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.
So, basically, I got really into this. It’s technically a post-apocalyptic dystopian, but it brings in so much science fiction that it feels fresh among all the other titles out there like it. Both the world and the science fiction behind it are also incredibly developed. There are scenes where the MC is doing research into the science of what is happening to them, and I adored seeing her go through the process of extracting samples and analyzing it. Total geek happiness.
The second half is fast-paced and action-packed, and I couldn’t put it down to see what would happen next. I loved that the author never let things get easy for the characters, and they were forced to face their hurdles head-on with not only force but with brains. It truly is Hunger Games meets BSG, like the blurb says, and as those are two of my most favorite things on the planet, I was totally sucked into this without ever feeling it was borrowing too heavily from either one. It’s a series, so while the driving plot was wrapped up with an awesome conclusion, the overarching threads are left open, and I absolutely will be picking up book two to see how the rest of the story unravels.
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Jessica Love shares some TIME BETWEEN US cover talk
Tracy Banghart jumps for CATCHING JORDAN
Stasia Ward Kehoe contemplates middle grade series
LiLa Roecker is enthralled with THE NIGHT CIRCUS
Shelli Johannes-Wells visits with author Elle Strauss
I loved this book. I, too, tore through it in no time, and I can’t wait for the next one.