Plus One by Elizabeth FamaPublished by: Farrar Straus and Giroux on April 8, 2014
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 373
Source: NetGalley
Book Details
Rating: Did Not Finish
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.
Note: I put this book down at the 30% mark.
My first impression: confusion. Right off the bat we’re thrown into this alternate reality. There’s a whole other caste system and tons of strange customs and traditions that were barely even explained. I was overwhelmed..
Smudges? Rays? What are these? What’s a Day Pass for? (Okay maybe that’s obvious in the synopsis, but I didn’t reread the synopsis before starting the book, so I was lost lol.) Even now, I still don’t understand what the point of Smudges and Rays are. I feel like this is such a massive cultural change/caste system, but it was practically ignored. We were forced to just blindly accept it and not question it.
But things really started to annoy me when they got ridiculous. Smudges are prohibited from going outside during the day. Doing so can result in imprisonment. So, naturally, Soleil decides to risk imprisonment by going out during the day and stealing a BABY, all so her grandfather can hold the child for a few minutes. Maybe this makes me a heartless bitch, but that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Stealing a baby?? What about the poor baby’s parents??
But even worse, was how she did it. She stole the baby from the hospital by putting it under her sweatshirt. She had a baby…under her sweatshirt… Then when she got back to her apartment, Soleil put the baby in the kitchen drawer. Naturally. And when the baby started crying:
The baby’s whimpers became a bona fide cry—not insistent, not continuous, but I could hear in her voice a primal recognition that she wasn’t being heard, and I knew her cries would soon escalate in volume and urgency. I ignored her.
A baby is taken from its mother, carried around under a sweatshirt in the sweltering heat, put in a fucking kitchen drawer, and naturally the best thing to do is ignore it. My god.
I decided to put the book down for three reasons:
- The ridiculousness started building. It annoyed me.
- I was getting a bit bored with the plot.
- So far there was no romance to speak of, and I skimmed a few reviews that state the romance never really develops. This made me not want to continue.
I’m not going to say “Don’t read Plus One!” because I don’t necessarily think this book was bad or should be avoided. It obviously didn’t work for me, but there is an interesting underlying idea there, and judging by some 4 and 5 star reviews, some people do love this book. It may not have been for me, but other people may still enjoy it. Give it a shot if you don’t mind a slightly silly plot and very little romance. Unfortunately for me, both those points bothered me!
Too bad this one didn’t work out for you. Stealing a baby?! Wow. This doesn’t really make me want to read this book. Better apply for to adopt a baby. But okay. I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out, I hope your next read is better!
Yeah it was ridiculous! I’m waiting for all the mothers out there to start having a field day. I literally could not believe that the MC stole a newly born child X_X
So what you’re saying is, the cover is better than the book? 🙂
Haha, exactly! I love the cover!
What a shame you didn’t like it. The cover is really pretty, though. 🙂
Awww, that’s too bad you didn’t like this one! I really liked it – the day/night system is fully explained eventually… I can’t remember when, but it does go into detail. And even though Sol’s baby-stealing was a bit ridiculous, I did find her devotion to her grandfather (who would never have been able to “see” the baby otherwise) really moving. The romance takes quite a bit of time to develop, but I was glad it wasn’t insta-love! 😉
I had high hopes for this one, just based on the cover 🙁
Yeah, the cover is gorgeous. 🙁
In the synopsis, it says that the baby is her niece.
I guess it’s obvious that the ONLY solution to hold your baby niece in your arm is to steal it at the hospital. That helps tremendously improving family relationship! 😀
Wow, that baby stealing scene is pretty ridiculous. And I wonder how easy it is to steal a baby from a hospital? I mean.. I don’t think we could just walk away with a baby under out shirt, but okay.
I totally lost it at “A baby is taken from its mother, carried around under a sweatshirt in the sweltering heat, put in a fucking kitchen drawer, and naturally the best thing to do is ignore it. My god.” Could not stop laughing!
I’ve been really excited for this book, and this is the second iffy review I’ve read today, so I’m getting a bit worried… But I still really want to read it, so I’m going to hope that the book works better for me 🙂
I really hope you like it more! Fingers crossed!
Sounds like this book is a waste of a gorgeous cover.
The synopsis lost me at the main character’s very Mary Sue-ish name. Soleil le Coeur. Really? Her name is French for Sun Heart…
I just read a review talking about how the whole idea was really well done but how there wasn’t an overall emotional bond happening. I can definitely see where the main character annoyed you though, especially how she steals a baby the way she does. I mean, how wouldn’t the baby start screaming by the time they got put inside of her sweatshirt? Fantastic review, though, Ashley! <33
This … sounds ridiculous. Really ridiculous. The cover is gorgeous, but the concept sounds ridiculous. Stealing a baby? And for such a weak reason? That’s just too weird. I would’ve DNF it too.
OMG, the baby napping is just horrible. That’s not okay in any way. Yeah, not for me.
I finished, but just barely…. And if you think it was ridiculous in the beginning I think it even gotten worse .There were so many things that didn’t end up that I got super frustrated. Oh and there is an explanation for the Day/Night things, it’s just not convincing enough – at all!!
Oh and why the French addition? Is there a reason for the French other than that it sounds nice and adds a touch of something? Why do both speak French? I totally didn’t get that either …
Yeah, I agree! WTF was up with the French? I didn’t get that at all.