Fragments

Gr 9 Up—In this second book in the saga, set in a postapocalyptic U.S. in 2076, Kira is struggling to accept the fact that she is a genetically enhanced human known as a Partial. She makes her way on foot from East Meadow, New York, to the company headquarters of ParaGen in Manhattan in search of a way to cure the RM virus that kills newborns and to stop the expiration of Partials at age 20. Kira allies herself with the last human in Manhattan, Afa, a mentally unstable IT Director from ParaGen who may be able to help her, along with Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed, then saved her, and know what she really is. She has to find a cure before the Partials and humans destroy one another. Only by being united will everyone be able to live in peace. They all travel on foot and horseback from Manhattan to Chicago and then Denver to find answers. They end up with even more questions after finding human survivors in Denver who have a cure for RM that allows them to have children, but the cure comes at a huge price. Kira discovers a secret about herself that forces her to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others. The cliff-hanger ending ensures that fans can look forward to more surprises in the next book in this exciting and thought-provoking series, but this one doesn't stand alone.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton