23 April 2014

Review: Ruins (Partials Sequence #3)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Dan Wells
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 464
Rating: 7 out of 10 (This makes me so sad but it's true)

** This is the third in this series. Start with Partials. Read the review here **

Summary (from Goodreads): Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand.

There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in their possession a weapon that could destroy the other, and Kira Walker has precious little time to prevent that from happening. She has one chance to save both species and the world with them, but it will only come at great personal cost.


The Story of My Copy: I need you to understand my pain so that you can understand my disappointment. Thus begins the saga of my copy...
March 11, 2014: Release date. After school, I race to the book store. Now, I've been waiting for this novel for too long. I'm so excited to get it. Kristen joins me at the book store to share in my joy. We head straight back to the Teen Section. I find Partials and Fragments in five seconds flat. Alas, where is Ruins? IT'S NOT THERE! I run to the fancy, new-fangled computer thing that tells you where the books are in the store. Guess what? THEY DON'T HAVE IT IN YET! Kristen and I wander around the store while I try to contain my tears. Of course, she mocks me by telling me that it's the final book in the series and she reads the summary to me, just to be mean, I'm certain of it. Now, I'm basically crying as I go up to a worker and ask her about the novel. She messes around on the computer for like an hour before telling me to try again tomorrow. What happens the next day? A HUGE SNOW STORM and I can't leave my house. The next day? I have school and my parents get home from Cuba. I called home to tell them I wasn't going to home until I got my book because I needed it. I go back to the book store after school. Now, it's getting close to closing time thanks to my night class on Thursdays. I run to the back but it's STILL NOT THERE! I find a computer that says they are in stock but I can't find them anywhere. I find a worker guy instead and I flirt my face off. I literally tell him that he will be my favourite person in the entire world if he will get my this novel from the stock room. He goes off and is gone for so long that I fear he won't come back with it. He finally returns with an "I guess I'm your favourite person in the whole world." I considered kissing him. He even offered me my choice between two copies in case one was bent or something. Then, I run to the line...where I stand for 30 minutes thanks to the attractive man working the register. I could've murdered him right then and there. So now I finally have my novel but can't start it because I'm going away for the weekend and have no time to read it. I thought I was going to die.

Thus we come to what I thought of the novel that took an entire week of my life: It was such a let down. I mean, it mostly tied everything up but it took forever to get there. There were plot points that seemed to come out of nowhere, and I don't mean that in a good way. They were suddenly just in my face with no build up to them and they were a big deal. There were too many plot points to just have them all show up suddenly at the end. The worst one was the thing with Kira's dad which just happens and isn't explained all too well. It was like plot overload.

I'm glad that from the first novel, we were able to get a glimpse into many of the character's heads. This novel focuses a lot more on the other characters, not just Kira. It's a good thing too because so much is happening and she is no longer at the center of it. I find it interesting that so many people came to the same conclusions about all their problems at the same time when nobody else considered these solutions for years.

The most upsetting part was the end. It ends alright. It ends rather suddenly I felt. What it really needed was an epilogue. I need to know that they survived. I want to know what the world is like after the novel ends. Do things change? Do they stay changed? Do the characters survive the winter? I just want to know if it ends happily ever after. All it did was end and I'm so sad because of it. I am happy with where all the characters ended up, I just wish we could see farther into the future than just the last moment of the novel. For all I know, they all died within the next two months and I hate that.

I don't know what to do with where the reader is left. I'm just sad. Ask me again in a few months. Oh but, can this please be made into a (really good) movie (that doesn't mess up the plot or the characters), please? I'd go see it.

So: Getting this book was a pain in my ass and it let me down. It might slip from my favourite series. I almost regret all of those book challenge answers where I call it my favourite. I'm so sad. I'm taking a break from reading. Finish the series if you've started. If you haven't started it, it's a good read and worth your time but the ending might disappoint you like it did me. I mean, maybe it won't. Let me know what you think. 

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