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(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Ruins, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Partials books.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

As the tension between humans and Partials reaches a deadly breaking point, Kira Walker knows it's up to her to bring the two sides together.  Half human, half Partial, the 17-year-old wants nothing more than peace between the two species.  It won't be easy to stop the killing, the hate, the prejudice that is driving the two sides to war.  Especially when both have weapons capable of annihilating the other.  Even with the help of friends from both species, the outcome for Kira—as well at the world at large—looks pretty bleak.  If she gives everything she has, everything she can, will it be enough?  Or is this the end of it all?

Like the first two books in the Partials trilogy by Dan Wells, Ruins offers a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled apocalyptic survival story.  Laced with humor, romance, and a whole lot of blood, it's engrossing for sure.  In this finale, all the story's loose ends are wrapped up neatly—probably too neatly—making for a satisfying end to an exciting series.  Still, I have the same complaints about Ruins that I did about Partials and Fragments—the characters remain pretty flat and the prose is more tell than show.  Overall, then, I liked Ruins, but didn't love it.  Same with the series as a whole.  It's entertaining, just not my favorite.

(Readalikes:  Partials and Fragments by Dan Wells)

Grade:

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(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Fragments, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Partials.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

After discovering that she's an unlinked Partial created by the scientists at ParaGen, Kira Walker struggles to accept the truth of her identity.  It doesn't matter that she has found the cure for RM—the virus that has been killing every newborn human for years—if her friends find out she shares DNA with the enemy robots who are trying to destroy humanity, they'll turn their backs on Kira.  Even Kira doesn't know what to think.  All she knows is that she needs answers.  And she's not finding them in Manhattan.  No one knows what lies beyond the human settlement in New York—anything could be lurking in the untamed, post-apocalyptic western wilderness.  Or worse, there could be nothing out there.  No survivors, no information, no life, no answers.  But Kira has to try.  

In the old world, ParaGen was headquartered in Denver, Colorado.  If there's any information to be had, that's where it will be stored.  If the building is still standing, if the computers can be made to work, if Denver still exists, if ... It's a long shot, but there's where Kira plans to go.  Samm, the Partial boy who confuses Kira's every emotion, insists on going with her.  As does Heron, a combative Partial spy model.  The trio must also drag along Afa Demoux, ParaGen's once-brilliant IT manager.  Now a rambling drifter, he's a necessary, albeit unbalanced companion.

As the group moves further into the ruins of a forgotten world, they encounter every kind of challenge imaginable (as well as some they never could have conjured up).  With the fate of their world hanging in the balance, they must mount every obstacle, fight every battle, and above all, survive.  Before time runs out for them all.

Although I enjoy Dan Wells' unsettling adult novels, I haven't been particularly wowed by his YA offerings.  Partials kept me reading, but not rushing to find out what was going to happen.  I had a similar experience with its sequel, Fragments.  While the novel has flashes of tense, exciting action, not just between the principal characters and their environment, but between the story people themselves, the plot drags.  Quite a lot.  There are a few surprises, sure—I just felt that a good 100 pages could have been chopped from the book without losing anything important.  Character development would have been a good way to use those extra words.  Even after two (long) books, Wells' cast still feels flat to me.  Overall, then, Fragments was just an okay read for me.  If you enjoyed Partials, you'll probably like this one just fine.  If Partials didn't do it for you, this one likely won't either.  A lot of readers adore this series; for me, it's just been so-so.

(Readalikes:  Partials and Ruins by Dan Wells)

Grade:



If this were a movie, it would be rated:

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Cress, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from the novel's predecessors.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

There's nothing I adore more than a YA series that's not just clean, but also original, well-written and compelling.  Surprisingly, these are very rare creatures.  Which is why I'm so enthusiastic about The Lunar Chronicles books by Marissa Meyer.  With each new installment, I love the story more; plus, I can hand the novels to my 12-year-old daughter with no reservations at all.  I mean, c'mon, what's not to love?

In Cress, the third book in the series, our cyborg heroine, Cinder, and her dashing sidekick, Captain Thorne, are on the run.  The duo, along with Wolf and Scarlet, are bent on not just stopping the upcoming marriage of Prince Kai and evil Queen Levana, but also saving their world from Levana's oppressive rule.  A bit of a tall order, even for the most famous cyborg outlaw in the land.

Cinder's best chance of success lies with Cress, a teenage girl who's been exiled on a remote satellite for most of her life.  She spends her time monitoring feeds from Earth, keeping the queen informed of any subversive action.  Cress's newest mission?  Find Cinder and Thorne.  Secretly, she hopes for the pair's success (and a future for herself and the gorgeous captain), but failing to follow the queen's orders is tantamount to suicide.  What choice does Cress really have?

As a hesitant Cress crosses paths with the quartet of fugitives, she finally gets the one thing she's been craving all along:  her freedom (meeting Thorne in the flesh is just icing on the cake).  But escaping from her satellite has bigger repercussions than Cress ever could have imagined.  And, as the day of the royal wedding creeps closer and closer, she's beginning to wonder why she pinned all her hopes on Cinder & Co., who never stood a chance against Levana in the first place.  With the fate of the world on the line, the young resistance workers have an impossible task ahead of them.  Can they pull off one of the biggest coups in history?  Or will they, too, become subjects of the domination-obsessed alien queen?

Like Cinder and Scarlet, Cress tells an exciting, fast-paced tale of adventure, romance and suspense.  Cress joins a cast of likable characters (some of whom, I admit, don't develop much in this installment), adding some freshness to the group's dynamic.  As with the other main characters, Cress shows both strength and vulnerability, making her as sympathetic as the rest.  At 560 pages, Cress isn't a quick read, but it's a fun one.  If you dig "re-booted" fairy tales, you don't want to miss this series.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

(Readalikes:  Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

Grade:

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It's been 20 years since the robots humans designed to protect them turned on their creators, enslaving their makers in fortified Cities.  Bullheaded Nick knows all about the robots' fury and cruelty—in his 17 years, he's heard every horror story there is to tell.  Not that he needs to worry.  He hasn't actually seen a 'bot since he was a toddler. Hiding in the wilderness with his family and a handful of others, Nick's only known safety.  It's a relative kind of thing, but still ...

When Kevin, Nick's tech-obsessed younger brother, unknowingly leads the robots right to the family's hideout, everything changes in an instant.  The only home Nick and Kevin have ever known is destroyed, the people they love scattered.  Or captured.  Or, more probably, dead.  Still, the boys and their adopted sister, Cass, can't just let their parents rot in some robot prison.  If there's even the slimmest chance that their mother and father are still alive, the kids have to find them.  They must go to the nearest City, no matter how dangerous the journey.  They have to free their parents, no matter how terrifying the task.

Arriving at the City, the teenagers get another shock.  The robot-controlled metropolis isn't what they thought.  But if the rumors they've heard all their lives aren't true, what is?  What do they do now:  revolt or assimilate?  As the kids figure out their next move, they will have to decide what freedom really means and how much it's truly worth.

As you can probably gather, there's not a lot to Revolution 19, a new YA sci-fi novel by Gregg Rosenblum.  Not a lot of originality, not a lot of complex plotting, not a lot of character development ... I could go on, but I won't.  The fact is, I found this one pretty disappointing.  It's a quick read, yes, but the story revolves around a tired premise.  Add to that a predictable plot, characters who never feel real, gaping plot holes, and ho-hum writing and, yeah, I just wasn't impressed.  Oh well.

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a lot of Partials by Dan Wells)

Grade:  C-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs) and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Revolution 19 from the generous folks at HarperTeen.  Thank you!

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In the not-so-distant future, a crippled U.S. fights for survival.  

In desperation, American scientists create an army of "engineered organic beings" to battle the country's enemies.  

These "Partials" look like humans, but are, in fact, super soldiers.  Super fast.  Super strong.  They don't love, don't hate, don't reproduce.  They are nearly indestructible.

When the Partials turn on their creators, a bloody war ensues.  

Only 40,000 humans survive.

Crammed together on Long Island, the people who remain live in fear of the next Partial attack.   

The super soldiers have not been seen in 11 years, but everyone knows they're out there.  Just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

That moment is now.  

The human world is already in chaos.  Women are being forced to bear children at ever younger ages.  Not that it matters.  Babies don't survive in this new world.  Every one of them is born with RM, the deadly virus the Partials unleashed during their war with the humans over a decade ago.  And yet, the so-called "Hope Act" demands that women do their civic duty, birthing as many children as possible in the hope that a healthy new generation will emerge.

As the Voice—a group of rebels fighting for their right to procreate only when and if they want—sows discontent among the law-abiding citizens of East Meadow, the threat of civil war looms. 

Between the Partial menace, the dying babies and the in-fighting, extinction is only a matter of time for what's left of the human race.  

A very short amount of time.  

Kira Walker, a 16-year-old medic-in-training, can't let her people die.  She must find a solution.  But how?  How can she possibly succeed when so many others have failed?  Only by trying something that's never been tried before.  Something crazy.  Something dangerous.  Something impossible.   

No, it's not Battlestar Galactica (although I have to agree that the plots are a little too similar), it's Partials, the first book in a new YA dystopian series by horror writer Dan Wells.  As you can probably tell, the story speeds along, with plenty of action to keep it moving.  An exciting, entertaining ride, for sure.  Wells does take the time to build his dystopian world, fleshing it out with enough historical and political detail to bore some readers.  Not this one.  To me, all the background information makes Kira's world more believable.  It helped me not just to understand the society, but also to care about its salvation.     

Although it's not the most original series in the world, I enjoyed Partials.  Sure, it could use more surprises (the plot gets pretty predictable), better character development (especially of the guys), and something different to really distinguish it from other stories (thankfully, the humans don't take to space or it would have been a complete Battlestar Galactica ripoff).  Overall, though, it's an absorbing read.  And, truthfully, if you handed me the sequel right now (which isn't actually possible since Wells is still writing it, but whatever), I would clear my schedule to make room for it.  Today.  Right now.  Yeah, I totally would.       

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of other YA dystopians like Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver and Matched by Ally Condie)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Partials from the generous folks at Balzer and Bray (an imprint of Harper Collins).  Thank you!