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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Y'all, I tried so hard to like Marie Lu's [b:The Young Elites|20821111|The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407318399l/20821111._SY75_.jpg|25217978]; but there was literally nothing that I enjoyed about this book - no matter how many times I thought something might pop up to change my mind. NGL, I have had a 50/50 positivity rate with Lu's books {some I love, some I loathe, and sometimes I start to love one well after the halfway mark}; but this one just did not cut it for me. Womp womp.
One decade ago, a deadly illness known as the blood fever swept through Renaissance Italy. It claimed the lives of almost everyone it touched; but some children were spared - left with their lives, but scarred with strange markings that earned them the title malfettos {abominations}. Sixteen-year-old Adelina Amouteru is one such survivor. Her beloved mother, however, was taken; leaving her in the hands of a monstrous father who cannot see beyond her changes. Her once black hair turned silver, her eyelashes paled, and her once beautiful left eye is now nothing more than a jagged scar. In her cruel father's eyes, Adelina is only a malfetto - a burden upon their family's good name, standing in the way of lavish fortunes. Adelina thinks otherwise. She has heard of other malfettos - malfettos with strange abilities that leave people fearful; abilities that give them power. These are the Young Elites, and Adelina is determined to find them.
Burning with anger after learning her father's plans for her, Adelina kisses her younger sister, Violetta, goodbye and flees into the night. She has not gone far before she is found, and accidentally unleashes a dormant fury within, killing someone. Now armed with the knowledge that she too has powers, powers that would make people fall at her feet, she is even more convinced of her belonging to the Young Elites. But she'll have to reach them first. When she is apprehended by The Inquisition, led by the young Teren Santoro, and sentenced to death, her future seems unclear. But then she is rescued by none other than the Elites, and feels that things are falling into place. That is, until she feels their less than warm welcome.
Helmed by the handsome yet mysterious Enzo Valenciano {aka The Reaper, who, btw, gives off major Assassin's Creed vibes}, the Young Elites {aka the Dagger Society} is composed of a group of malfettos with abilities that range from manipulating other people's emotions {Raffaele} to commanding and controlling animals {Gemma}. Though their abilities are different, they share a commonality: they don't know what to make of Adelina and her illusionist abilities. Some want her dead. Enzo, however, the son of the late king of Kenettra, vouches for her, welcoming her into the folds of the Dagger Society, and determining that they will train her in her abilities. But Adelina has a secret - an agreement with Teren that she can't extricate herself from. One that will place all of her newfound Elite friends in grave danger.
This was the worst book I've read all year. Marie Lu can write, she can; but this one was just drudgery. The characters were mindblowingly boring who read like one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. I legitimately could not discern one from another because they were so uninteresting. Adelina, who I thought was going to be an amazing character was just dark and angry. And the supposed spark between her and Enzo? Yeah, I didn't feel it. In fact, I felt no chemistry between them; and even if I did, it wouldn't have mattered because Enzo was every bit as boring as Adelina. NGL, there were times when I really loved Raffaele {perhaps because of his calming nature}; but he was not strong enough to hold the weight of the entire book on his shoulders. I will say this...the ending, starring Maeve Corrigan, the Princess of Beldain was brilliant. Unfortunately, her appearance came too late for me; thus, I will not be reading the sequel [b:The Rose Society|23846013|The Rose Society (The Young Elites, #2)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443368070l/23846013._SY75_.jpg|42990051].
This book was so exceptionally well-written and intriguing, and if I didn't hate the main character so much, it would have been a solid 5-star. However, Adelina was awful!
The plot of this story was amazing. I wish we would have gotten to see a bit more of the powers (but I think I say that about almost every book that involves powers lolol). I am incredibly intrigued, and can't wait to read the next one and see where it goes!
Spoiler
She seems like the real villain of the story instead of just being a morally grey character. Her involvement in both Dante and Enzo's death made me dislike her even more.The plot of this story was amazing. I wish we would have gotten to see a bit more of the powers (but I think I say that about almost every book that involves powers lolol). I am incredibly intrigued, and can't wait to read the next one and see where it goes!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is so much to love about The Young Elites and that's what's makes this book even more difficult to review. Marie Lu and her recent novel broke the mold. We have an antihero - villain for a protagonist, a group of teenagers who are shunned by their society because they have scars and marking and lastly because they posses powerful gifts.
The Young Elites are without effort, a badassery book. Mini review to come.
The Young Elites are without effort, a badassery book. Mini review to come.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book just wasn't for me
'The Young Elites' by Marie Lu is the first in its series. Over a decade ago a blood fever spread from home to home with few spared. Many died and those that survived, children were marked forever. Some with changing marks, others with scars and an elite few with powers. Adelina Amouteru and her sister both survived, she believing that she was left only with silver hair that never seemed to settle on one shade and a grotesque scar where her left eye should be. Luckily her younger sister seemed none the worse for wear. The marked children are thought to be evil abominations, called malfettos and are disgraced in society. One day Adeline over hears her father selling her off in order to get her out of his house and decides that night to run away. But things don't go as planned and she is arrested for murder. When the Reaper, a member of a secret society of the young elites saves her from execution she believes she might have finally found salvation.
spoilers
The initial idea of this really drew me in and I was very interested. But then I felt stunted in that I had trouble connecting or even liking most of the characters. I found myself not really caring who was safe or succeeded in their plans, I felt like most characters were not very in-depth and felt flat and the ones that we did get to know bored the crap out of me or were very annoying. On top of that the Young Elites, the daggers they didnt really do anything? Enzo talked a lot, he was wronged, he was angry, other than stealing Adelina, what exactly was he doing to fix any of this, or to right the wrongs, to protect his people? They all felt like really judgy Clichy high schoolers.
I also found it really weird to have this all take place in the brothel and have a ton of dark slight mentions without it actually being dark or sexual. It felt really superficial, a really compelling story about children being sold essentially into sexual slavery as novelties could have been written but it mostly just got glossed over. I don't know how but people being burned at the stake for surviving a fever as a child was mentioned in passing so that the main character could lament on how hard her life was. And yeah she didnt have it easy, she was abused, unloved and then sold by her father. But that doesn't seem to the be worst when compared to all the other malfettos out there. Not that she shouldn't be upset by it, but so much feeling and despair was lost in the way it was told.
Theres no point in saying more so im gonna move on and I doubt id read another Marie Lu book, just not for me.
'The Young Elites' by Marie Lu is the first in its series. Over a decade ago a blood fever spread from home to home with few spared. Many died and those that survived, children were marked forever. Some with changing marks, others with scars and an elite few with powers. Adelina Amouteru and her sister both survived, she believing that she was left only with silver hair that never seemed to settle on one shade and a grotesque scar where her left eye should be. Luckily her younger sister seemed none the worse for wear. The marked children are thought to be evil abominations, called malfettos and are disgraced in society. One day Adeline over hears her father selling her off in order to get her out of his house and decides that night to run away. But things don't go as planned and she is arrested for murder. When the Reaper, a member of a secret society of the young elites saves her from execution she believes she might have finally found salvation.
spoilers
The initial idea of this really drew me in and I was very interested. But then I felt stunted in that I had trouble connecting or even liking most of the characters. I found myself not really caring who was safe or succeeded in their plans, I felt like most characters were not very in-depth and felt flat and the ones that we did get to know bored the crap out of me or were very annoying. On top of that the Young Elites, the daggers they didnt really do anything? Enzo talked a lot, he was wronged, he was angry, other than stealing Adelina, what exactly was he doing to fix any of this, or to right the wrongs, to protect his people? They all felt like really judgy Clichy high schoolers.
I also found it really weird to have this all take place in the brothel and have a ton of dark slight mentions without it actually being dark or sexual. It felt really superficial, a really compelling story about children being sold essentially into sexual slavery as novelties could have been written but it mostly just got glossed over. I don't know how but people being burned at the stake for surviving a fever as a child was mentioned in passing so that the main character could lament on how hard her life was. And yeah she didnt have it easy, she was abused, unloved and then sold by her father. But that doesn't seem to the be worst when compared to all the other malfettos out there. Not that she shouldn't be upset by it, but so much feeling and despair was lost in the way it was told.
Theres no point in saying more so im gonna move on and I doubt id read another Marie Lu book, just not for me.
Was looking forward to this one as a palate cleanser after some serious reads, because I enjoyed Lu's Legend series. Much preferred that, and found this to be too violent for my liking.
When a tragic blood fever spreads over several kingdoms, the survivors find that they have magical powers, and everything changes. Really a fun book! It felt like Game of Thrones meets X-Men. Lu's depiction of the magic is fascinating and the characters go through some quick growth. The main character, Adelina Amouteru, shows an interesting depiction of anxiety. She learned her power of illusion a little faster than I expected, but it kept the book going. The book was surprisingly a bit dark which is then continued throughout the series.
2.5 STARS
I liked it. I really did. The world building was awesome and there wasn't a dull moment in the entire book.
...but...
I didn't really connect with the protagonist; I understood her actions, but most of the time I thought she was all over the place. I just didn't get her. And I was not happy with the ending, frankly.
I liked it. I really did. The world building was awesome and there wasn't a dull moment in the entire book.
...but...
I didn't really connect with the protagonist; I understood her actions, but most of the time I thought she was all over the place. I just didn't get her. And I was not happy with the ending, frankly.