Partials

General YA Fiction

G/A Wells, Dan. Partials. Balzer + Bray, 2012. 480p. 978-0-06-207104-0. $17.99

The story is set in a near dystopian future where government sanctioned super beings or Partials were created to help defeat the enemy in war. The Partials, however, end up turning on their creators. The humans blame the Partials for release of the RM virus that has all but eliminated the human race. Although the virus didn’t kill off absolutely every human, time is likely to finish the job. The remaining survivors cannot reproduce viable infants, no baby born since the Break has lived beyond a few days. In response, the existing government imposes the Hope Act, which requires by law every woman over the age of 18 to bear as many children as possible during her reproductive years. In a society where children are forced to grow up quickly, 16-year-old medic Kira Walker makes it her mission to find a cure for the RM Virus. Kira believes the cure lies in the biology of the Partials who are not affected by the virus even though they possess some human DNA. In a dangerous attempt to capture a Partial for medical research, Kira along with some like-minded friends decide to break the law and enter the island of Manhattan where the Partials have been silent but encamped for the last decade. The repercussions of her actions and what Kira subsequently discovers about the Partials and her own world goes much deeper than Kira could have ever imagined.

This first installment in a planned series gets off to a slow start and sophisticated readers will not be surprised by plot developments. Interesting premise but one can forsee some readers getting impatient with the pacing and giving up before the end.

Patsy Pinedo Tuck, Eagle Rock Branch, Los Angeles Public Library