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_nyctophob1a_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
My fave book trilogy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Classism, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, War, Genocide, Child death, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Racism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Self harm, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Blood, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
5 ⭐ CW: Violence, blood, child abuse (emotional and physical), self harm, discrimination, death, torture
The Young Elites by Marie Lu is book one in the Young Elites series. This came out in 2014 and honestly I'm sad I slept on it for so long! This was such an excellent villain story! It gave me X-Men vibes.
We follow Adelina, a malfetto girl who is being abused by her father and only has her sister Violetta. One night when Adelina tries to runaway, she kills him with illusions she is able to conjure. She discovered that not only is she a malfetto, she is also a Young Elite, children who caught the fever when they were young and survived and gained powers.
Adelina is arrested and sentenced to execution, but is rescued by the Dagger Society, group of Young Elites fighting against the king and queen's brutal discrimination of malfettos. She finds out she is aligned most strongly with fear and Fury, and passion and ambition. We see her fight to control her power and the pleasure she gets from fear and power.There is a constant battle inside of her, and that makes her a great villain. There is also some political stuff with the main antagonist, Teren, who is an Elite that hates himself and has pledged to rid the world of all malfettos. Dude needs some therapy.
I loved this story. Adelina went from a meek, abused girl afraid all the time, to do gooder vigilante with some morally gray aspects, to complete villain. I want to learn more about the rest of the Daggers! I'm also really looking forward to the extended world-building that's coming up in the next book. I just really love the way Marie Lu writes her FMCs. Plus we get some queer rep in side characters and disability red in Adelina with her missing eye.
I'm very excited to read The Rose Society!
The Young Elites by Marie Lu is book one in the Young Elites series. This came out in 2014 and honestly I'm sad I slept on it for so long! This was such an excellent villain story! It gave me X-Men vibes.
We follow Adelina, a malfetto girl who is being abused by her father and only has her sister Violetta. One night when Adelina tries to runaway, she kills him with illusions she is able to conjure. She discovered that not only is she a malfetto, she is also a Young Elite, children who caught the fever when they were young and survived and gained powers.
Adelina is arrested and sentenced to execution, but is rescued by the Dagger Society, group of Young Elites fighting against the king and queen's brutal discrimination of malfettos. She finds out she is aligned most strongly with fear and Fury, and passion and ambition. We see her fight to control her power and the pleasure she gets from fear and power.There is a constant battle inside of her, and that makes her a great villain. There is also some political stuff with the main antagonist, Teren, who is an Elite that hates himself and has pledged to rid the world of all malfettos. Dude needs some therapy.
I loved this story. Adelina went from a meek, abused girl afraid all the time, to do gooder vigilante with some morally gray aspects, to complete villain. I want to learn more about the rest of the Daggers! I'm also really looking forward to the extended world-building that's coming up in the next book. I just really love the way Marie Lu writes her FMCs. Plus we get some queer rep in side characters and disability red in Adelina with her missing eye.
I'm very excited to read The Rose Society!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Torture
chaptersofmads's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse and Self harm
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings: Child abuse, self-harm, murder, discrimination, emotional abuse, violence, blood/gore, hate crimes, suicidal ideations, police brutality, and mention of: sex work, human trafficking, sexual harassment, pedophilia, loss of loved ones, and sex work.
5/03/2022
I decided to use THE YOUNG ELITES as my Mage prompt 2 book for the #ReadYourOwnAdventure Tiktok readathon. Since it’s been almost a year since I’ve read book one, and I finally have copies of books two and three, and it’s AAPI Heritage Month, I figured it was the perfect time for a re-read!
There’s not much I want to add to my original review other than the fact I completely spaced on the few chapters we get that are from Raffaele’s POV. Since most of the book we get Adelina, Teren, and Enzo’s POV I completely forgot to comment on the few brief chapters we get through Raffaele’s POV.
Another thing that I didn’t really think about, during my first read-through, was how much Adelina’s POV seems to view sex work in a negative light. Even when she’s conversing with Raffaele he makes a comment about how no one would choose the life of a concubine…which just doesn’t sit right with me. I understand this is a Young Adult book but I feel like it could at least have Raffaele say something along the lines of reality that some people do enjoy the work while others might just be biding their time? I don’t know, just felt weird that no one seemed to have a positive thing to say about it.
5/27/2021
I read this book as a part of "The Backlist Book Club" which was created by ChronicallyBookish
(on Tiktok and Instagram). From my time on Booktok I've heard countless praise for Marie Lu but had yet to pick up any of her books. So when I found out the May selection for "The Backlist Book Club" was one of hers I was excited to jump in!
Adelina, Teren, and Enzo are all emotionally complicated individuals who have all suffered and endured many hardships due to the fever that hit their nation ten years ago. Each has unresolved trauma connected to the fever and each has been shaped by that trauma. For the most part, we see the story through the eyes of Adelina with a few small chapters switching us to Teren or Enzo's perspectives.
I enjoyed how the Inquisition Axis really felt like the church during the witch hunts. The Inquisition Axis, led by Teren, is hellbent on finding and destroying any and all malfettos, as they feel their powers come from hell and are abominations that should be destroyed. Teren is portrayed as a zealot...fierce in his belief that malfettos are not meant to be and should all be sent to the Underworld.
Enzo seems to be the biggest mystery, out of the three, as we don't really know much of his inner feelings or emotions. Enzo will do whatever it takes to protect The Young Elite and ensure the proper people are put in positions of power to ensure the slaughtering of malfettos ends.
Adelina, who we get to know the most, is so unsure of her place in the world. When the fever hit her house, ten years ago, it killed her mother and physically altered her. After surviving the fever she was left without an eye and her normally dark hair now shifts between different shades of silver. She was also left to be raised, along with her younger sister, by a father that's turned cruel to her.
It's interesting when you realize how cruel treatment by others can affect and color the way you see the world around you. As we get to know more about Adelina, and as she starts to learn more about her powers, she starts to see how her father's cruelty has colored her memories of the past.
In this first book, we start to see Adelina begin to evolve and see the world differently...we see her starting to not only come into her powers but also come into herself. She is definitely not done with her metamorphosis but I'm excited to see how much she changes and evolves in the other two books.
I really enjoyed this story, it had me invested from the start and I look forward to picking up the other two books to continue the journey!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gore, Death, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Trafficking, and Pedophilia
danaleelin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual assault
clockworkfox's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Death
Minor: Child abuse
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