After reading [intlink id=”7629″ type=”post”]Pure by Julianna Baggot[/intlink], I pretty much dread post apocalyptic novels. I hope I never come across anything that graphic and disturbing again. So when Lisa, Krista and I were trying to figure out the book club books for the first few months of this year and Fragments by Dan Wells hit the radar, I knew I would have to go and get myself a copy of Partials so I knew what I was facing and if I could hack it.

Not only could I hack it. I tore through this book, cover to cover, in under 14 hours. I was able to close the book, go to sleep and not have horrific nightmares.

Now this is not to say it’s a sugary sweet tale of romance, love and devotion. It is raw and heart breaking and scary… mainly because, as with so many post apocalyptic novels, it is not totally outside the realms of possibility.

The goodreads blurb says…

“The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what’s left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them–connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.”

I could really feel the heat of frustration from Kira through her inner dialogue and her actions. I found myself wanting to throw the book more than once. I didn’t even mind the minor foreshadowing that occured a few times through the novel, I guess some of it was a little predictable, but only because you learn which characters to expect the worst from and they certainly didn’t disappoint in their grrrr factor.

Being a young mother myself, the thought of having the government telling my daughter she has to have her children at an even younger age than I had her, made my blood boil. Then the fact that the infants would ALL die was beyond the highest level of despicable. As far as tropes* go it has to be the worst one to be used in such an effective way. I forgive Dan for using it, mainly because the whole point of the book was to stop it from happening.

Dan has woven a wonderfully eerie world for his story to unfold. His characterization is in in-depth and believable. Kira was suitably intelligent and kind hearted and she’s going to evolve like crazy in Fragments. I am thoroughly looking forward to April to see how Kira continues to kick some serious butt.

*explanation of this Trope

http://www.thedanwells.com/

Paperback,International First Edition, 470 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by HarperCollins (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN 0062135694 ISBN13: (9780062135698)

1. Partials by Dan Wells

Most memorable book I read all year. It kept me on the edge of my seat; couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

2. Covet by Melissa Darnell

I enjoy the mixture of several supernatural creatures; Vampires, Witches and Shifters. With a main character that I respected and a love interest that is a true born leader, both caring and strong.

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cyborg, Cinderella retelling, funnest read all year, it was an amazing ride

4. Defiance by CJ Redwine

An amazingly evil villain with a kick ass female lead. Made me want to shout ” you go girl”

5. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

First read this year that made me exclaim ” OMG she took it there!” Kathleen Peacock’s book made me seriously consider switching from team Vampire to team Werewolf.
Most of the titles I am looking forward to next year are part of a series that I love and highly anticipate. Which also brings me to say that it’s hard to exactly say why I want to read it so bad without spoiling others, but here goes!

Top 10 anticipated in 2013

Sever by Lauren Destefano

– Last book in the trilogy. I love these books because as a girl it took me out of my comfort zone. Teens that die young because of a disease and the urgency of having children and carrying on humanity knowing you only get a few precious years full of turmoil, then sickness. And the abuse that comes along with such things in this society.

Fragments by Dan Wells

– The first book had me turning pages so fast that I had to go back and listen to the audiobook and enjoyed each so much. The
Partials—(engineered organic beings identical to humans) always one step ahead, really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

-although I have read several reviews that had conflicting ideas about the writing style of book 1, Shatter Me. It was an absolute eye opener for me. Very poetic and full of imagery that blew my mind. Also fun super human powers and an impending war… I love that energy. 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

-Also a sequel. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, but as a cyborg. It ended with so many questions and I’m excited to see where this one goes next.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

– I haven’t heard too much about this one, but all I needed to hear was “Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books” (from the authors website)  as both a fan of ghosts, and books, this one sounds like a really interesting read. 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

-Possibly my most shallow pick, but OMG that cover! I love the artwork on all of her books. As I have not even started the Infernal Devices series it’s crazy to nominate this one, but I have read all of the Mortal Instruments series and I know I’m gonna love these as well. 

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis-

The last book in the series, a fantastic science fiction story that is fun and other-worldly.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi-

Sequel to Under the Never Sky but this time told from different characters perspective. The first book was intense and had great visual imagery.

Splintered by AG Howard

-In a darker twist to Alice in Wonderland. Alice was one of Alyssa’s ancestors and a curse has caused all the women to end up in mental hospitals. But it’s time for Alyssa to go to wonderland and finally break the curse.

Ink by Amanda Sun

-This was actually put on my radar by The Book Probe himself. I know very little about it but what caught my eye is part of the summary on the book: “Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control.”

When Ania moves from London to Swansea city in Wales she is hoping that her life will get a bit more exciting, after all she is running away from her controlling mother to taste more freedom and feel more independent. Everything seems to be going the way she wanted until she almost dies while taking a quiet walk around the beach in the late evening.

When she opens her eyes, nothing seems the same…

She starts seeing people that no one else is able to notice. An enchanting looking man keeps following her and Ania’s life seems to getting more exciting than she ever wished for.

Our main character Ania is determined to have some freedom away from her overbearing mother. They just recently moved from Russia to London, and now after graduation she is ready to go to college. If possible, far away from her mother. She chooses a school relatively close within driving distance, but far enough to feel like she’s got some freedom.  Ania’s character is very stubborn, her relationship with her mother is very tender and it seems to affect all of the decisions that she makes in her own life. But the reader is kept in the dark until the very end.

Upon arrival to her new home to attend college, Ania has a near death experience when she is stabbed by a stranger on the beach. After this event she begins to notice people she couldn’t see before, but soon realized they cannot be seen by others. Just her. This starts her life on a very fast track of trying to figure out who they are. When she falls for the one who seems to always be around her, she’s asking for trouble. But when Gabriel begins to fall for her as well, there are too many rules being broken, and eventually somebody has got to pay.

This story was a pretty fast-paced one, but comes with a very emotional and indecisive main character who although she caused me some frustration, I rooted for in the end. Ania has to overcome several different things emotionally, and as this is just the first book in the series, there is a lot of room for her growth. I was proud of her when she finally made that decision to put all of her thoughts into moving forward in one direction.

We just barely get a glimpse into the other world that is introduced in this first book, but it has a lot of fun and imaginative potential with a mixture of paranormal worlds blending.

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I’m not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I’m usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven’t gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents’ research trip in Charleston—and now I’m being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents’ creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

Paperback, 216 pages  Published September 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen (first published August 15th 2010) ISBN  0373210205 (ISBN13: 9780373210206)

Charlotte is definitely not your normal teen. Her parents travel the world filming documentaries trying to prove that ghosts don’t really exist. But perhaps their show does exactly the opposite. This makes it really hard for Charlotte to make and keep friends. She begs her parents to settle down for just one year of school in a brand new house and let her just experience being a teen for a while.

At her new school, Charlotte makes friends easily this time around. Becoming very close with Avery, a cheerleader and her physical complete opposite. But they become close and it really is a friendship that the reader can see lasting a very long time. Avery has problems of her own, she like Charlotte is a very introverted character. Her boyfriend died and she partially blames herself. The boy who is accused of causing his murder approaches Charlotte and asks for her help to contact him. But Charlotte is already being followed around by ghosts asking for help. With so many things happening in the paranormal world, how can Charlotte’s new life be normal?

I jumped into the story really hoping for a great paranormal ghost story. Maybe get the pants scared off me. But this one was a lot more cute and light-hearted than scary. Charlotte’s connection with her sister and her new found friends is really nice. Charlotte’s life may be complicated in the ghostly matters, but her real life is shaping up with long time friendships. There is great family dynamics in this book, and I always love to see that. The mystery of the ghosts following Charlotte begins unravelling from the first chapter, interspersed with new mysteries that open up along the way.

It’s a really fast read, cute and fun that younger tweens and teens will be able to enjoy as well as the rest of us.