Plus One

Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was not what I expected, both in good and in bad ways.

First off, that cover! The cover of this book lends itself to an epic romance full of sweetness and depth, even hints at tragedy. I think a lot of people will purchase the book based on the cover alone. It is gorgeous.

The basic premise of this book rests on the idea that in an effort to cure the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918, the US government divided the population into two groups: people who live and work during the day and people who live and work during the night. This set up a dystopian society where people who work at night, "Smudges," tend to get the blue collar jobs. The white collar jobs - and better living conditions all around - went to the "Days."

While I'm not sure how this was the answer to a flu epidemic, it did set the stage for an interesting society. Basically, half the population is on third shift. They handle circadian rhythms with drugs and the Smudges have an appreciation for the world after dark. It is a fascinating setup. Throw in Hour Guard police who have more power than they should and another societal subset called Nomas and there you have the makings of a solid dystopia. This is a backdrop that, despite its flaws, works. And although the actual world building was sparse, it was just a tiny bit over the brink of enough.

The characters here were not what I expected. Soleil is a girl who tosses authority over her shoulder carelessly. A Smudge, her family is slowly falling apart, leaving her alone. Her response is simply not to care what happens to her. We watch her change over the course of the book to a person who might consider that she does deserve a better life. She is never so jaded that she isn't willing to dig deep past her pride for tender feelings. Although full of false bravado, she really is a brave girl with a tender heart. There is no sweetness here.

D'Arcy is solid as a love interest, but I found him predictable. Ciel, Sol's brother, is unexpected, but more because we have only seen him through Sol's eyes. Gigi the Noma was tragic, but really just a more vivid version of Sol. I wish Jean, D'Arcy's father, had been more involved; he was a bit of reason and softness in a world full of edges. The whole cast worked relatively well against the backdrop. I never understood the point of Minister Paulsen, the supposed villain..

And this brings me to the plot. The idea that Sol wants to steal a baby is ok. But her reasoning is questionable and her methods are pretty much ridiculous, even unbelievable. This felt like simply a device to bring Sol and D'Arcy together. It just didn't make any sense. We move from that into various conspiracies and more kidnappings and endless questions about who was on whose side and who the bad guys really were. It was further complicated by the familiar element of having Sol do things we don't know about but that she does. Gigi's behaviour came out of nowhere. It all seemed like a convoluted way to paint the romance as doomed. Having said that, these are all elements that would make a good story. They just didn't gel for me.

I have to mention that while some would say that this was insta-love, I didn't find that to be the case. The flashbacks (and premise) of the romance were inventive and happened slowly. When Sol and D'Arcy do come together it seemed to happen naturally and in a timely fashion. And while they were attractive people, they were not drop-dead gorgeous. I appreciated the realism there.

Fama's writing is beautiful. The imagery she uses was vivid and easy to see in my mind's eye. The flashbacks and views of the national park were done so well that I felt I was there. I could feel the sun and see the moon. I could easily picture Gigi and the Nomas. The French gave the story a nice romantic flair.

Overall, this is a good story with great elements. The writing is beautiful, the characters are varied and the setting is interesting. If only the plot were less complicated and more believable, it would be a stunning book. I've rated it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. And the best thing about it? I want to read more of this author's work. If that writing is combined with a good plot in her other works, they will be exceptional.



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