Title: Plus One
Author: Elizabeth
Fama
Publisher: Farrar,
Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: April
8, 2014
Genres: YA,
Romance, Sci-fi
Reviewed by: Ellen
Fritz
Ellen’s rating: 4/5
SUMMARY
Divided by day and night and on the run from
authorities, star-crossed young lovers unearth a sinister conspiracy in this
compelling romantic thriller.
Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece—a day dweller, or Ray—she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.
Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights, and a fast-paced romantic adventure story.
Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece—a day dweller, or Ray—she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.
Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights, and a fast-paced romantic adventure story.
REVIEW
Imagining an alternate reality with a distinct dystopian
feel to it is rather frightening. In Plus
One half the population live at night and the other half during the day.
Curfews are set up to keep these two groups thoroughly separate. If curfew is
broken, even by an underage person, the transgression is punishable. Add to
this government control of your phone - tracking software included, controlled
shopping, and numerous other highly inhibiting rules, and we have a very scary
picture.
Now imagine having a night person, or Smudge, and a
day person, or Ray, in love with one another. This is the fate of Soleil and
D'arcy. After reporting Sol, the main character, for a self-induced injury,
D'arcy decides to aid her in her efforts to steal her niece and to protect her
from the authorities. Together these two get involved in much more than the
kidnapping of an infant; think dangerous medical procedures and government
corruption.
Sol is a realistic, well fleshed out character. Her
impulsive nature combined with an ever present sense of hopelessness and
negativity creates an interesting contrast, making her a particularly memorable
character. These slightly offbeat, negative attributes are balanced by her
open, loving nature towards her grandfather and D'arcy, and her willingness to
make enormous sacrifices to see her loved ones safe and happy.
For a large part of this book D'arcy is in two minds.
Should he protect Sol and let the romantic side win out, or should he think of
his future. The other characters in Plus
One are vibrant and imaginatively crafted. From Sol's selfish brother, Ciel
and the colorful, emotional Gigi to D'arcy's drama-queen mother, Hélène; all
these characters enrich the story and made an impression on me.
Filled with suspense as well as romance, Plus One is a tale of courage,
sacrifice, betrayal and, ultimately, hope. This book should appeal to both YA
readers as well as adults.
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT the AUTHOR
I am vastly over-educated. I attended the
University of Chicago, where I received a BA in Biology with honors, an MBA,
and a PhD in Economics and Finance. I should probably have majored in
Literature instead.
My husband is John H. Cochrane, a talented
economist whose books sell better than mine. We have four young-adult children,
all artist-scholars, and boisterous family dinners with lots of vegetables and
swearing. For fun I jog every day, swim in Lake Michigan (when it's not ice),
and play tennis a few times a week. You run faster than I do, but I can beat
you on the court.
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