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smateer73's review against another edition
4.0
This book was interesting. It moves pretty fast paced and had several great plot twists. I always enjoy a book that focuses more on a medical perspective. The characters are real and don't have the perfect life that's become norm, and it was nice for a change. Definitely one of the better sci-fi dystopias I've read recently.
maedemasuda's review against another edition
4.0
Finally a scifi book that gets me! So i would give it more a 4,5/5 imho. The story is very entertaining and there's some interesting plot twists that i can't wait to be solved in the sequel. All in all a very good scifi book! :D
areadingrose's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Is this like every other YA dystopian book? Yes. Does that make it any less good? No.
I probably won’t read the rest of the series but I thought it was different and interesting. I thought the world building was done really well. The explanation of the virus and the pre-world before this world was created was done well.
I really liked Kira. I didn’t think she was the typical annoying MFC. I thought she was strong and smart. She didn’t drive me crazy with boy drama or stupid decisions. She’s driven by curiosity and understanding of the world around her.
I probably won’t read the rest of the series but I thought it was different and interesting. I thought the world building was done really well. The explanation of the virus and the pre-world before this world was created was done well.
I really liked Kira. I didn’t think she was the typical annoying MFC. I thought she was strong and smart. She didn’t drive me crazy with boy drama or stupid decisions. She’s driven by curiosity and understanding of the world around her.
njdarkish's review against another edition
4.0
Certainly one of the freshest post-apocalyptic YA novels. Very original ideas in terms of the disease, the Hope Act, and the Partials themselves. I've come to have fairly high expectations from Dan Wells, and this didn't disappoint. Look forward to reading the other books in the series.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
4.0
When sixteen-year-old Kira was a small child, the world fell apart. The "Partials"--genetically engineered human-like creatures that were created to fight mankind's wars--revolted against their makers, destroying nearly every human being on the planet. Most of the people who weren't killed in the initial war succumbed to a deadly virus released by the Partials. Only the few who were immune survived, and now they huddle together on Long Island. The Partials have left them alone for more than a decade, but the survivors have another devastating problem--not a single child born since the Partial War has been immune to the virus. Not one has lived more than a few days. Kira, who works in the maternity ward of the hospital, vows to find a cure someday. When her best friend becomes pregnant, however, Kira's goal takes on new urgency. She decides that the only way to discover a cure for the virus is to go to the source--the Partials. But venturing into their world might disturb the fragile peace that exists between Partials and humans...
This is one of my favorite recent sci-fi novels. The premise makes sense to me, unlike several other teen dystopias I've read lately ("Pandemonium" and "Fever," I'm looking at you). The characters and their internal struggles ring true and I connected with them right away. Kira is having a hard time figuring out what she believes: Should Congress do whatever it takes to ensure that humanity survives? Or should individuals retain some of their rights, even if it means risking the survival of the human race? Kira's debate with herself gave me a lot to think about. There's almost nonstop action and a nice twist at the end. Good stuff all around!
This is one of my favorite recent sci-fi novels. The premise makes sense to me, unlike several other teen dystopias I've read lately ("Pandemonium" and "Fever," I'm looking at you). The characters and their internal struggles ring true and I connected with them right away. Kira is having a hard time figuring out what she believes: Should Congress do whatever it takes to ensure that humanity survives? Or should individuals retain some of their rights, even if it means risking the survival of the human race? Kira's debate with herself gave me a lot to think about. There's almost nonstop action and a nice twist at the end. Good stuff all around!
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
After a string of disappointing YA books, particularly of the speculative fiction/dystopian sort, I am thrilled to finally find something that delivered everything a good book should: an interesting premise, fast-paced action that kept me reading, and a strong female protagonist. Some minor spoilers will follow.
First off, I would love to sing Mr. Wells' praises for creating a believable, flawed, strong, strong, strong female lead. Seriously, I can't emphasize that enough. I find it frankly alarming how many weak, frail female 'heroines' exist in YA lit. I'm sick to death of reading about whiny girls who need boys to rescue them. Kira is none of these things. She is hot-headed, highly intelligent, and more than capable of taking care of herself. That's not to say that she's perfect. At times, I wanted to shake her soundly or talk sternly to her about how mean she was being, but I felt that this only added to her character. Good characters need flaws, and Kira has them. However, she also has many attributes that I really loved. She's fiercely loyal to her friends and is willing to sacrifice herself for her ideals. Though she does sometimes need her friends' help, this is for logistical reasons and not because she's too weak to handle things on her own. I really think Wells deserves a badge of honor for creating such an awesome female lead.
I also really admired the way romance was handled in this book. Though Marcus is Kira's boyfriend, he doesn't own her. Sometimes they have differences of opinions that cause them to argue and that even create rifts between them. I thought Wells did a fantastic job of capturing how difficult it can be to maintain a relationship. I was also very happy to see that when the females in the book don't agree with their male significant others, they voice that opinion. This is very true of Kira, but also of Madison, who defies her husband in several big ways throughout the course of the book. These are not females who are defined by their relationships, which I sincerely and heartily applaud.
Wells's world building was pretty stellar. His descriptions of the crumbling remnants of New York made me think of the series Life after People, with nature taking over in a big way. I found it fascinating to read the descriptions of the buildings and of the scavenging habits of the people left behind. Wells has created a real, stark contrast between the world as we know it and the world as it could be. We like to think we're so significant but, really, everything we've created could simply crumble in a matter of decades if we weren't around to care for it. Wells uses iPods to particular effect, when he describes the inscriptions on the backs of them, the reminders of a consumer culture that was powerless to stop the collapse of the world.
I enjoyed the many factions that he created within this world, and I found them all quite believable. If the world fell apart, would humanity really hold hands and put aside their differences? The motivations of the various groups were eminently believable, in my opinion, and Wells handles them very well. No one is really clearly good or clearly evil in this book. The good characters sometimes do bad things and the bad characters have facets that make them more than just a cartoon villain.
Though this book was tied up in the end, there are still many compelling questions that make me look forward to the next in the series. I'm very interested in learning still more about the Voice and about the Partials, as well as Kira's background. At three quarters of the way through the book, I had a feeling that Wells was leading me somewhere juicy with Nandita, so I'm very eager to find out exactly what's in store there.
The one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was the writing. Though Well is very innovative and I found the book exciting and a fast read, he lacks the polish of some of the other YA authors I've read. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I could combine him and, say, Maggie Stiefvater, the end result would be something exciting that also had a lot of lovely writing--something more like Ship Breaker. Still, much like James Dashner, Wells has a real flair for the high concept, rip roaring, pulse-pounding novel, and I am very much looking forward to the next installment.
First off, I would love to sing Mr. Wells' praises for creating a believable, flawed, strong, strong, strong female lead. Seriously, I can't emphasize that enough. I find it frankly alarming how many weak, frail female 'heroines' exist in YA lit. I'm sick to death of reading about whiny girls who need boys to rescue them. Kira is none of these things. She is hot-headed, highly intelligent, and more than capable of taking care of herself. That's not to say that she's perfect. At times, I wanted to shake her soundly or talk sternly to her about how mean she was being, but I felt that this only added to her character. Good characters need flaws, and Kira has them. However, she also has many attributes that I really loved. She's fiercely loyal to her friends and is willing to sacrifice herself for her ideals. Though she does sometimes need her friends' help, this is for logistical reasons and not because she's too weak to handle things on her own. I really think Wells deserves a badge of honor for creating such an awesome female lead.
I also really admired the way romance was handled in this book. Though Marcus is Kira's boyfriend, he doesn't own her. Sometimes they have differences of opinions that cause them to argue and that even create rifts between them. I thought Wells did a fantastic job of capturing how difficult it can be to maintain a relationship. I was also very happy to see that when the females in the book don't agree with their male significant others, they voice that opinion. This is very true of Kira, but also of Madison, who defies her husband in several big ways throughout the course of the book. These are not females who are defined by their relationships, which I sincerely and heartily applaud.
Wells's world building was pretty stellar. His descriptions of the crumbling remnants of New York made me think of the series Life after People, with nature taking over in a big way. I found it fascinating to read the descriptions of the buildings and of the scavenging habits of the people left behind. Wells has created a real, stark contrast between the world as we know it and the world as it could be. We like to think we're so significant but, really, everything we've created could simply crumble in a matter of decades if we weren't around to care for it. Wells uses iPods to particular effect, when he describes the inscriptions on the backs of them, the reminders of a consumer culture that was powerless to stop the collapse of the world.
I enjoyed the many factions that he created within this world, and I found them all quite believable. If the world fell apart, would humanity really hold hands and put aside their differences? The motivations of the various groups were eminently believable, in my opinion, and Wells handles them very well. No one is really clearly good or clearly evil in this book. The good characters sometimes do bad things and the bad characters have facets that make them more than just a cartoon villain.
Though this book was tied up in the end, there are still many compelling questions that make me look forward to the next in the series. I'm very interested in learning still more about the Voice and about the Partials, as well as Kira's background. At three quarters of the way through the book, I had a feeling that Wells was leading me somewhere juicy with Nandita, so I'm very eager to find out exactly what's in store there.
The one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was the writing. Though Well is very innovative and I found the book exciting and a fast read, he lacks the polish of some of the other YA authors I've read. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I could combine him and, say, Maggie Stiefvater, the end result would be something exciting that also had a lot of lovely writing--something more like Ship Breaker. Still, much like James Dashner, Wells has a real flair for the high concept, rip roaring, pulse-pounding novel, and I am very much looking forward to the next installment.
uutopicaa's review against another edition
4.0
Me gustó. Debo admitir que no es mi estilo de libro, y que me esperaba otra cosa. Pero lejos de decepcionarme, me sorprendió. Me gusta la forma en la que el autor redacta los hechos, manteniendo siempre al lector en duda y obligándolo a formular sus propias teorias; gracias a ello, pude terminar el libro en aproximadamente 8 horas de lectura. Me impresionó el diseño de personajes y su evolución a lo largo de la historia, eso fue fantástico.
Hay un par de detalles que no me terminaron de cerrar, pero nada más.
Seguramente siga leyendo la saga (secuela y precuela) apenas pueda conseguir los ejemplares.
Hay un par de detalles que no me terminaron de cerrar, pero nada más.
Seguramente siga leyendo la saga (secuela y precuela) apenas pueda conseguir los ejemplares.
brittanylillyy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
carlosdanger's review against another edition
5.0
In a similar vein to Battlestar Galactica or Terminator, but very well written and compelling