Point of View

"Partials" is written in first person from the perspective of Kira. The point of view is limited to the things Kira knows, and the author obviously used this as a means of increasing the level of suspense. The main twist of the story - that Kira is not fully human herself - is an option open to the author only because of the limited perspective. There are other twists that are revealed through this limited perspective. Kira learned in school about the war between humans and the Partials - a race of genetically-altered super humans who were created by Americans to win a war against China. In her classes, Kira learned that the Partials almost killed off the entire human race in an unprovoked revolt, and that the Partials are responsible for the virus that kills every baby born to the humans. The reader learns these...