Partials

January 30, 2012
Long Island, N.Y., is the last outpost of humanity in adult author Wells’s (the John Cleaver series) YA debut. Wells prefers immediate impact to consistent world-building (for instance, the skin of corpses in a rat- and rot-infested apartment building has somehow been preserved), but it’s an intriguing world nonetheless. Weakened by war with an engineered life form, the Partials, humanity was knocked out by RM, a virus that the few survivors have been unable to cure or breed an immunity to. Every baby born since “the Break” has died, and a desperate government has mandated reproduction, hoping for a miracle. Kira, a 16-year-old medic, is tired of death and terrified of forced fertility. When her friend Maddy conceives, Kira concocts a plan to capture a Partial and use its biological material to find a cure. She’s not prepared for the shocking humanity of her target, Samm, or for what she learns about herself. Though long on historical description and political debates, readers who enjoy SF-oriented postapocalyptic stories will relish this one. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger Inc.

April 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-A postapocalyptic thriller set in 2076 on Long Island, NY. Kira Walker, a 16-year-old medic in training, believes she can find a cure for the RM virus that's killing all the newborns. It's been 11 years since a war in which genetically enhanced humans called Partials turned on their creators and released the virus that killed most of the population. The Senate has enacted the Hope Act, making it mandatory for all 18-year-old females to become pregnant to maximize the chances of a child being born resistant to the virus. Now that her adopted sister Madison is pregnant, Kira is sure that the Partials hold the key. She and Madison's brother and husband, both trained soldiers, take matters into their own hands, cross into the enemy territory of Manhattan, engage in a series of battles with Partials, and capture one. The Senate punishes them but gives Kira five days to study Samm, the prisoner. While doing so, the facility is attacked and Kira nearly killed but Samm saves her life. Despite their mutual distrust, they form a connection and realize that they are pawns in a much bigger conspiracy by both sides. While this book shares similar plot themes with other recent postapocalyptic novels like Lauren DeStefano's Wither (S & S) and Megan McCafferty's Bumped (HarperCollins, both 2011), the emphasis here is on genetics, politics, and paramilitary action. The tendency for the young people to act older than their actual age can be attributed to having had to grow up faster. Readers will be swept along by the fast-paced action and surprising plot twists, and will eagerly await the sequel-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2011
Teens battle human extinction in a post-apocalyptic thriller. In the year 2076, Kira Walker's one of the last humans. Eleven years prior, a war against genetically engineered humanoid weapons called Partials abruptly ended with the release of a weaponized virus that killed most humans. Kira is a medic intern working in the maternity ward, where, despite the doctors' best efforts, there has yet to be a single infant born with its parents' immunity. While the Senate attempts to prevent extinction through the Hope Act--legislation commanding all girls 18 or older to be pregnant or trying to conceive--quantity has not yielded a surviving infant, and the oppressive rule births a resistance movement, threatening their small civilization. Kira's determination to discover a way to save her species is intensified through her adopted sister's pregnancy. But with all human aspects of the virus thoroughly studied, Kira and a small band turn to a less orthodox way of gaining biological information--the immune Partials. Their covert mission starts a chain reaction, uncovering secrets revealed through political dealings, medical pathology and paramilitary action sequences. The rollercoaster plot takes precedence over character at times, and the generally realistic world occasionally strains credibility. The rushed ending promises a sequel, progressing the story enough that readers are certain to return. A dark, wild ride. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012
Grades 8-12 In the last half of the twenty-first century, there are very few humans left in the United States. The Partials, genetically engineered humanlike creatures built to fight the U.S.'s wars, attacked their overlords with a deadly virus. Kira, a medical intern, wants desperately to figure out how to save babies who are dying from the virus they're infected with at birth, and comes up with a plan. Persuading her friends, including boyfriend Marcus, that all they need to do is kidnap a Partial and figure out why it's immune to the virus, she leads them on a harrowing missionseveral, actually. A Partial is obtained, but the result reveals far more questions than answers. This book does several things very well. The Long Island setting, along with the configuration of Kira's struggling society, is fully realized, and the many twists and turns keep readers intriguingly off-balance. But some trimming, especially of the medical discoveries, would have helped maintain the momentum. Kira is a bold heroine with lofty goals, and readers will willingly follow her to the sequel, where things are sure to tilt again. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The publisher is putting lots of push behind this one, with an extensive marketing campaign that includes social media outreach, exclusive digital content, and plenty more, so expect it to pop up on your radar.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)