Fragments

June 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-In this second book in the saga, set in a postapocalyptic U.S. in 2076, Kira is struggling to accept the fact that she is a genetically enhanced human known as a Partial. She makes her way on foot from East Meadow, New York, to the company headquarters of ParaGen in Manhattan in search of a way to cure the RM virus that kills newborns and to stop the expiration of Partials at age 20. Kira allies herself with the last human in Manhattan, Afa, a mentally unstable IT Director from ParaGen who may be able to help her, along with Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed, then saved her, and know what she really is. She has to find a cure before the Partials and humans destroy one another. Only by being united will everyone be able to live in peace. They all travel on foot and horseback from Manhattan to Chicago and then Denver to find answers. They end up with even more questions after finding human survivors in Denver who have a cure for RM that allows them to have children, but the cure comes at a huge price. Kira discovers a secret about herself that forces her to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others. The cliff-hanger ending ensures that fans can look forward to more surprises in the next book in this exciting and thought-provoking series, but this one doesn't stand alone.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2013
Finding the cure to a plague that killed 99 percent of humanity was only the beginning for Kira. Baby Arwen was the first infant to survive thanks to teenage medical technician Kira's discovery that the cure for the plague called RM was in the pheromones exuded by Partials, the genetically modified superwarriors. The last remnants of humanity--all 36,000 of them--live on Long Island and are locked in a cold war with one faction of the supersoldiers; obtaining the pheromones is no easy task. Acting on a message to "Find the Trust" left her by her guardian, Kira, who's determined to find a more portable cure as well as a fix for the Partials' "expiration date" (they die abruptly and in prime condition at 20), sets off to discover the true nature of the Trust, which apparently controls the Partials. Joined by her Partial buddy Samm and superassassin Heron, Kira strikes off across the desolate wastelands of the Midwest. They fight genetically modified beasts and their own misgivings while at home, Kira's friends wage battles against the encroaching Partials. Fans of Partials (2012) will enjoy the twisty thrills, though the existential hand-wringing is both too frequent and too lengthy. Another hurried ending (if that can be applied to a book of over 560 pages) leaves all in jeopardy. Doesn't stand alone, but a fine and frightening post-apocalyptic thriller. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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April 1, 2013
Grades 8-12 In this sequel to Partials (2012), Wells drops readers right into the action. This is a highly political, postapocalyptic morality tale where each side sees the other as both threat and salvation. Violent, gory warfare is balanced by a philosophical bioethical dilemma; humanity is teetering on the brink of extinction due to their own blindness in creating genetically modified super soldiers called Partials, who have rebelled against their creators. Partials are dying from a built-in expiration date; humans, from a plague. Kira Walker is a new breed of Partial who may just hold the key to cure both in her DNA. Little backstory and quick-paced alternating points of view make the players and circumstances difficult for newcomers to catch on to, and there are a few jarring anachronistic notes (references to toll roads and quarters although no one has used money in years, for example). But the epic scope and grand adventure will keep readers glued to the page, right up to the cliff-hanger ending, which will leave them screaming for resolution.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)