Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Partials (Partials #1) by Dan Wells
Publication: February 28th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Warning:
You may or may not get heart attacks from the addictive quality of this book.  Most likely you will.  I also apologize for the vagueness of my review, it's hard not to give anything away.

Intro
It took me a week to read the first 150 pages.  It took me 4 hours to read the rest.  (This is FAST for me).  The first 150 pages felt more like a prologue (that could have been greatly condensed in my opinion), but after you get through them, the story really picks up.  I literally had to put the book down sometimes because I had to run around and freak out.  It's been a really long time since I've spazzed this much while reading a book.  It feels awesome.

Characters
So I was not a huge fan of Kira at first... she seemed like an overly sentimental and weepy character.  But then, she got pretty badass.  She was also very intellectual and although I felt like the science was a little too dumbed down, it was clear Kira knew her stuff.  I also really loved Samm, hehe.  Even though I liked how the romance between them was subtle, I hope there will be more in the next book.

Plot Twists!!!
Around the middle of the book, I was saying to myself, "This is REALLY good, so I don't mind that it's so predictable."  And then I immediately had to take back my words because Partials is plot twist after plot twist! Eventually I gave up guessing what was going to happen because I was always wrong.

I started off thinking, "Oh, the humans are so evil, this book does a great job showing the corruption and ignorance of humanity.  The Partials are the victims here!"  And then things weren't exactly as they seemed... my opinion of the humans and Partials kept on changing...  Eventually, you just don't really know who the good guys or bad guys are, and Partials definitely kept me second guessing.

Overall
Despite the slow beginning, Partials is a really action packed book that will definitely satisfy dystopian and science fiction fans alike.  And if you're looking for a twisty read full of surprises, Partials is for you!  I will definitely be on the lookout for Dan Wells' other books, and I'm highly anticipating this sequel!