Scan barcode
sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition
2.0
I'm more than a little sad about this one, because I wanted to like it so bad! Post-apocalyptic setting with ethnically diverse characters? Sign me straight up! Unfortunately The Elites had some major problems.
Firstly Ngan has a real tendency to tell, rather than show. It's very much "thirty minutes later this happened, and this happened, and then the next day this happened," which after a while just gets boring and repetitive. I'll admit this improved a little in the second half of the novel, but only a little (just enough to bump the overall experience up to two stars).
The characters also suffer from not being particularly well built. Many of them have completely contridictory traits (e.g. Silver's meant to be a terrible Elite, but whenever she's in a crisis her training comes out and she starts running around with guns, with perfect aim and general fighting skills). Others just fall a little flat and were difficult to picture in my mind's eye as the reader. The romance element was kinda sweet, but I just didn't believe in it enough.
Faults in the plotting also stood out. At multiple points new characters get convineantly thrown in. Not a lot happens in the first half of the novel, while to much gets crammed in the last quarter. Some of the set-up is just wrong, from a purely scientific perspective, in ways that could have been easily rectified to make it more believable.
To be honest, I think I'm more disappointed with this book then I have been for a while. It could have been great. It wasn't, and I'd be trepidous about trying Ngan again.
Oh also, what's with the White washed cover? The main character of The Elites is Chinese, and that girl definitely is not.
Firstly Ngan has a real tendency to tell, rather than show. It's very much "thirty minutes later this happened, and this happened, and then the next day this happened," which after a while just gets boring and repetitive. I'll admit this improved a little in the second half of the novel, but only a little (just enough to bump the overall experience up to two stars).
The characters also suffer from not being particularly well built. Many of them have completely contridictory traits (e.g. Silver's meant to be a terrible Elite, but whenever she's in a crisis her training comes out and she starts running around with guns, with perfect aim and general fighting skills). Others just fall a little flat and were difficult to picture in my mind's eye as the reader. The romance element was kinda sweet, but I just didn't believe in it enough.
Faults in the plotting also stood out. At multiple points new characters get convineantly thrown in.
Spoiler
Like Ooooohh Silver has a much older brother that we didn't know existed until three quarters of the way through, that she had also somehow forgotten about until that moment? Butterfly's family are alive after all!To be honest, I think I'm more disappointed with this book then I have been for a while. It could have been great. It wasn't, and I'd be trepidous about trying Ngan again.
Oh also, what's with the White washed cover? The main character of The Elites is Chinese, and that girl definitely is not.
sashtastic3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
allisoncc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
maysedai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
bookishbyso's review against another edition
2.0
This is another one of those rare DNF books for me. I thought I was going to like it. I really really wanted to like it. After all it's a YA dystopian type of book written by an Asian woman with an Asian setting and the coolest synopsis and an Asian MC. I thought to myself "YA dystopian diversity! what?! This is going to be amazing!". But nope, it wasn't. Not even close in fact. The writing was so terrible I felt like my brain was melting. The characters were just all so flat and boring, so 2 dimensional that I just couldn't for the life of me bring myself to give 2 shits about any of them frankly. Not to mention the amount of "WTFery" moments I had with the unexplained frankly strange shit that was going on. It makes me so mad when I come across books that have SO much potential but then they just DON'T. DELIVER. I swear it makes my blood boil.
I may at some point in the very distant future try and give this another shot, but it's not very likely. I don't particularly recommend this book to anyone I'm afraid.
I may at some point in the very distant future try and give this another shot, but it's not very likely. I don't particularly recommend this book to anyone I'm afraid.
fictionalkate's review against another edition
3.0
In the city of Neo-Babel there are citizens with superior DNA who guard the people. They are called the Elite. Silver has been in training with the Elite for a few years and is dying for a chance to prove herself to others. To those who thought her Red blood is inferior and those – like her student mentor, Ember- who think Silver is incapable of being one of the Elite. On her very first assignment to help protect the president during a rally, Silver is the one whose lack of punctuality among other things get the president assassinated.
Things start getting weirder with people going missing and an uprising on the horizon. Silver, along with her best friend Butterfly, are on a quest to try to save her family and unravel the secrets that the Elite seem to thrive on.
This is a debut novel with a lot going on. There are plots and sub-plots with a lot of different characters and organizations each with their own agendas. I adored the concept of this book. I can’t get enough of kick-arse heroines who have their own vulnerabilities but ultimately see the bigger picture. Silver is one of these. She’s a little naive but trying to be the best warrior she can be. I thought it was interesting how the topic of racism is addressed right throughout the novel. Silver is a Red, a person of Chinese descent, and as such viewed as a lesser person than others even within the Elite structure.
I enjoyed the other students at the Elite academy – in particular, Butterfly. His name may be pretty and delicate but he’s strong in his own right and a force to be reckoned with. His relationship with Silver is one of strong friendship with their romance being more subtle and whilst enjoyable, it lacked the sparks and pizzazz that I like between fictional characters. Ember, Cobe, Allum and Taiyo are great supporting character who all add something a little different to the story. I thought the names were especially clever. People like Butterfly and the organization, the Pigeons, are so seemingly weak and childish and yet they hold a lot of power within them.
Brilliant world building and some great characters, The Elite is an interesting urban fantasy novel. The plot is a little slow to warm up but once things get going there’s a lot of surprises and action going on. I was surprised to see that it’s a standalone because there’s so much more about this universe which this book exists to be explored.
Things start getting weirder with people going missing and an uprising on the horizon. Silver, along with her best friend Butterfly, are on a quest to try to save her family and unravel the secrets that the Elite seem to thrive on.
This is a debut novel with a lot going on. There are plots and sub-plots with a lot of different characters and organizations each with their own agendas. I adored the concept of this book. I can’t get enough of kick-arse heroines who have their own vulnerabilities but ultimately see the bigger picture. Silver is one of these. She’s a little naive but trying to be the best warrior she can be. I thought it was interesting how the topic of racism is addressed right throughout the novel. Silver is a Red, a person of Chinese descent, and as such viewed as a lesser person than others even within the Elite structure.
I enjoyed the other students at the Elite academy – in particular, Butterfly. His name may be pretty and delicate but he’s strong in his own right and a force to be reckoned with. His relationship with Silver is one of strong friendship with their romance being more subtle and whilst enjoyable, it lacked the sparks and pizzazz that I like between fictional characters. Ember, Cobe, Allum and Taiyo are great supporting character who all add something a little different to the story. I thought the names were especially clever. People like Butterfly and the organization, the Pigeons, are so seemingly weak and childish and yet they hold a lot of power within them.
Brilliant world building and some great characters, The Elite is an interesting urban fantasy novel. The plot is a little slow to warm up but once things get going there’s a lot of surprises and action going on. I was surprised to see that it’s a standalone because there’s so much more about this universe which this book exists to be explored.
beelovesreading's review against another edition
3.0
Another 3.5 star review.
Again I enjoyed the book but it didn't bring anything out in me. I didn't really connect to any of the characters. It picked up for me in the last quarter but as the book itself was a quick read this didn't bother me
Again I enjoyed the book but it didn't bring anything out in me. I didn't really connect to any of the characters. It picked up for me in the last quarter but as the book itself was a quick read this didn't bother me
jasm1n3_03's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nina21's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5