Review of Marie Lu's The Young Elites
Release Date: October 7th, 2014
Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:
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.
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This is definitely a release from Lu's previous series, Legend. Whereas Legend was a dystopian military tale, this is a period piece about people with unnatural powers.
After a Blood Fever sweeps the land, killing off any adult who catches it and marring many of the children who survive, a number of children discover that not only do they get strange markings (ie. Oddly colored hair, discolored skin, etc), but they realize they have strange powers as well.
When Adelina was a child, almost her whole family caught the fever. Her mother died from it & her sister came out of it unscathed, but she ended up having an eye removed from an infection & stark white hair, marking her as one of the Malfetto. Originally the Malfetto were looked upon in pity as the children who suffered, but after a string of strange deaths occur in multiple families, rumors have been circling saying it was from the powers of a Malfetto.
10 years later, Adelina has suffered abuse from her father, who believes he could fetch a higher price for her if only she showed signs of having powers. After a failed attempt at running away, she is caught by her father. While he is trying to drag her back home by her hair, Adelina's powers finally emerge. She summons forth illusions of demons rising from the earth & in the process spooks her father's horse, which in turn tramples & kills him.
Adelina is arrested & on the day in which she is to be burned at the stake, she is rescued by a group of Malfetto's with powers called the Young Elite. This story is the journey of a girl on the path to becoming a villain and what happens to make her who she will become. Can she over come the obstacles on her path to greatness? Or will she end up the villain many see her as already?
I enjoyed this book, but was not as big a fan of it as Lu's first series. I don't really like comparing the 2, because they are for different genres, but I can't help but compare them a bit. This is a great read for fans of Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds.
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