Partials, by Dan WellsBalzer and Bray: New York, 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-06-207104-0
(Review ARC provided by publisher)
Kira survived a civil war with the Partials (an engineered
super-soldier race physically identical to humans) and a subsequent worldwide
plague that ravaged most of humanity.
She lives with the other survivors on the island of Long Island, where
they have created a society and even government. However, the virus that caused the plague is so potent
that no babies born have survived in the ten years since, and the government
has responded by requiring all female citizens to become pregnant starting at
age sixteen. Kira, who works
as a medic with the doomed babies, is not thrilled at the prospect, but when
her adopted sister announces her pregnancy, Kira is determined to save the
baby. She is convinced that the
DNA of the virus-immune Partials contains valuable information, if not the cure,
and convinces her friends to go on an unsanctioned mission into Partial
territory in the former New York City to catch one. Though their mission goes awry, the group succeeds in
bringing back a Partial with them, and Kira is assigned to study it. A sentient being, it has information
that makes Kira question her medical conclusions, her way of thinking, and
eventually, her society. A
slow start ends at breakneck speed with a cliffhanger in this adventurous,
high-adrenaline, post-apocalyptic, occasionally medical and political thriller.
With a thoughtfully, realistically constructed world, it is recommended to
sci-fi and dystopia fans, both boys and girls, grades 8-12 for some complex
medical wrangling and plot-twists.
