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Plus One

(Plus One #1)

Elizabeth Fama (Goodreads Author)

3.72 · Rating details · 3,371 ratings · 578 reviews

A dying wish. A family divided. A love that defies the law.

Sol Le Coeur is a Smudge--a night dweller in an America rigidly divided between people who wake, live, and work during the hours of darkness and those known as Rays, who live and work during daylight. Impulsive, passionate, and brave, Sol concocts a plan to kidnap her newborn niece--a Ray--in order to bring the bab ...more

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Hardcover, 373 pages

Published April 8th 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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Oct 26, 2013 Giselle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own

I had high expectations for Plus One, especially with how much I enjoyed Monstrous Beauty last year, but unfortunately I didn't click with this one. I won't fault the writing itself, Fama still has a way with words. My problems mostly lay with the plot and world building.

While the setting itself is interesting in many ways - involving a society divided by night and day, characterized with social divides and discrimination - I found its raison d'être quite flaky. The idea of a whole epidemic bei I had high expectations for Plus One, especially with how much I enjoyed Monstrous Beauty last year, but unfortunately I didn't click with this one. I won't fault the writing itself, Fama still has a way with words. My problems mostly lay with the plot and world building.

While the setting itself is interesting in many ways - involving a society divided by night and day, characterized with social divides and discrimination - I found its raison d'être quite flaky. The idea of a whole epidemic being stopped by a simple night and day solution feels improbable, and many questions about the overall workings of this world still remains. The brief explanations we do get require some suspension of disbelief that a world like this could successfully establish itself. There are tons of gray areas we must ignore. Like the mentions of social cues between night and day people (Sol says they don't say hello, they just nod etc), but no explanations on how they even distinguish each other. Or how Sol doesn't know what she looks like in sunlight, yet doesn't appear to live in a place with no windows... Small things individually, maybe, but it's details like these that add up and break the realism of this world.

The plot is also shaky and left me feeling either bored or frustrated. The novel begins with Sol's crazy plan to steal a baby so that her grandfather can hold her before he dies. A freaking baby! Firstly, I've had a baby, and I thought it was all kinds of foolish to not only devise a plan like this, but to not think about its implications. A newborn has to feed every 2 hours, for one, which Sol only seemed to consider after seeing her chart that says she was just fed (convenient!), not to mention how much danger she was going to put her in - I mean at one time she was running with the baby in her shirt! Anyways, many readers may be able to ignore some of this, but I found this plan of hers completely absurd and selfish - even if she had good intentions. Soon afterwards, I realized with dismay that this baby stealing scheme was the set up of the whole plot which involved several baby switches, ransoms, political conspiracies, altogether with helpful conveniences that insured a mostly trouble free storyline. Sure there were a few dramatic what-ifs, but these are quickly taken care of for the most part, often by random side characters.

The characters themselves I didn't dislike per se. Sol was sarcastic, feisty, and good-hearted - even if I didn't always agree with her decisions. I also liked D'Arcy's well enough. He introduced a romance that was well paced and well balanced with the plot. But ultimately I feel like the characters were simply molded to fit the plot. They never became more than words on a page for me. The flashbacks could have been a good way to give them dimension, which was likely the intention, but instead they were more like info dumps that fell short emotionally.

I still consider myself a fan of this author for how much I enjoyed her past work. The writing itself is not at fault as it has a beautiful prose. It seems this plot and me were just not meant to be.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Keertana rated it really liked it

Shelves: swoooon, arc-galley-and-first-reads, kick-ass-heroines

Rating: 4.5 Stars

From the moment I cracked open the spine of Plus One, it felt as if Elizabeth Fama had written her sophomore novel just for me.

For the past year and a half, practically, I've been dutifully rejecting every dystopian novel that has come my way, from the older Maze Runner to the newer The 5th Wave and the unreleased Salvage. In other words, I have been mentally and not-so-mentally raging about the dystopian genre; at its lack of originality, its failure to draw forth complex chara ...more

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Mar 21, 2014 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, ya, meh, rabid-reads-reviews, science-fiction, dystopian, standalone-speculative-fiction, cover-whore

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

LOTS of dystopians flooding the YA market these days.

That doesn’t particularly bother me, but as is true when a market is flooded with anything, I’ve had to become more selective in deciding which dystopians to actually read. I needed to create a method of separating the wheat from the the chaff, the silver from the dross, the smart and fresh and original dystopians from the bored and stale and copycat dystopians.

It hasn’t been easy or even 100% accurate, but I have saved ...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Jen (The Starry-Eyed Revue) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic, fairytales-revisited, favorites, arc-tours, reimaginings-retellings, 2013, 2014-faves

That was beyond beautiful. I am unbelievably enamored with Elizabeth Fama's gorgeous prose and stunning articulation.

__________________________________

He went on. "You admitted you were throwing your life away so that Poppu could hold Fleur just once, and it was like the floor of your apartment opened under me. You had the balls to condense the whole screwed-up world into this one pure thing, this crazy act of love. Everything I was working for collapsed through that hole with me, and I we
...more

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Apr 08, 2014 Hannah (jellicoereads) rated it did not like it

Shelves: dystopia

Yeah, no.

Casual rape threats and using the term as an insult? Sure. /sarcasm

"What's your name?" I asked.
"What's it to you?"
I shrugged. "I just like to know who's raping me."

"Well, isn't that just a coincidence," the girl said. "When I'm raping someone I like to whisper my name in their ear."

"It's Gigi, and after I rape you I think I'll do your boyfriend. "

And then there's this charming gem:

"I can' t wait until I track down your wife and fist-rape her."

Seriously? What in the name of fuck?

And ...more

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Feb 05, 2014 Bonnie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, romance

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In an alternate reality following the 1918 flu pandemic, Soleil Le Coeur concocts a desperate plan to kidnap her newborn niece so that her grandfather is able to hold her one last time before he dies. Her plan goes foul when she finds herself embroiled in a political feud between opposing Night and Day groups.

When the 1918 flu My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In an alternate reality following the 1918 flu pandemic, Soleil Le Coeur concocts a desperate plan to kidnap her newborn niece so that her grandfather is able to hold her one last time before he dies. Her plan goes foul when she finds herself embroiled in a political feud between opposing Night and Day groups.

When the 1918 flu epidemic began wreaking havoc on the population, the President divided the medical teams into day and night to keep up with the work required. The results were so positive that this divide between day and night was applied to the rest of society. Because the amount of people awake during the day were cut in half, public transportation was less crowded and ended up decelerating the spread of the disease. The divide continued even after the flu epidemic had been dealt with. I really loved the setting of this world because while it was simple it was explained well and felt incredibly realistic.

Plus One is told from the point of view of Soleil, a fantastic character that I loved from the very first page. She’s impulsive and snarky and will do anything for her Poppu, the only family she has left. It’s commendable, even with the ridiculous scheme she comes up with. We’re given flashback scenes throughout the novel that tells the tale of her past and how she’s come to be alone with her grandfather and that makes her actions all the more poignant.

“I didn’t mind going straight to nothing a few days earlier, so that Poppu could hold his great-granddaughter before he died.”

I understood her intentions, but I felt the kidnapping of the baby was completely nonsensical. It was also too flimsy of a storyline to be the entirety of the plot. Her ability to steal the baby initially and her continued evasion of the government was pretty implausible as well. This ended up being much more of a political drama/soap-opera than I anticipated and was very disappointed by this.

It’s kind of funny but I find myself typically complaining about the romances in stories and how they seem to overtake the plot. With Plus One it happens to be the complete opposite where I’m complaining about the lack of romance/swoons but I think this is because I went into this story expecting a ‘star-crossed‘ love, plus just look at the cover I mean come on. Soleil and D’Arcy dislike each other at first and use nicknames to identify one another (She is Plus One and he is Day Boy) which quickly became tiresome. It’s a case of opposites attract but the actual romance doesn’t happen until very late in the book. The two possess a connection (that isn’t realized until later) which prevents their romance from veering too far into insta-love territory but that connection still failed to generate the swoons I was looking for. Their relationship does get serious fairly quickly though and there were a few lines that caused much consternation.

‘D’Arcy was like a planet to my meteor. The gravitational pull was similar to a hurtling sensation. My body needed to collide with his. And, the universe be praised, this planet welcomed the impact.’

‘He drank from it and handed it back. I rested my lips on the rim of the bottle before I drank, trying to differentiate between the warm wetness of the water and the warm wetness of his mouth, disappointed that I couldn’t.’

There was one particularly violent scene that had me completely flummoxed as to it’s reason for being a part of the story. I suppose violence doesn’t always have to possess a meaning but it felt out of place and gratuitous in regards to the rest of the story. Overall this was a very mature YA read and I was shocked yet impressed to see sex portrayed so openly.

Admittedly, the cover is the sole reason I read this. That gorgeous cover promised swoons and all the feels yet the book itself never lived up to it. The ending is left open-ended but possesses an impressive and unexpected resolution that was my favorite aspect of the novel. Plus One was an enjoyable read for the most part but I was definitely expecting more. ...more

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Feb 09, 2014 Stuti Rai rated it liked it

Shelves: hot-like-meh, let-me-down

WARNING: THERE BE DRAGONS!

First things first, let's decide on the rating because I love giving golden, little stars to books.

In terms of writing, characters, plot, blah di dah all mushed together and judged together, I'd like to give Plus One three intact stars. On the other hand, when I consider my feels, or lack thereof, and enjoyment, or lack thereof again, I can come up with nothing better than 2.5.

SO I decided, if I'm going to break them, I might as well go in completely, AND compromised be ...more

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Jan 30, 2014 Ari rated it really liked it

Shelves: standalone, dystopia, arc-galley-or-author, cover-love, 2014

4.5 stars.. And simply as beautiful as the cover – which actually takes my breath away!

Isn’t it refreshing to read something that doesn’t resemble anything (or ‘everything’) you’ve read before? To meet characters that seem new in many ways, but as close to you as your best friends; to witness action that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time; to savour sweet moments that melt you into a puddle of ‘awww’?

The first time I saw this cover I fell in love. Madly in love, I knew I had t ...more

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Aug 03, 2013 Giselle rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star, genre-dystopia, age-young-adult, genre-romance, genre-science-fiction, bought-online, 2014

In an alternate reality where the Spanish flu has wiped out 50 million people, the United States adopted day and night workers to handle the care of treatment of the sick. Having worked so well that the pandemic was over, it turned into the regular way of life. Sol is a Smudge, only living her life at school, home and work during the evening. When she encounters D'Arcy, a Day, she realizes he may be her way to save her dying grandfather from kidnappers? What they find instead is something that c ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Debbie rated it really liked it

Shelves: april, ebook, female-pov, netgalley-edelweiss, 2014, arc, adventure, warning-might-hate, swoon-worthy-boys, reviewed

3.5 Interesting Clouds!

I am so sick of romance in Young Adult novels. It’s all insta-love or something close to it. Romances more often than not take over the story but in Plus One there’s barely any romance until about 70%! I’m not kidding! It’s flipping amazing! The build-up, the relationship, perfection! Okay, except that D’Arcy totally insta-loved Sol at the beginning, but it didn’t bother me. My biggest problem with this has to do with the world building and the flashbacks. The whole night and day thing is awesome but flawed. I also hated that the flashbacks felt more like ways dump info on readers. But as a whole, Plus One is awesome and just what I needed! And yeah, the ending is cheesy and shit but whatever.

Despite how much I really liked Plus One, there are a lot of holes and weak spots in it. One of the weak spots is the world building. Not much of this is explained which is sad because I really enjoyed the aspect of the whole Day/Night divide, all there is on it is that the division started sometime during the Spanish flu.There’s some talk about a rebellion but it’s so small that it feels like it’s put in there just to end ties with some things. I also didn’t like the flashbacks because, although they’re a nice way for readers to know more about the characters, there’s just too much info in those few pages that it feels more like an info-dump than anything else.

I’ve never read a book with such a slow burn romance but now that I have, I want to read more of them! They’re just so realistic in this aspect and they actually focus on the plot! It shows that the plot doesn’t need a romance to get stuff done. Although it’s obvious that D’Arcy is in love with Sol almost instantly because he’s constantly risking his life for her, I enjoyed that Fama doesn’t let Sol take too much advantage of this nor does she let Sol get her feelings for him in the way of her mission. The characters are really strong and well done. They’re all mysterious and I loved reading about them, especially Sol and Jean because they’re both flawed but really do try their best. Another thing that I loved is the French, it’s amazing. It’s not too much that people who don’t understand French will get confused and well done that the French feels right to be woven into the story and I enjoyed that Fama told the meaning of the words/phrases in English so that readers could fully understand it.

Overall, Plus One is a fun novel that has great characters, tons of actions, and a bit of romance. Even though the world building is flippy-floppy and close to nothing about the division is explained, I liked it a lot. I recommend this one to anyone who’s also sick of all that insta-love/too much romance stuff that seems to be taking over YA books now. ...more

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Jun 17, 2015 Kyla Harris rated it it was ok

Shelves: own-it, cover-lovin, 2016

4/7/16 - 1.7 stars

This book is such a time waster.

I was so excited to start this book because it kept on showing up on bookstagram! (and that cover is hard to forget!) So I finally ended up buying it and once I got my hands on it I read about 2/3's of it in one setting. But after that the book just went down hill. The beginning wasn't impressive, but it wasn't horrible. Now after 2/3's of the book it just started becoming horribly boring and worthless. Noting was happening and if something did t ...more

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Aug 05, 2013 Carina Olsen rated it it was amazing

I knew when I first heard of this book that I would read it and most likely love it, because I adore Elizabeth Fama, and I loved her other book, Monstrous Beauty. And then I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this a few days ago, and I could not wait to read it. The summary is awesome, but it kind of made me think that I would be confused a lot in this book. Not true at all.

I'm not used to reading books that have no fantasy, but I can honestly say that I did not mind that one bit in this book. Be I knew when I first heard of this book that I would read it and most likely love it, because I adore Elizabeth Fama, and I loved her other book, Monstrous Beauty. And then I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this a few days ago, and I could not wait to read it. The summary is awesome, but it kind of made me think that I would be confused a lot in this book. Not true at all.

I'm not used to reading books that have no fantasy, but I can honestly say that I did not mind that one bit in this book. Because the writing is stunning. I loved the writing a whole lot. The words are gorgeous. And oh, the characters are written so well and the story is so good and the book is just very exciting.

There is not a cover yet for Plus One, so I'm using the cover from my ARC. Think it looks pretty good, but I cannot wait to see the official cover for this gorgeous book :D I will not be including spoilers in my review, because I don't want to spoil anything for you. This book is amazing to read without knowing anything. But I will be talking about how amazing it is and how much I adored the characters :) Because I really loved this book. It has everything I want in a book. Good writing, exciting story, amazing characters. No love triangle. Amazing and epic romance. And the romance is so good; more than there usually is in books. Love. I just have a lot of love for this book.

Plus One is told from the point of view of Sol. The names in this book are unusual, and I adored them all. Sol is an amazing character and I couldn't help but falling in love with her. She loves her grandfather, Poppu. She lives alone with him, and oh, he's sick. Blind and full of cancer. He doesn't have long to live. And my heart broke for that. Because Sol had to take care of him all on her own; her parents are dead and her older brother, Ciel, abandoned them. Which is an awesome story. That I am not sharing :D

We learn a lot about Sol. Which I loved. But oh, she's skinny and a bit frail. I felt so sorry for her. She has no one, except for her Poppu. But she's still strong and kind and loving. And fiercely protective of her grandfather. I loved reading about the times she get to eat what she wants in this book. She eats so much and it was kind of adorable. Really loved her. Anyway. Sol is a Smudge; a part of half the population living only by night. By being forbidden to leave her house in the day. Weird, but awesome.

We just learn so much in this book and I loved reading about it all. Why some people are Rays and some are Smudges. It was amazing to read about and I kind of wanted to know even more. Then there is the plot. Sol is going to kidnap her newborn niece, to let her grandpa hold her once before dying. It was the best reason ever, though maybe not the best plan at all. Not saying more than that. Just that I loved reading about it, the things she did, because it was amazing. It was exciting and so interesting.

There is so much to love in Plus One. The story is just incredible. I was hooked from the first page. And I could not stop reading at all. I just had to finish it right away. There isn't a single thing I disliked about this book. Not one thing. Well, I might have wanted it to be longer, because the ending is kind of bittersweet and I have this need to know what happens next. I really need to know that. But anyway. I may be hoping for a sequel. <3 Because I think there should be. So much that could still be told :)

One of my favorite characters in this book was D'Arcy. Well, he might have been my favorite of them all :D But my god, he is amazing. He's just perfect. I loved reading about him. He isn't very kind at first, but I did not blame him for that at all. But then we get to know him. Know about his family and oh. That was heartbreaking. I felt so sorry for him too. But anyway. The romance between them is the sweetest thing ever. It's slow enough but not too slow. It has passion. It's amazing. D'Arcy is an amazing person.

Most of the book is told from Sol's point of view, present tense. I think it's called that. But then there are a few chapters where we get to see things from her past. And that was something I loved like crazy. We got to see her in school, and that was just the sweetest thing. I loved reading about it so much. Sigh. But oh, Sol also has some really heartbreaking things to talk about. But they just made me love her more. Because she's so strong and kind and gah. I adored her so much. I adored them all so much.

Anyway. I think that is all I'm going to say about this book. There is just too much. Plus One is amazing and I cannot wait to read it again. You all need to read it. There are many awesome characters in this book. I grew to like Gigi. Though I wasn't always too sure about her. She did this one thing that broke my heart. Sniffs. But she too is strong. I didn't really like Ciel. Grrr. But he was interesting to read about :D Anyway. I adored Plus One. So happy that I read it. <3 It was all kinds of perfect. Loved it so much.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Kids and Ksenia for the review copy of Plus One. <3 Meant so much to me. And I'm so happy that I got to read this book early! It isn't coming out until April, but oh, you all need to read it when it does. Because it's amazing. So perfect. And I cannot wait to read it again. ...more

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Feb 02, 2014 gio rated it liked it

3.75

Not sure whether I'm going to round it up or not. It was enjoyable, but I expected it to be more.

Plus one is a good book. After seeing all that criticism about the ending I was worried, but in the end I appreciated it. I liked the concept, I liked the characters and for once I even enjoyed the romance although I admit it was rather predictable.

Sol is a Smudge. A Smudge is someone who lives their life at night: in Sol's world America is rigidly divided between people who live their lives dur 3.75

Not sure whether I'm going to round it up or not. It was enjoyable, but I expected it to be more.

Plus one is a good book. After seeing all that criticism about the ending I was worried, but in the end I appreciated it. I liked the concept, I liked the characters and for once I even enjoyed the romance although I admit it was rather predictable.

Sol is a Smudge. A Smudge is someone who lives their life at night: in Sol's world America is rigidly divided between people who live their lives during the night and those, known as Rays, who live during daylight. Sol's unremarkable life is turned upside down when she plans to kidnap her niece, a Ray, in order to let her dying grandfather see her. It's not only her violation of the curfew that makes a criminal though, but also her stumbling on a conspiracy that brings her much more trouble than expected...

Overall I'm satisfied with the book. I mean, on one hand I'm a bit disappointed in a way, on the other hand I'm relieved because I liked it in spite of its flaws. I admit that with that stunning concept and the whole "starcrossed lovers" vibe I expected something more...poetic. Something like The night circus or The weight of feathers for example.

This little issue aside, I really liked the book as a whole, even though I had some problems with some of its elements. I liked the characters and the romance was indeed quite sweet, but the plot was a bit confusing sometimes. If you want to write about conspiracies you have to pay attention to the details, which is something that Fama did, but you also have to have a clear picture in the end. If the reader is confused rather than amazed it means you haven't done everything in the best way possible.

The controversial ending...I kind of liked it. I've heard that the author is considering the possibility of writing something else about these characters, which would make me happy, because I'm both happy and unhappy when it comes to the ending. It felt like the characters' life continued after the book and I understood that and its message, but at the same time I have this voice inside my head that says "WTH WHY?". Mixed feelings are the way.

...more

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Jan 27, 2016 Jen Ryland added it · review of another edition

YA author Elizabeth Fama has always been on my radar, but to be completely honest, she hasn't written a book that screams "my kind of book." I'm really not a fan of mermaid stories, and by the time Plus One came out, I was suffering from a severe case of dystopian fatigue. (Now that I've read the book, I think I'd call it alt-history/dystopian.) But when Elizabeth contacted me to offer up a copy of her newly produced audiobook, I happily accepted.

Then (TMI alert) the holidays happened and I disc ...more

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Jan 04, 2014 Farrah rated it really liked it

A thrilling, romantic, fast-paced read, Plus One was a wonderful YA book. I really enjoyed reading it. It didn't have the best start, but it turned out to be a fantastic read.

Sol was a wonderful heroine. She was strong and very determined to get what she wanted, even though her plans weren't always rational. She was clever and definitely held her own in a world of secrets and betrayals. My only issue with her was that she was a a tad too impulsive, getting herself into ridiculous situations, and ...more

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May 18, 2014 Bookaholic (reads every mortal thing) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014-read, science-fiction, dystopian, 2014-favs, dat-cover

3.5

It's was ending that cinched it for me.

Some authors would take the easy road and give us a happily ever after, even if it's completely out of context and doesn't make any sense (IM LOOKING AT YOU JENNIFER L ARMENTROUT), but some authors do it the realistic way and don't smother us with a bullshit ending that even a 3 year old can find problems with.

And no, nobody died, and that's all I'm willing to say.

The writing is great, the characters are great and the setting is...great. *gets thesaurus ...more

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Aug 22, 2013 Carrie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own-it

What can I say about this book you guys? Elizabeth Fama is brilliant! She has such a way with words. I LOVED the character of Sol so much. She is feisty and always says what she feels but most importantly, she is a true heroine. She puts the needs of others before her own. This book is so much more than another teen romance (don't let the cover or blurb fool you). I am not anywhere near as eloquent as Elizabeth so I will just end this by saying, do yourself a favor and read this book! Sol is wai ...more

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Oct 28, 2016 Ryn rated it liked it

I hate this book!!!!!!! --it was an ok book!!!---But the freaking ending!!!! I would just be okay with it only if there were a second book!!!! Why did she have to do this to me!!!!

At various times, I would get super excited, and I guess that's what propelled me to finish it; but I think I would have dropped it if scenes(that I didn't find particularly as exciting) were back to back. ...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Danielle (Love at First Page) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-arc, read-in-2014, cover-love, own-kindle-book, dystopia, genre-young-adult

My thoughts about Plus One are mostly positive. But I need to start my review with a caveat: I expected more. There was just something missing for me, a lack of a deeper emotional connection. I have a lot of great things to say about the worldbuilding, the relationships, D'Arcy, and the writing, but my issues stem from different expectations I had for the book and the plot itself.

> First of all, that cover is utterly GORGEOUS. It hints at forbidden romance. It's evocative and dreamy. It's romant ...more

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Feb 12, 2014 Nikki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cover-love, arc-from-netgalley, favorites-of-2014

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

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I can't think of any other books I've read that I can compare to Plus One , it's that unique. There's something about the way the plot worked together with the characters, the setting, the pacing... Even when things slowed down (which they do for a section in the middle), it was still gripping.

Plus One is a surprisingly personal and character-driven story, despite Sol and D'Arcy's eventual i ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Isamlq rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley, 2013-favorites

Plus One

This makes five in a series of books I’ve read over the last couple of days that’s made reference to someone’s too intimate use of tu over the more usual (and possibly more formal) use of vous. Granted the first four books were actually a part of series revolving foodie romances set in France. Perhaps it’s me encountering the very same thing here, that’s got me remarking on it... because really, those four foodie romances are leaps to this particular YA ~~post apoca..~~ ~~dystopia..~~ ~~urban fant~~ Plus One

This makes five in a series of books I’ve read over the last couple of days that’s made reference to someone’s too intimate use of tu over the more usual (and possibly more formal) use of vous. Granted the first four books were actually a part of series revolving foodie romances set in France. Perhaps it’s me encountering the very same thing here, that’s got me remarking on it... because really, those four foodie romances are leaps to this particular YA ~~post apoca..~~ ~~dystopia..~~ ~~urban fanta..~~ read… well, whatever this was, it’s got elements of all those things but without any being the main thing in it. I confess I loved almost everything in this (most everything because there were those disconcerting moments of Gigi as Noma and how unexpected almost vulgar the confrontations with her could get.)

It’s very cleverly fleshed out this alternative path the world would have gone post-Spanish Flu. That little bit of truth and how far Fama’s imagination has taken things allows us a world that’s not totally implausible as a result… but scary still… scary in the same vein as Offred’s world was (Hello, Handmaiden’s Tale.) It’s Night and Day and the why that is that creates a fascinating romp that covers alt history and speculation on what could be… though ‘lite’ on both aspects, as mostly this is about a girl and the choices she’s to make. Plus there’s a romance that’s based on a connection not wholly unexpected.

Perhaps it’s that last bit that works best; the way most developments in this are ‘not wholly unexpected.’ Fama’s laid the groundwork for everything so that whatever eventually did happen was not that much of a stretch; yet at the same, despite the laying down of things, not once did anything get boring.

The start alone and the description of her day-to-day (night-to-night? heh.) makes it clear that she’s more than poor girl growing up on the wrong side of things. There’s a standard-feel to her at first, sure; but I mean that in the least negative way: she’s standard YA heroine: kick ass and smarter than she let’s on but wait a blink and she’s all heart on sleeve AND fly by seat of. In short: she’s a mess of a lead, but an endearing one because while there’s no perfection to her makes it’s that fact that had me rooting for her even more.

I have to point out the neat way the world is built up; no info-dumping here, instead there’s a clever meshing of personal histories and present realities that paints a vivid picture of a world divided and people with their places. Day on one had; Night on the other… then this third group that doesn’t fit in either of the first completely, Noma. It’s in these distinctions that some of the darker come out. The shocking exchanges shouldn’t have been so shocking but they still were… but those were side events, ‘exclamation points’ even, because mostly the story was of a girl trying to do right by that she loved; then the same girl opening herself up to possibilities unforeseen.

I enjoyed the more personal aspects too. Her and her family and the little dramas she’s working through. Memories of how things were and how different things had become total throat lump moments there; and even the boy... No, I am not going to go into that and spoil it… needless, there’s a sweetness between then that’s incomprehensible at first as in where did this start again, but eventual connections and well, it worked for me. Hell even the call for change and clamoring for their ‘truth’ worked me.

Thank you, Net Galley!
...more

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Mar 25, 2014 Jillyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: requested

Plus One is a young adult novel that takes place in an alternate version of the United States, where the population is divided. Half of the population, Rays, come out during the day time as we do now while at night, Smudges come out, having slept during the day. It is expected and required of you to stick to your given time, as guards are constantly checking up on America's citizens, and can learn everything about you by glancing at your cell phone. The main character Sol, a Smudge, finds hersel Plus One is a young adult novel that takes place in an alternate version of the United States, where the population is divided. Half of the population, Rays, come out during the day time as we do now while at night, Smudges come out, having slept during the day. It is expected and required of you to stick to your given time, as guards are constantly checking up on America's citizens, and can learn everything about you by glancing at your cell phone. The main character Sol, a Smudge, finds herself on the run with a Ray, and finds herself falling in love despite its taboo. She must save herself and others, and figure out how far she's willing to fight for what she believes in.

This book is the one that got me out of my reading slump. Lately I've been reading a lot of books with cookie cutter plots and characters that I don't connect with, but this one blew all those ideas away from my thinking. I'm definitely impressed. I'd like to get my gush about the aesthetics out of the way first; look at this cover. It's stunning. It is what first got my attention, and I'd love a print of it for my wall if I'm being honest.

But now, for the actual story. What I loved most about Plus One was the society and alternate history that Fama wove in her book. It was detailed and well thought out, and it made me feel like I was living the story alongside Sol and D'Arcy. The setting was startling but relatable too. On one hand, you have a creepy, dystopian like setting where guards can know everything about you, from your job to the pills you've recently taken from one swipe on your phone. This world is still relatively foreign to me, and is disturbing on its own. But Fama blends that by making it set in America, in the Midwest, where I live every day. It gave the sci-fi aspects a startling realism. I do have to admit, I love when books are set places I've been, so that was another perk of this book for me.

And then there's the characters. I love both Sol and D'Arcy, the main characters throughout the course of the plot. Sol, bluntly, is a bad ass. She's a heroine that knows what she wants and how to get it, and isn't afraid to get into trouble (and a little bit dirty) in order to do so. Contrarily, D'Arcy took me by surprise a few times, and I loved his intelligence and his craftiness. I really liked reading about them together, watching their own plot play out in the middle of all the drama taking place.

Drama that, in my opinion, was well paced, gripping, and left me rapidly turning pages. I didn't want to put this book down. It sucked me in from the beginning and held my attention until I was out of pages to turn.

If you're a fan of books like The City of Ember, Cinder, and Downsiders, or dystopian young adult as a whole, this is a book I'd definitely recommend. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose. ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Jasprit rated it liked it

Shelves: out-2014, ya, dnf, dystopian, read-in-2016

DNF

Plus One was another book where I fell hard and fast for the gorgeous cover, but unfortunately the book didn’t end up living to my expectations. The story had a lot of potential to go far, I was immediately sucked into this day and night divide; people were either Smudges (could only be up and about during the night or Rays (did everything during the day time). I was intrigued in finding out how this division first came about, and how people coped with the curfews in place. I know for one I w DNF

Plus One was another book where I fell hard and fast for the gorgeous cover, but unfortunately the book didn’t end up living to my expectations. The story had a lot of potential to go far, I was immediately sucked into this day and night divide; people were either Smudges (could only be up and about during the night or Rays (did everything during the day time). I was intrigued in finding out how this division first came about, and how people coped with the curfews in place. I know for one I wouldn’t be able to live the life of a Smudge. And plus when your family was divided like Sol’s family was, her brother had recently been transferred to a Ray and had no contact with her for the past two years, so had to care for her ill grandfather all on her own, along with going to school and working too. Sol really had a lot to deal with, but I liked how tough and resilient she was, she would literally do anything to care for her grandfather, even kidnapping a baby to see him happy.

The whole aspect of kidnapping the baby, mix up and being chased down was a part I really enjoyed, I couldn’t understand why and how the mix up would happen, I was dying to know who was behind it all. But most of all I wanted things to go back to the way they were for Sol, she had jeopardised a lot in taking the risk that she did, but I liked how she wasn’t all alone, the unexpected alliances she found in Jean and D’Arcy I did appreciate. I had a feeling of how things would develop between D’Arcy and Sol and I liked the slow burn relationship that came about. I didn’t really know if I could trust D’Arcy at the beginning, but as the story progressed I got to know his character more, the more I admired the risk he posed to himself and his family by helping Sol and to be honest he was such a sweetheart when everything was falling apart Sol. Also you know guy’s who continue to help or lurk about even when you’ve told them you’re fine, are the ones I could never resist.

The fact that I DNF’d Plus One was largely because up until a certain point the story went well over my head for me. I was truly invested in the beginning to find out what really had gone down, but after new characters were thrown in the mix and I wasn’t getting any answers you could say I sort of lost interest. I did want to find out how things would end for all our characters, but this year I’ve made the resolution that if a book doesn’t keep my interest up until a certain point, then I just admit defeat, instead of forcing myself through like I did with so many books last year, which is a real shame with Plus One as it had been a book which I’d really been looking forward to reading. Fama’s writing however was exquisite, so much so that I shall be looking forward to picking up more of her books. Hopefully they work out better for me than Plus One did.

This review can be found on: The Readers Den ...more

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Jan 26, 2014 nancy (The Ravenous Reader) rated it it was amazing

WOW!! I was completely blown away with PLUS ONE by Elizabeth Fama. This story is wildly imaginative and the romance between Sol and D'arcy was unforgettable in it's beauty and intensity. I could not seem to get enough and only wanted more. So, you can imagine my grand sadness in finding out PLUS ONE was a stand alone novel. Normally I yearn for a stand alone read but sadly PLUS ONE is that rare gem that only demands more time within it's world and it's memorable characters.

What I really enjoyed ...more

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Mar 19, 2014 Kat (Lost in Neverland) rated it really liked it

Shelves: awesome-cover, cute-as-a-kitten

Sol is a Smudge, forced to live only at night and hide away in the daytime.
D'Arcy is a Ray, a medical apprentice and day resident, allowed to go as he pleases in the daytime.
These two very different people will cross paths and become impossibly entangled in each other's lives.

Now this is how you write characters. This is how you write love, and depth, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages.

This is not how you write worldbuilding.

Both Sol and D'Arcy (don't worry, he isn't named after the ...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Brad Sells rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-favorites, arc-own, review-to-come

Absolutely LOVED this one! Plus One is an extraordinary, incredible tale that is wholly consuming and unique. Make sure to have this one on your radar! It's a must-read.

Look for my full review in April! ...more

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Nov 30, 2013 Sharon L marked it as to-read-in-english

Shelves: maybe-baby, 4-2014, cover-orgasm, 00tlohy, 00iown

So I have to admit,this cover THIS COVER had me preorder the hardcover version of the book.

I don't care what it's about anymore I just want to keep staring at this beauty...

*faints* ...more

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Jan 18, 2014 Jaime (Two Chicks on Books) rated it it was amazing

Wow! Didn't think I'd love this as much as I did! I really need book 2 now!!! ...more

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Mar 20, 2014 Heidi rated it really liked it

Shelves: get-it-girl, 2014-favorties, tor-com, weak-in-the-knees, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it

4.5 Stars.

Some of you may remember that Fama’s much praised and beloved Monstrous Beauty and I did not get along. At all. For me, that book was like a train wreck, I finished it because I just couldn’t look away from the mess.

But (yes, there is a but!), I have to hand huge props to Elizabeth Fama who reached out to me after I posted one of my nastier reviews, and never once told me I was wrong in my opinion. She only wanted to discuss where she was coming from in the book, and did so in such a r ...more

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Jan 29, 2014 Hazel (Stay Bookish) rated it really liked it

Originally posted at Stay Bookish

Let me start by saying that Plus One is a great addition to the many books in the young adult community and I’m so thankful that I got the opportunity to read it! This novel, I think, is really unique and pretty impressive once you give it a chance. It’s hard not to admire the way Elizabeth Fama has crafted her characters- you can’t help but grow attached to them.

Don’t forget you want me.

I won’t lie. I did have a few apprehensions. Several actually. The first was Originally posted at Stay Bookish

Let me start by saying that Plus One is a great addition to the many books in the young adult community and I’m so thankful that I got the opportunity to read it! This novel, I think, is really unique and pretty impressive once you give it a chance. It’s hard not to admire the way Elizabeth Fama has crafted her characters- you can’t help but grow attached to them.

Don’t forget you want me.

I won’t lie. I did have a few apprehensions. Several actually. The first was that I had a hard time getting myself into the story. I kept putting it down because I felt so sluggish reading the early chapters. It took me so long to pickup with the actual pace. However, when I finally clicked with the characters, I excitedly rushed through the book. Another reservation of mine, which may or may not explain why the book started out so slowly for me, was that I felt thrown into the middle of things. I didn’t read the synopsis (I admit that I was swayed by the beautiful cover,) so I had no clue what Plus One was going to be about. I felt blindsided by terminologies like “Smudge” and “Ray”, which turned out to be a kind of categorical system where in the former are only allowed to be outside at night and the latter during the day. The author does give a brief background to how this interesting community of day-dwellers and night-dwellers came to be, but I feel like it could’ve been made more vivid and detailed. I really wished I was able to comprehend much more from this alternate reality because it sounded incredibly interesting.

Four hundred billion suns spiralling through space together. Our solar system just one grain on that galactic carousel. The carousel itself a speck in the cosmos. And here I am in this small clearing, on the surface of the earth, as transient and unnoticed to the universe.. It’s too much to comprehend up there, too enormous, and I’ so small when it’s on top of me. It frightens me, like I’m being crushed.

The characters were a strong point in Plus One which is probably why I still highly liked the book despite my previously-stated misgivings. The heroine of the story, Sol Le Couer, had so much feist in her! She is extremely candid, more than just a bit rude, considerably impulsive and hotheaded, and never holds back. Sol is a Smudge and her kind are considered the lower class compared to Rays who are the elite of the society. She feels the discrimination that Smudges are supposedly ‘morons’ who are stuck as manual laborers, completely insubordinate to Rays, who are mostly made of professionals living comfortable lifestyles. However, she uses this fact to her advantage, to appear as if she doesn’t know any better, when in fact she does. Sol is incredibly smart, actually, and you could see that by the way she schemes plans to kidnap her niece. Even if it makes her a criminal, she’d do it so she could bring her brother’s daughter to her dying grandfather. I loved the way Sol cared so much for her Poppu. There is a lot of focus on family and parental figures were very much present in Plus One which is another reason why I thought it was a great read.

D’Arcy was like a planet to my meteor. The gravitational pull was similar to a hurtling sensation. My body needed to collide with his. And, the universe be praised, this planet welcomed the impact.

In the grand scheme of Sol’s niece-kidnapping plans, a fake injury leads her to meet D’Arcy Benoit, a medical apprentice at the hospital. I was surprised by how D’Arcy, or Day Boy, as Sol likes to call him, made me swoon so very much. Book boyfriend alert!!!!! Anyway, D’Arcy is a Ray, leading Sol to be quite hostile towards him, but he turns out to be not so typical after all. The two are very different but their unlikely partnership was projected well! I like how the romance remained in the background at first- there was that subtlety that made things build-up. When I think about the time frame of the book though, things did develop pretty quickly between Sol and D’Arcy, but given their shared experiences, I felt there was enough foundation in their relationship. Aside from Sol and D’Arcy, the rest of the characters were notable and I feel that they made the story such a complex one. It’s the way these characters were intertwined and connected, as if they’re stars crashing against each other in a big galaxy-all significant and crucial to how the story works out, and that made the plot and the story work as a whole.

I knew you were the most remarkable person I’d ever met.

I probably didn’t do justice with just exactly how much I liked this book so just to make it clear: I was really fond of Plus One. I had some issues but I think the book turned out to be quite better than I expected. I have a penchant for books that are refreshing and original, especially when they’re also character-driven. This was my first time reading Elizabeth Fama and I can say with a certainty that I’ll be looking forward to reading more from her. ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA with Romance (possibly Dystopian). People are scientifically operated to operate either only in day or night, female lead works around night & male lead around day, they are opposites & come together. Cover: a day and night kissing. [s]	4	22	Jun 14, 2021 01:43AM
2015 Reading Chal...: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama	1	9	Apr 02, 2015 07:08PM
YA/Paranormal Rom...: April 2015	5	5	Apr 01, 2015 07:00PM
Crazy for Young A...: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama → Start Date: April 17th, 2014	19	28	Apr 18, 2014 05:26PM

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About Elizabeth Fama

Elizabeth Fama

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Elizabeth Fama is the author of Plus One (FSG, 2014), Monstrous Beauty (FSG, 2012), a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection and Odyssey Award honor winner, and Overboard (Cricket Books, 2002), an ALA Best Books for Young Adults.

(You're absolutely welcome to follow me on Goodreads, but I won't seem very interesting as a reader here. While I'm an active lurker on GR, I keep all of my person ...more

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Quotes from Plus One

“The thing is, when you’re with someone like Poppu - someone who sees straight through your battered facade and loves every bit of you, someone who makes you laugh until you pee your pants, someone who grabs you in a hug exactly when you need it - you don’t crave any kind of approval from strangers. You don’t need to “matter” in the world, because you already matter to the only person who counts.” — 12 likes

“Believe me I don't want to set the world on fire I just want to start a flame in your heart” — 10 likes

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