiendo.*spoiler* me desgarro una muerte en especial, necesitaba que siguiera vivo *fin del spoiler*

Also reviewed for Addicted2Heroines.So we finally managed to engineer super-soldiers...and then they decide to revolt. Go figure. And even though they were winning the war, they decided to release a virus that wiped out the vast majority of humanity. The humans who were resistant to the RM virus live together now, but their numbers are dwindling. Babies die within a few days of being born, and time is running out to find a cure. Kira is a sixteen year old medic who believes that the cure can be found within the Partials genetic code, and she's determined to find a subject to help her prove her theory. Unfortunately, there is a civil war brewing within her small community, and the government officials are too preoccupied with keeping the peace to listen to her. There's also the small problem of her being too young for anyone to take seriously. Once her best friend becomes pregnant, though, Kira's determination to find a way to save the babies goes into overdrive. With the help of her closest friends she sets out on a dangerous journey that will change everything, especially Kira's understanding of what it means to be human. I'd seen some bad reviews of this one, but it looked so darn cool that I finally decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did, because it turned out to be a good read. The characters were different than I thought they would be, and I love being surprised by things like that.For example, I thought I knew how the romance would pan out. You know, the old boyfriend turns bad, and the new guy is a dream? Not so much. Kira's childhood sweetheart, Marcus, is really funny and laid-back. And even though I didn't feel a passionate burn coming from those two, it still felt like they needed and respected each other. Also, I'm a sucker for a guy with a sense of humor. Samm is...well, he's interesting too, but I don't want to give anything away. At any rate, the plot doesn't focus on romantic stuff as much as I thought it would. I think it's because Kira is a pretty of a self-contained character who isn't consumed by thoughts of boys. ???I know, right?! What's wrong with that girl?I also thought I had the secret twist figured out within the first few chapters. A couple of chapters later, and I just knew I was wrong. Then I was right...then I was wrong again. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, something would pop up and poke holes in my theory.Good job, Mr. Wells! You had me going in circles right up till the final GOTCHA moment!I don't recommend this if you're looking for a romance driven book, but if you've been dying to read a dystopian novel about androids taking over the world, then you may want to check this out.

**4.5 stars****No spoilers**This book was a really nice surprise. I think I must not have read the synopsis clearly when I bought it because I thought it was a book where aliens had taken over the world and there were only one community of humans left. But yeah, not at all. In a way I think that helped me to like it so much, because I was surprised whilst reading it. Maybe I should try and do that more often...Anyway, I thought the plot was really interesting as I've not read anything about genetically engineered soldiers before. Hooray for first times! The pacing was generally good, however there were a few moments when they were travelling from one place to another that just felt like it dragged on a bit too long and my attention would wander - there weren't too many of those though.The characters were great in my opinion. Kira is an extremely smart protagonist and her loyalty to making a better future for the human race was admirable and made me really root for her. One thing I appreciated was that she was already in a solid relationship at the start of the book, so there was no instalove to deal with. I loved her boyfriend Marcus too. They had a lot of cute and funny moments together, but he made me laugh a good few times. As did one of Kira's best friends, Xochi. Partials was an engrossing book and I hope the series continues to be as good. I struggle to think of how to describe it so I can recommend it. It's like an apocalyptic world (not the zombie kind, but everything has gone to crap and 99.9% of the human race have died), where everything isn't quite as it seems from the get go and there are some surprising moments. I can't really say "you'll like it if you liked this..." because I can't think what it is like. Sorry :P

It started out slow, but once I got to know the characters, I fell in love with them and the plot. I especially love the tenacity and the strength of the main character, Kira. Against many odds, she rallied a small team in pursuit of a cure for the indomitable virus that’s made it impossible for babies to survive, putting an expiration to human survival.I loved it and curious about how the story continues. 4 stars.

An ARC was provided by Harpercollins Canada for review! Thank you!Humans created the Partials long ago by ParaGen. They created the ultimate super being. Stronger, faster, smarter to help aid in modern warfare for the enemy hostiles. Then the Partials created the RM virus, wiping away almost the entire human population with a few being immune to the virus.We find Kira, a 16 year old medical intern, who works and lives in East Meadow. She assists in the pregnancy ward of the hospital. Her best friend Madison becomes pregnant, and knowing that the virus will kill the new born baby she sets off on a mission to help her friend and the rest of her species. Along the way she meets friends and foes and even figures out the mystery of where she came from.I was dying for this book and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC (THANK YOU HarperCollins! :) And boy I was not disappointed. Dan Wells writes with the pacing, tone and style set for a post-apocalyptic setting that most YA authors are writing about these days. And Mr. Wells is a great story teller. It reads like a movie. I felt like I was right there as one of the characters walking in East Meadow making do with what I had after 99.996% of the human population had been decimated.Yes the book starts of slow, but what after reading more and more, your mind is set into Kira’s world where things aren’t what they seem to be. This book ends on a cliffhanger so I am warning you, you will get frustrated! I know I was!This book is chock full of mystery, suspense action and a tinge of romance.

Partials By Dan WellsA Review by Eric AllenI have been totally blown away by every single book that Dan Wells has written. I don't know where he came from all of a sudden, but in the last 4 years he's written 5 extremely good books. And as writers should, he gets better with every book that he publishes, expanding his ideas, fixing things that didn't work, and improving upon his skills as a storyteller. If you have not read I Am Not A Serial Killer yet, go buy it or check it out of the library NOW, you do not know what you are missing. Even if supernatural murder mystery is not your thing, it is written so well, with such an amazingly compelling character that even those who do not like the genre will be sucked into it.Anyway, Partials. Having finished his John Cleaver trilogy, and the suitably epic A Night of Blacker Darkness, which is only available in digital format and comes highly recomended by me if you've the means to read it, Dan Wells has started a new series with Partials. It is a far cry from his previous novels in terms of genre, instead of horror and suspense, he's tried his hand at dystopian science fiction. Where other writers tend to stumble when switching genres from their previous fare, Terry Goodkind comes to mind, Dan Wells has given us a spectacularly well written story in a very well crafted world, with great characters.Eleven years ago the Partials, genetically engineered super soldiers created by the US government rebelled. They released RM, a virus that wiped out the human race in a matter of days, leaving less than one half of one percent of the population alive with natural immunity to it. The American survivors have gathered on Long Island, ever vigilant for further Partial attacks, but none have come. They stay on their island, content to let the Partials have the rest of the world, not knowing if there are any other human survivors anywhere else in the world. RM still exists. It is everywhere. And in eleven years not a single baby has been born with the natural immunity to it. To ensure the future of humanity, and produce children with immunity, the Senate has introdued the Hope Act. This requires every woman of eighteen years to get pregnant as quickly as possible and stay pregnant as often as possible. Though there are some who truly believe in the Hope Act, and see it as saving humanity from extinction, most women feel that they are being treated as little better than cattle. This sentiment has given rise to the Voice, short for Voice of the People, a resistance group standing against the Senate for the human rights of not just women, but everyone.Enter Kira Walker, sixteen year old medic intern. She became a medic to help make a better future for humanity, and cure RM so that babies never have to die days after birth again, but is abhored by how little she is able to do. She decides that she is going to work out a cure for RM on her own, but when she analyzes a blood sample, she realizes that it really is EVERYWHERE, all around them, and even in them. This gets her to thinking that if the Partials made the virus, then they must have built a natural immunity to it into themselves. She believes that the only way to cure RM is to capture a Partial, and study it to find how their bodies repel the virus.(view spoiler)[Her superiors refuse to allow such a dangerous mission, so with her friends Kira decides to do it on her own. Though they meet with quite a bit of disaster, they do manage to bring back one Partial alive, and though they are highly pissed at her for doing so, the Senate sees the merit in studying him. They give her five days to do her tests before they dispose of the Partial.Kira does her tests, and Samm, the Partial, begins to open up to her, telling her that he was part of a peace mission sent to offer a truce to the humans because they are dying out as well. Every Partial was built with an expiration date, and that date is fast approaching. She makes several discoveries, but before she can go much further, the Voice attack the hospital, almost killing her. It is deemed too dangerous to continue. Samm is set for execution, despite Kira's protests that she has almost made a breakthrough.Kira believes that the only way to find the cure to RM is to break Samm out, and head to the mainland to join with the Partials that seek a truce. They do so by starting a riot agaist the senate. Unfortunately, Samm was lying, and once on the mainland, Kira is taken captive. The Partials intend to use her as a test subject to find out how to remove the sterility built into their bodies so that they can begin to reproduce before their time runs out. As she is being tested, Kira realizes what the cure for RM is, and her friends arrive to break her out. They rush back to Long Island with the cure, hoping they are not too late to stop the remnants of humanity from tearing themselves apart in civil war. (hide spoiler)]The Good? As always Dan Wells' writing is excellent. He is great at creating characters that you can relate to, who are interesting, and for whom you want to root for. He has created a very realistic and interesting post-apocalyptic world, and he introduces it all in such a way that he never actually explains how everything works outright, which is the mark of a very good storyteller in my book. The danger of extinction feels very real as you read, and you can feel the resentment and tensions that the Hope Act creates. This book flowed along perfectly, it had its suspenseful moments, it's calm moments, and everything else in between, but nowhere did I feel as though the story dragged. Kira pretty much carries the entire story on her shoulders, but she's such a likable character that it works out well. There are some really great action scenes, but most of the story centers around Kira's inner turmoil, her inability to cure RM, her fears and apprehensions of reaching the Hope Act's pregnancy age, and her struggle to figure out what her true feelings toward her likely future husband, and it is really well done. Dan Wells is a master of inner turmoil, and he makes it not just interesting but riveting. There were also a couple very good plot twists, one of which caught me by surprise. It's not often that I don't see a plot twist coming.The Bad? I can only make one complaint about this book, and it's really not much of a complaint. It's more of a nitpick than anything else. Kira is a teenaged girl, and Dan Wells is not, nor has he ever been. There are a few small instances where her character seems a little off. It's hard to describe. There's a few places where she acts more like a man thinks a teenaged girl should act rather than how a teenaged girl actually would act, if that makes any sense to you. Mostly this comes out in her being a bit overly weepy, too quick to shed tears. Yes, there are women out there who will cry over just about anything, but not many of them. In my experience, women cry a lot less over trivial things than popular fiction would have us believe. Though Kira is a very strong character, she still does feel a bit more like a man's vision of a woman rather than an actual woman here and there. The instances are few and far between, but they are still there. For the most part Dan Wells does show that girls can be strong too and still remain girls, and I'm pretty sure that's what he was going for with her character.In conclusion this book was freaking awesome. I loved it and highly recomend it. Five stars all the way, and I highly recomend all of Dan Wells' books along with this one. If you like Partials, you should check out A Night of Darker Blackness, and I Am Not a Serial Killer. He also does a podcast called Writing Excuses with a couple other authors if you are interested in getting tips from published writers on how to make your own writing better. Despite a few very minor problems that are just nitpicks, Partials was an excellent book and I cannot wait for the next in the series. Check out my other reviews.