Saturday, November 22, 2014

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Young Elites
By Marie Lu
The Young Elites #1
Hardcover: 355 pages
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Rated: ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
4 out of 5 Stars
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Related Reviews: | Legend | Prodigy | Champion |
Categories: Dystopian, Psychic Powers, Young Adult

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 have come to expect certain things from dystopian novels. Among these, an over aggressive government, an outcast group among the population, and some sort of war waged between these two groups. The Young Elites does not fail to provide each of these three scenerios. The story is told from a dual point of view. On one hand, there is Adelina. On the other is Enzo. One thing that I would never expect, though, is a story told from the villain's point of view. And that is exactly what Adelina is. She is the x-factor, the creature that everyone wants on their side, yet is fearful of, for good reason. Her powers are untapped and unpredictable, wild and powerful. The feelings that she has for Enzo caused them to rage more out of control than ever before. Yet she does not want to be without him. These feelings are new and different. Is she in love with him? Possibly. I appreciated that Miss Lu did not jump into the whole, insta-love thing. It took time for feelings to develop between Enzo and Adelina. She is a broken girl. Abuse is an every day occurrence in her young life, with a father that hated her, a sister that pushed her away, and an entire town that was terrified of the markings of her curse. And she acted like a broken girl. Her wariness never fully went away, even when it seemed that the Young Elites had accepted her as one of their own. She still knew in her heart that she could trust no one fully.

Adelina is a calculating character. I never fully liked her, but I respected her power and intelligence. I was not able to connect with her in a way that made me like her though, sadly. It is tough to read an entire book with a character that the reader doesn't like, but somehow, it made the story more interesting. I never knew what to expect from her. It seemed one minute, she was able to trust the Young Elites, the next moment, she was ready to reveal their identity and location. Her mind changed at the drop of a hat, and her decisions were not thought out well. She reacted on feelings and instinct alone, which portrayed her character as very rash. I wasn't a huge fan, Miss Lu! Enzo's character is also cold and calculating. The only bit of feelings that he expresses, he regrets. Although his princely position as leader of the Young Elites, as well as The crown prince puts him in a vulnerable situation, his character is strong and powerful. He controls his power over fire extremely well, and he knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to a fight. His character is sexy and dangerous, my favorite kind! And then there is Taren. He is a total jackass, seriously. His character is focused on power, power, and did I mention, power? It is the only thing that concerns him. That, and his ability to gain more of it, which is his reasoning for doing everything.

The world building is done very well. Descriptions are detailed to the point where I can picture the world in my head. The setting is sometime in the late 16th, early 17th century, as far as I can tell. A plague swept through the lands while Adelina was a child, leaving behind either dead children or malfettos in its wake. Malfettos are children that are marked by the fever, either by oddly colored hair, eyes, or even scars on their bodies. Some of these children have strange powers. Powers that can control wind, fire, animals, and even minds. These ones with power are called The Young Elites, and they often use their abilities to stand up to government control. If the Queen had her way, all malfettos would be executed in the town square. If the Young Elites had their way, the King and Queen would be executed in the town square. It is a violent world, full of unnecessary death and war. Yet I found myself ultimately hoping for the death of the monarchs, and a cleansing of this world of the power and control they have over the less fortunate.

I truly did enjoy this story of violence and struggle, and I am looking forward to the next in the series! The ending was awful, with a cliff-hanger that makes me want to scream at Miss Lu! I am pretty sure I know exactly what will happen with Enzo, but not being completely positive drives me crazy. I can't believe it was ended the way that it was, dammit! I am growing more and more fond of the entire dystopian genre, although it is rather predictable. I feel that the reason behind it is basically: our world right now seems to be falling apart. A dystopian-like situation in the next fifty years is not a far fetched idea anymore. Especially the ones stemmed from ultimate government control. Hey, I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all, but is the idea really that impossible? I feel that is why this genre was so unsettling for me to read at first. Just something to think about (:


"“Be true to yourself. But that's something everyone says and no one means. No one wants you to be yourself. They want you to be the version of yourself that they like.”" -Adelina

"What if I do become one of them? What more do I have to lose? I'm no safer on my own than if I remain with them. But if I want to survive, I need to stay and prove myself. And in order to do that, I not only need to learn how to control my energy- I also need to make some allies. Some friends. Setting out alone hasn't exactly worked well for me. I shiver when I remember the reaction I had to the nightstone, how whatever Raffaele did had forced a darkness from within me and brought it to the surface. What if that's who I am?" -Adelina

"The only way to clamp down on my energy is to erase my emotions, and so I fold them each away, one by one. My sorrow turns to anger, then to ice-cold fury. My soul curls in one itself in defense. I am gone. I am truly gone. I am not sorry.” -Adelina

"“Don't forget one weapon just because of another," he says. A flicker of approval flashes in his eyes. "Or you'll find yourself skewered in no time." "Then maybe you should know which weapons are real.”" -Adelina & Enzo

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Related Reviews
| Legend | Prodigy | Champion |

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13 comments:

  1. I do want to read this one because Marie Lu's Legend series was the last dystopian series that I've actually enjoyed. And I've heard this one is fantasy as well so I want to see how she can change genres a bit. The reviews I've read so far are quite positive, as yours, and so I'm even more excited but it's true that this is gonna be a series and I'm bad at waiting so I'll probably wait until the second book is out or something like that =)

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    1. I've heard so many good things about her Legend Series. They are next up on my TBR pile! Thankfully, the entire series is already out, so I don't have to worry about cliffhangers. Girl, I totally agree with you about waiting for books to come out. I'm horrible about it. I just finished the third book in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle Series and I have to wait an entire freaking YEAR for the fourth book to come out. It's driving me insane, literally! There are so many questions that were left unanswered. I actually had a dream about it the other night haha Thanks for stopping by Noelia (:

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed this one a bit more than I did. I think I'm just a picky reader. Lol! I really think that her world building is superb, but my disappointment stems more from the inconsistent pace.

    Great review!

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    1. I really love her world building as well. Her ability to create this dystopian world that I would actually want to visit.. I think the inconsistent pace is because there was a little too much world building.. information overload in a way. Hopefully, the second book is paced a little better. Thanks for stopping by girl!

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  3. I'm really looking forward to reading this book because even though I've never read any of her books (yet!) I've got quite high expectations. Hopefully I'll be able to connect with the character more than you did but enjoy it just as much :) great review

    http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/blog-tour-becoming-beauty-by-sarah.html

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    1. I hope so too Anna. It just felt like she was a robot, at times. It was enjoyable to read the point of view of an almost villain though. That's really rare in the paranormal genre, and it was refreshing! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one (:
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Definitely Planning on Reading this soon, glad you enjoyed it!!

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    1. Get to it girl.. you won't be disappointed! (:

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  5. Interesting...You're definitely right about the cookie cutter outline of dystopian. It doesn't quite seem like this book offers much more than would be expected - especially with the powerful Katniss-esque heroine. Great review!

    Ciera @ The Write Things

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    1. I haven't read a whole lot of the dystopian genre yet, but the ones that I have read follow that cookie cutter plot line to a tee. This one was only different because the point of view was of the villain's, which is rare in any book! The powers that she possessed were pretty sweet too. It is worth a read, just for the world building alone. Honestly, Marie Lu can create a realistic, post apocalyptic world better than most authors that I've read. Thanks for stopping by Ciera!

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  6. I have been thinking about this book, and have it on my TBR as well! I really want to try it. I think you've perfected the usual ingredients for dystopian novels, and it's alright that this book has them. It's a shame that you didn't connect with the main character as much as you wanted too, and her thought process does sound pretty erratic. I also like the idea of seeing things from the villains point of view as well! That's different :3 The world building sounds well done, and I am surprised to know that this is kind of set in history. It wasn't what I was expecting! Brilliant review :)

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  7. Dystopian isn't exactly my genre, but I like your review, and you migt have made me want to read the book. I like liking the main character though, so I'm a little nervous about it, but of course a book isn't only about the main character.
    Anyway, nice review! (:

    - Love, Felicia
    ( http://asillygirlsthoughts.weebly.com/ )

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