Review of “The Young Elites” by Marie Lu

I decided to read The Young Elites because of who wrote, I’ve read everything else written by Marie Lu so I thought “hey, why not try this trilogy?” I almost wish I hadn’t.

Synopsis:

“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.”

Marie Lu went darker in this book than anything else she has ever written. I will admit, it was well written and beautiful… but besides that I wasn’t a huge fan.

Let’s start by talking about the characters. I loved Adelina. She was strong and powerful despite her terrible past. Reading from her point of view was heartbreaking and interesting. She was so human, broken but fighting for what she wanted. Then of course there was the antagonist Teren. I wish there had been more of him in the book. When we do see him I can understand why he does what he is doing, and I feel bad that his mind has been so twisted. His relationship with the queen makes him a character that’s more than just “evil”. Still, I wish he had more chapters in this book so I could have gotten to understand him more. Then I hated just about every Young Elite. At this point I hardly remember their names but they all annoyed me. And I felt like I didn’t know Enzo at all.

The romance between Enzo and Adelina was mediocre at best. It was rushed because it had to be in before (well if you read the book… you know) but it was full of questions and distance between them. Besides that the only romance included was hardly in this book, which is great for people who aren’t romance fans but not so great for me. Romance helps books with depth, sub plots, and drama.

I was very underwhelmed by the ending, which sounds weird because the ending was pretty “intense”. I just couldn’t care enough about the characters to care about what was happening during the ending.

Pages: 355

Published: October 7th 2014

Rating: 2.5/ 5 stars

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