The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Series: The Young Elites (bk. 1)

Genera(s): High Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: magic, supernatural, abilities, superpowers, kingdoms, royalty,

Setting: A fantasy world, the island of Kenettra

POV/Tense: 1^st peson POV, present tense: Adelina Amouteru, and 3^rd person intermissions of other characters.

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 355 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Penguin: Putnam

Summary/ product 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 Review:  The Young Elite is a unique and interesting High Fantasy book set in a world reminiscent of renaissance era Venetian culture. There’s some Italian words used and lots of masks. A Madi Gras-like celebration (so maybe New Orleans-like too?). It’s been described as X-Men meets Assassin’s Creed 2 meets Game of Thrones. I love X-Men but I don’t play video games or watch HBO shows. I’d say it’s like Shatter Me meets Shadow & Bone. A blood fever has marked children and given some superpowers. It’s also a lot like Black Out by Robison Wells, or Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones. If you enjoyed any of those, then you’ll enjoy this.

Adelina is a complex character and very well thought out. She’s very flawed and interesting. She has a handicap: she only has one eye since her left eye had to be removed when she was four. Her hair is silver, flashing from gray to white depending of the lighting. Her father was horrible to her and nice to her younger sister. She’s got a lot of scars, both external and internal. She has a darkness and power within her and she discovers how to use with the help of other Young Elites.

The Dagger Society of Young Elites is a group of teens with abilities, led by the former crown prince, Enzo. His ability to control heat and fire has earned him the name Reaper and he’s feared. Any one who’s been marked by the blood fever is feared and called a malfetto. There are Young Elites with abilities like controlling the wind or animal. Adelina becomes friends with a male consort named Raffaele, who has bluish hair and 2 different colored eyes. All the characters are interesting and unique, but none as fully developed as Adelina since she is the only one we get a 1^st person POV with.

There are plenty of twists. Unexpected ones and ones I suspected long before we found out. I enjoyed Adelina’s training. Her abilities aren’t what I expected, but we learned pretty early on what they were. It’s really cool how they develop over time and she can do more powerful thing that she thought. Another part I like were the stones that were used to see what emotions Adelina was aligned with. I collect gems and minerals, so I knew what they were. Some were made up and likely based off of real gems. I love Marie’s Pinterist board for The Young Elites.

Cover Art Review: I like the title with the dagger in it, but I feel like the background is missing something.