Partials: Review

Title: Partials

Author: Dan Wells

Release Date: February 2012

Published By: HarperTeen

Pages: 472

Goodreads Rating: 4.14 stars

Review: After a war with Partials - engineered beings that look just like humans - the human race is nearly extinct with only vestiges of previous technology left. And the worst part? Every child born dies within days from RM, a virus strain released by the Partials. Sixteen-year-old Kira, a medic at the front lines of the battle, makes a desperate decision, and in the process, discovers a connection between humans and Partials that has been forgotten - or perhaps never known about at all.

Like many dystopian novels, PARTIALS is part (pun not intended) thrilling adventure, part budding romance, part societal issues, and of course, part of a series. Some people mentioned similarities between Hunger Games and this novel, and while I do agree that this book includes many elements of other dystopians, that doesn't mean it lacks originality. This is a solidly developed novel with excellent writing and a vivid cast of characters.

Although this book explored ideas like the Hope Act, a law passed that requires women sixteen years old and up to be pretty much constantly pregnant in order to increase the chances of a RM-immune baby, much of it was packed with heart-racing action. There were bombs, battles, and nerve-wracking missions, and all of it was executed very well. In multiple places, I found myself unable to even put the book down because I had to know what would happen next.

If there was one aspect that I didn't like, though, it would probably be the extent of the development of Kira's relationships with people, especially with her boyfriend Marcus. It sounded like they were deeply in love in the past but there was no explanation as to why she was so ambivalent towards them now. To me, this seems like an important plot point and I wish it was explored to more depth.

All in all, PARTIALS is a well-written dystopian novel that, while borrowing some elements from other dystopians, has some original plot points to it. The intercharacter relationships could have been developed a lot more, but the ending wrapped up the story nicely while still leaving room open for future novels to come. I look forward to reading the next book in the series!


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This in no way affected my review.