The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Format: Audiobook
Read By: Carla Corvo and Lannon Killea
Length: 10 hours and 3 minutes
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Description
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.
My Thoughts
Although I have been in a contemporary reading frenzy lately, I still very much love fantasy. I’m not at all surprised that I was hooked by this. I have to admit that this story and plot are not all that original (so many similarities to the Red Queen series). Obviously that did not deter me from enjoying it, but I can see how others may not get into the story because it is all quite familiar. I will never not find people who have special powers fun to read about. The possibilities are literally endless for what could go down, and that is awesome.
One of the struggles for me while reading this was Adelina. I’m going to be completely blunt and say that I really, truly hate her. I find her quite annoying and power hungry. She is seriously toeing the line of being pure evil, and while I don’t mind a little evil, I just hate how nobody seems to see what a terrible person she is. I don’t trust her, and therefore nobody else should trust her! Due to this hatred for the main character, what really helped to get me through this was the multiple points of view. Not only does it bring depth to the characters, getting access to the characters and plot from different sides rounds out the story well. Plus, provides breaks away from Adelina that were much needed.
I’m struggling quite a bit to figure out what else to write about this book. The more I’m sitting here with no words coming to mind, the more I’m thinking that perhaps this book was a better candidate of one that I shouldn’t have written a review about, because I cannot defend my rating like, at all. “Oh, why did you like it, Kayla?” BECAUSE I JUST DID. That isn’t very helpful.
… time passes ….
Alright, I’m just going to have to give up. I apologize for this really shitty review. All you know is that I liked the overall book, that it’s basically the same as some other books that are out there in the YA fantasy realm, and that I hate Adelina. Not much to go on. Let’s both just cross our fingers that my next review will actually be helpful. Cheers!
If you start a book that is grossly similar to another book that you’ve read, do you give it up or keep going?
No Time for Tiny Bookshelves 