Fragments (Partials #2) Review

Fragments (Partials #2)
by Dan Wells
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: ARC received from Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest review.  I do not get to keep the ARC.
Midnight Minute: Even with the cure for RM at hand, Kira is in an even more perilous situation, as both the humans and the Partials fight to survive.
From Goodreads:

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence--it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means--and even more important, a reason--for our survival.

Midnight Thoughts:

~ I forgot a lot, so it took me several chapters to remember who everyone was and what had happened.  I would have re-read Partials, but seeing as Fragments is close to 600 pages, I just didn't have the time.
~ That said, it didn't really matter that I couldn't recall everything that had happened in the first book.  You know how, especially in dystopian tales, book 2 can get all wonky and kind of suck?  No suckage here!  Fragments was an awesome book, and I'm telling you, those 550+ pages flew by. 
~ I can't remember if Partials featured Samm's pov, but he opens the book in Fragments and I quite liked his voice, although I probably enjoy Kira's voice a bit more.  If I had a choose.  Like, if you held a gun to the book and were threatening to shoot the book if I didn't pick my favorite character.  Actually, I might pick Marcus.  
~ Speaking of Marcus, I had no real love for him in book 1.  He and Kira had a good, mutually respecting kind of relationship, but he was just kind of blah to me.  I loved his story in this book, loved that he respected and believed in Kira, and was able to deal with the shiz going down back home.  Despite the fact that he's technically Kira's boyfriend, there's not really a love triangle, and any real romance between any of the characters takes a back seat to survival. 
~ Basically the Partials are freaking out because most of their Partial leaders are expiring as they reach the old age of 20.  The humans in Long Island are freaking out because they've only managed to save one baby and can't replicate the cure without getting their hands on some Partials.  Neither side is interested in teaming up and helping each other. 
~ I know that genetically enhanced humans are a bad idea (seriously, has science fiction taught us nothing?), but MyDragons?  Those sound awesome!
~ Again, I don't remember thinking that much of Heron in the last book, but she's a real stand out in the second installment.  Like Kira, she's tough, unlike Kira though, she's realistic.  
~ I love the term 'Plague Babies'.  How is that not a band yet?
~ I love that the subways of New York have become underwater lakes and that Central Park is now a jungle (complete with wild animals).  I love that imagery. 
~ While Kira, Samm, Heron and messed up Afa try to head West and find information on the mysterious Trust, Marcus and the rest of Long Island are dealing with a Partial invasion.  Both stories were compelling and the book has a lot of action.
~ Humorous moment: Kira says that saving the world would be a lot easier if the people they were trying to save would stop killing each other.  Sadly, it kind of applies to our world today.
~ Genetically altered animals, smart enough to speak, plot and kill scares the crap out of me.  Maybe I shouldn't be a cat owner after all...
~ There's not a lot of funny, light hearted moments in dystopian novels usually, but I cracked up when Samm said, " Did that dog just call me a bastard?"  
~ I remember in the first book being put off by how smart all the Plague Babies were, but it makes sense in light of who Kira is, and the fact that most of the human kids had gene modification. 
~ I really think Arial and Heron could be bffs. 
~ I love how little race factors in to current world, but now Partials vs. Humans has taken it's place.  There is something in us that feels the need to judge others and feel superior. 
~ As Kira travels, she comes across a library.  Kira reads a thriller that sounds an awful lot like it could Dan Well's John Cleaver series. ;)
~ So much tension throughout the whole book!  You wouldn't think you'd be able to keep the plot exciting over hundreds and hundreds of pages, but Wells does it.  I may need a nitro-glycerin patch when the last book comes out!
~ At some point in the book, Samm says the world hasn't ended, it's reset.  Usually when we talk about destroying the planet, what we really mean is destroying the life on it, including our own.  But the earth will survive us, it's us that we might not survive. 
~ Kira's life is rapidly becoming a walking nightmare: attacks by superior Partials, talking dogs and acid rain.  I just wanted to give her a chocolate bar and a quiet place in which to cry.
~ The last part of the book made my head spin.  My head was spun, people!  I can't tell you why, because it's all spoilers, but I did not see a lot of that coming. 
~ Oh, Mr. Wells, you and your moral dilemmas!  What would you choose, dear readers?  The comfort of being morally right while people all around you die, or would you sacrifice the few to save the many?  Like most people, I'd choose the sacrifice... as long as I wasn't one of the people chosen to be thrown in the volcano to appease the gods.
~ The ending is kind of holycrap,holycrap!  As much as I want another John Cleaver novel, Mr. Wells had best be working on the next Partials book!

Timeless Characters:

Kira- our heroine, seeking answers about her origins, and trying to save what's left of her world. 
Samm- renegade Partial with feelings for Kira.
Marcus- the boy Kira left behind, doing his part to help the world.
Heron- kick ass Partial.
Afa- extremely paranoid and messed up human.
Dr. Morgan- mad Partial doctor, kidnapped Kira in the first book.
Nandita- the woman who raised Kira after the Partials war, and now everyone is looking for her. 
Isolde, Haru, Madison, Xochi- friends of Marcus and Kira's back in Long Island.  Madison's baby Arwen is still alive and thriving, and Isolde is pregnant. 
Ariel- one of Nandita's foster daughters, teams up with Marcus. 
Calix- human girl that crushes on Samm.
Dr. Vale- possible member of the mysterious Trust, he also leaves Kira with a difficult dilemma. 
And a billion other characters, both Partials and human, but I don't want to break my computer.  Fortunately I do have the notes on them to read over for Book 3!

Midnight Moment:

Honestly after the first 50 or 60 pages, everything is kind of a Midnight Moment.  What happens on the way to Colorado (a certain death) was completely unexpected, so I have to give that points.

Stop The Clock:

Fragments is a roller coaster of action and thrills, but Wells still manages to grow the reader's interest and connection with the main characters.  If Partials was the appetizer, than Fragments is the deliciously spicy main course.  I originally only going to do 4 and 1/2 stars, but it's been almost a week since I read it and it's still with me.


Dan Wells — Website |The Dan Wells

  Fragments (Partials #2) gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Sundays in Bed With... Fragments

Sundays in Bed With... Parallel

 Welcome to my Sundays In Bed With... Meme! The meme that dares to ask, what book has been in your bed this morning?  Come share what book you've spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

This morning I'm reading:

Fragments (Partials #2) by Dan Wells

Last night we had book club, which was one of our best book club discussions ever (Ready Player One, because I know you want to know what book we were talking about).  And then a few of us stayed over... with the intention of doing a mini-readathon, but of course we just ended up talking, since we were all tired and book club lasted until late into the night.  I don't know how much time I'll have to read today, but I'm hoping to make a dent in Fragments.  Sadly this is Court's last day visiting, so I may read while she's packing or trying to finish her psychology reading. 

 What are you reading (or wish you had time to read) this morning? Are you reading the book you thought you'd be reading, or has today found you with a surprise? Link up below!

Partials Reveiw

Partials
by Dan Wells
Expected Publication: 02.28.2012
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.

My Thoughts:  First you should know that I am already a fan of Dan Wells.  His John Wayne Cleaver series that starts with I Am Not A Serial Killer, pretty much has cemented me as life long fan.  I'm not quite ready to go Annie Wilkes on him, but our literary relationship is getting to that level of crazy.  Fortunately for Wells and my other favorite writers I don't live out in the country and I'm actually quite lazy.  And my Hubs and friends would totally turn me in for any reward money if I ever actually kidnap any authors.

So how excited was I to see that Dan Wells had a new dystopian YA book out?  If your picturing me running around the house screaming like a crazed 1960's Beatles fan, they you win a doughnut (oops, sorry, all out of doughnuts, but feel free to treat yourself).  Wells is, after all, the author who created a popular literary sociopath (with a nice supernatural twist).  Honestly I like John Wayne Cleaver better than Dexter (book Dexter, not Showtime Dexter), and he's almost tied with Hannibal Lector.  So I was pretty much on board for any dystopian tales Dan Wells wants to turn out.

Partials was not quite what I expected.  The first half of the book went a little slow for me, but it was dealing with the set up of this particularly dystopian world.  I didn't immediately love the main character, Kira, like I did sociopath John in IaNaSK, but that probably says something disturbing about me.  And I did like the plot of Partials, I just think the set up could have been done in a prologue similar to the opening quote used in the book (which was awesome, btw).

About halfway through the book, when Kira and crew capture a Partial, was when the book finally grabbed me.  Samm (the Partial) was a great character, and brought a new angle to the what the readers, and Kira, were previously told about Partials.  Basically Partials were engineered to be super humans by the government to be the ultimate solider.  Of course it's no surprise that their treatment by the hands of our government is less than cozy.  You almost can't blame them for wanting to kill off the human race.

And because it's a dystopian novel, some things are quite what they seem, and some characters aren't who you think they are.  Some of the twists I saw coming, one I'd already known about so it's not like I had my Nancy Drew sweater set on, and a few that I really didn't see coming.

Things I loved: the society left behind after the disease devastates humanity is truly a melting pot.  Since no whole families have been left intact, the survivors have all banded, and bonded, together.  The Hope Act in the book- basically saying that all women 18 and over have to try to get pregnant as often as possible in hopes of saving mankind and giving birth to a child who will be immune- would make for a great book club debate.  Especially when there's talk of lowering the age to 16.  I think there is a good reason dystopians are dysfunctional and not perfect utopias, I don't believe that it's humanly possible to have a society where everything is fair and everyone is equal.  There will always be those in power, there will always be those that learn to make their living off others, and there will always be people who want personal freedom.  The society Kira lives is deeply flawed, and whether they mean well or if they're blatantly lying to the masses, is for us to discover.    I also really liked the friendships that Kira has forged, and every one of her friends has their strengths and also their weaknesses, just like Kira herself.

Things I loved not so much: Kira's skills in medicine and science despite her young age actually doesn't bother me.  It makes sense in a world where there's not a lot of distractions that you could cram a whole lot of learning in at a younger age.  What I didn't like was Kira's arrogance.  She just assumes that she's capable of coming up with a cure to save the babies, and she puts her friends at grave risk in her pursuit.  Of course, she has a point, what's the point in living if there's literally no future?  But still, it was a bit grating in the beginning.  And I thought the book got off to a slow, clunky start, but other than those two things, I enjoyed the book.

Partials is the first in a series, and it left me with just enough questions answered, and just enough new questions raised to keep me invested in future books.  Their are side characters that I care about, contrary Haru, joker Marcus, pregnant Isolde, and Partial Samm.   Overall I think it's a worthy novel for lovers of dytopias. And be sure to read I Am Not A Serial Killer, which is sadly a phrase I've personally had to use a few times to clear things up with new friends.

Partials gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover or Partials gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I think the cover immediately gives you a heads up that some dystopian shiz is going down.

Disclaimer: The books that I receive are either purchased by me, given to me by either the author or publisher, or borrowed from Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for an honest review or won by me in a contest.  All opinion, snark and wit are my own.