Reviews

Los jóvenes de la élite by Marie Lu

ailli1's review against another edition

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The plotpoints did not appeal to me and I did not really care about the characters

sherbear182's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this book very intriguing at first. The cover is what drew me to it and after reading the first couple of pages it made me want to know what happened. However this feeling didn't last with me the entire book. It was far too slow in my opinion. Though definately not a bad read, i just didn't have the patience to read the entire thing. I found myself getting overly impatient to get to the end and simply skipped to the end. Something i very rarely do because i feel there's no point in reading the book if you do this. I got about halfway through it though so i can't say it was horrible. It wasn't.
It just wasn't captivating to me. Partially because i don't feel that you feel the main characters emotions. They just seem like words on a page. If you like books that are centered in the 1300s then this might be a good choice for you. That's exactly where this book starts out. And i suppose i should have known because of that that i wouldn't finish it because i tend to have high standards for books from these times.
Overall, it's worth picking up to an extent. I'm not sure i would recommend it to many people though.

uutopicaa's review against another edition

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4.0

LA NARRACIÓN
Esta novela tiene LAS MEJORES escenas de acción que he leído en novelas juveniles hasta el momento. Es increíble. No son ni simples ni complejas, son exactas, te mantienen al borde de la silla y con el corazón en la boca hasta el final.
Sin embargo, no me gustó el corte del narrador que "de vez en cuando" pasaba a tercera persona para mostrar algo más. He hablado en detalle sobre este asunto en la versión completa de la reseña que subí a mi blog (enlace al final de esta reseña).


PERSONAJES
Sorpresivamente, me han gustado todos los personajes de la novela. Incluso los que en algún momento odié, para el final de la historia me resultaron excelentes. Tienen muy buena evolución en todos sus sentidos y están definidos en cuanto a personalidades y formas de actuar. Excelente.

Quizás me hubiese gustado un poco más de información sobre ciertos personajes secundarios, pero no estuvo mal.


OPINIÓN GENERAL
La trama no es SÚPER MEGA ORIGINAL, pero tiene buenos elementos y se desarrolla con un ritmo atrapante.

El comienzo es veloz, pero no apresurado, y en pocos capítulos ya comenzamos a descubrir ambas caras de la moneda.

A los personajes los conocemos poco a poco y sin apuros. Sus historias son todas muy interesantes y están contadas en el momento indicado.

En cuanto a la trama, varios conflictos interactúan a la par y eso nos mantiene siempre entretenidos. El eje central se divide entre los problemas de THE YOUNG ELITES (sus objetivos) y la situación personal de Adelina. Ambas situaciones van convirtiéndose en una sola para estallar en lo que considero uno de los mejores finales que he leído en los últimos tiempos.

Algo que no me agradó es que el libro tiene DEMASIADOS flashbacks innecesarios al pasado de la protagonista, que además están en los momentos menos indicados. Incluso vemos flashbacks al pasado de otros personajes que NO ENTIENDO CÓMO nos los puede contar Adelina que no estuvo allí cuando sucedieron.

Otra queja es que la autora, casi por la necesidad marketinera de los libros juveniles actuales, añadió dos o tres escenas románticas que no aportan UN POMO a la trama y que resultan forzadas e innecesarias hasta el último segundo. Casi que fuera de lugar y con los personajes actuando distinto a como suelen hacerlo.

Por lo demás, el libro es excelente. Es atrapante, interesante, con buen diseño de personajes, un ritmo genial, buena narración, escenas de acción que nos hacen mordernos las uñas y muchísimo más. Lo negativo es mínimo en comparación con lo positivo.

Lo que sí, dudo que siga leyendo la saga. Creo que este libro es excelente así como está y que hubiera sido espectacular si fuese autoconclusivo, eso le habría dado un toque diferente y único. Pero bueno, no se puede pedir mucha originalidad en las novelas populares porque de lo contrario, nadie las publicaría.
Tengo la sensación de que el segundo libro será algo como "el lado oscuro de la protagonista" y en el tercero todo terminará como "hasta lo imposible ha salido bien y todos vivieron felices para siempre". Y la verdad, es que no quiero que eso le ocurra a tan buena novela.

¿Lo recomiendo? Claro que sí. Tiene acción, magia, aventura, misterio y casi nada de romance.

SI QUIEREN LEER LA RESEÑA COMPLETA, los invito a pasar por mi blog:
http://pardonmispanglish.blogspot.com/2017/06/resena-young-elites-marie-lu.html#more

kaulhilo's review against another edition

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5.0

i think i'd very, very much like to marry this book

ec_newman's review against another edition

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3.0

Three stars for the world building. I wish I'd enjoyed the romance, and characters more.

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I went to a Young Adult Literature conference thing last year (yeah, I said thing, cause I have no idea how to explain it really) where someone shares recent publications for children and young adults that are good for librarians and teachers. Teaching high school as I do, I can't assign the books because they aren't advanced enough for what curriculum requires, but it does give me ideas for recommendations and well, I am a writer, so it fuels my love for the age group.

The Young Elites was mentioned at this conference thing and the concept appealed to me, as did the fact I knew the author was well known for her other series: Legend.

Cool idea, right? Powers that require our main character to dig into the unhealthy emotions, destructive choices, etc. That's not something I've really seen before and the closest I can think is X-men (the movies, not the comics because I'm not that cool).

The world was great. Very realized and thought out. The world of those good and those bad was not clear and often I did wonder who would come out on top. I give kudos to Lu for excellent world-building.

Some spoilers below:

But I didn't love the characters. They felt a little flat, a little archetype, especially the secondary characters who could have been fleshed out in ways that could surprise and delight the reader. Enzo, the romantic interest, other than being a redhead (YAY) is typical YA hero. Brooding, seems to not like our heroine, but actually falls for her. Teren is interesting in the fact that he fights against the very thing he is. Adelina is interesting, but I'm not sure I like her. And she drove me crazy when she kept not telling those she should have trusted what was going on with her and the blackmail. I know why she didn't, but it bugged me all the same because I feel like that always happens in YA novels with paranormal elements. The girl never goes to the people who could help her, but nearly gets herself killed being 'heroic/martyr-like.'

The romance itself was typical. Heat and kissing, some things in common maybe, but really it's all hotness and perfect making out. It doesn't end like you expect it (cheers for that), but I wasn't invested in the romance or the characters.

I imagine many will love this, but for me, it just didn't suck me in like I was hoping.

kevinmccarrick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

goldenreader24's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

2.75

vava0815's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

lostkairos's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.25

wyvernrose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5