Kristen Simmons’ Pacifica has a great concept but weird execution

Pirates make a lot of things better, but not even their general awesomeness can salvage the excellent concept for Kristen Simmons’ Pacifica.

All comments about what real pirates were like aside, pirates are on one of the top-tier levels of coolness in pop culture. Is it the freedom of the seas? Probably.

So what happens when you take pirates, which are cool, and dystopian fiction, which is still cool? Presumably the answer is coolness squared. To be fair, Kristen Simmons’ Pacifica, sent my way by Tor Teen, is quite cool conceptually.

Simmons explains in the author’s note that she was inspired by the World War II internment camps. Keeping that in mind definitely helps clarify things further. In the not-so-distant future, the ice caps are gone. Population issues lead to the Relocation Act, where lucky people will get to live on Pacifica, an island untouched by the garbage everywhere else.

Spoilers (not really): It’s a fakeout. While this should result in a solid teen level book, there’s still something missing, just a bit. Simmons’ prose is serviceable, to be sure, but the pacing seems to lack somewhat. It took about 150 pages before this reader became invested enough to learn more about the world of Marin Carey and Ross Torres. The action picks up more there, which helps.

Admittedly, it’s also nice to have a full standalone book here in terms of plot. Simmons doesn’t leave any unsolved mysteries by the end of the novel or obvious temptations for a sequel sometime in the future.

Emotionally Marin and Ross have good arcs, both having to do with their fathers in particular. There’s also, as to be expected, some romantic overtones between the two of them. Thankfully, the romance doesn’t take the plot over at all.

Marin carries the book more than he does. However, she’s also made a better character because of him, and vice versa. That helps make their friendship and romantic feelings more believable in the end.

Ultimately, this book is solid, but not necessarily awe-inspiring for this reader. The ideas Simmons works with here — both ones from the recent past and some from the present — end up meshing well together. But something’s just a little off about it.

Pick it up if you need a little dystopian palate cleanser, or if reports of things like “Day Zero” approaching in South Africa just don’t scare you enough.

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