The Young Elites by Marie Lu Series: The Young Elites #1
Published by Putnam Juvenile on October 7th 2014
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, YA, Young Adult
Goodreads
I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
I borrowed The Young Elites from my local library, this does not affect the contents of my review
When I first heard about a new book from Marie Lu, I HAD TO read it. I loved Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy and I was read her next work. And I am super glad to be able to say that The Young Elites does not disappoint.
A decade ago, an illness spread through Adelina’s world, and many lives were lost. Those of the infected who survived are now showing strange symptoms. Adelina’s hair has turned silver and she has a jagged scar where her left eye used to be. To top it all off, her father believes shes a malfetto, an abomination. But young people exhibiting strange symptoms after surviving the plague are now rumoured to have strange gifts and there’s a secret society of them called The Young Elites.
I honestly loved Adelina, she’s strong, tough, and she grows so much throughout the novel. I don’t want to give anything away about that so that’s all I’m going to say. I also loved Adelina’s family life, and seeing how her early childhood heavily influenced her later in life was awesome. I loved reading her interaction with The Young Elites, and seeing how they influenced her heavily. Enzo, the leader of the Elites, was also just a delight to read about.
The world-building of The Young Elites was just fantastic, and compared to most fantasy novels I’ve read, the world wasn’t hard to comprehend which made it a delight to read. The plot was fast-paced at times, and sometimes a little slow, but overall everything felt smoothly and quickly.
Overall, The Young Elites is a fantastic novel by a fantastic author. The main character was fantastic, the romance was indeed very swoony and the world-building was great but not too confusing to read. I recommend this one for fans looking for an intricately-written and character driven novel.
