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gliderboii's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
breezy610's review against another edition
4.0
this was really good. I can't wait to read more of this series and see what happens to the girls next.
dovahging's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
Starting in 2019, I have tried for the past 4 years in a row now to start my year off with the first book in a series I've heard good things about and think would be in my wheelhouse: A Darker Shade of Magic in 2019, Wolfsong in 2020, Caraval in 2021, and now The Young Elites in 2022 and I'm thinking maybe I should quit kicking my years off like that.
That said, this is the only book out of those 4 titles that I actually finished, so I didn't hate this experience, it just wasn't as good as I was hoping it to be. It had a few elements that reminded me of The Darkest Minds and even a little bit of Shatter Me, two of my all time favorite series, but what this lacked for me was character.
I really didn't like any of the characters or find any of them really interesting. I actually probably was most interested in Teren and, in looking up spoilers in future books, it looks like he might continue to be interesting, but he didn't seem to play a big enough part for me to be interested in continuing.
I do think there are a lot of novel concepts here, chief of which being the protagonist actually being the villain in their own story, but it wasn't explored enough throughout and the characters this affected weren't ones I worried or cared about, so it left little impact on me when Adelina actually hurt anybody or made mistakes.
This wasn't an altogether wasted effort and I would maybe even be interested in reading more of Lu's work, but this series seems to be a non-starter for me so this is where I'll be leaving The Young Elites! Better luck next time!
That said, this is the only book out of those 4 titles that I actually finished, so I didn't hate this experience, it just wasn't as good as I was hoping it to be. It had a few elements that reminded me of The Darkest Minds and even a little bit of Shatter Me, two of my all time favorite series, but what this lacked for me was character.
I really didn't like any of the characters or find any of them really interesting. I actually probably was most interested in Teren and, in looking up spoilers in future books, it looks like he might continue to be interesting, but he didn't seem to play a big enough part for me to be interested in continuing.
I do think there are a lot of novel concepts here, chief of which being the protagonist actually being the villain in their own story, but it wasn't explored enough throughout and the characters this affected weren't ones I worried or cared about, so it left little impact on me when Adelina actually hurt anybody or made mistakes.
This wasn't an altogether wasted effort and I would maybe even be interested in reading more of Lu's work, but this series seems to be a non-starter for me so this is where I'll be leaving The Young Elites! Better luck next time!
tinysierra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Marie Lu’s writing and world building is easy to get into. I liked the excerpts from in-world media.
If you don’t enjoy unlikable or morally gray protagonists, this book isn’t for you.
If you don’t enjoy unlikable or morally gray protagonists, this book isn’t for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood and Physical abuse
emilyclaire007's review against another edition
5.0
Marie Lu's writing is always so superb. She creates unique, intricately detailed societies, and introduces fast moving, high stakes plots. Every time I had to walk away from this book it was almost physically painful. The fact that I am in love with Adelina Amouteru, who is a stand out character at a time where good characters are not exactly hard to find, really doesn't hurt either.
xcaity's review against another edition
3.0
3.5...I'll have to come back to the review, though. The end of this book made me want to chuck it across the room.