The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Reviewed by: Alexandra Schenk, Student Intern
Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia
Suggested Age: Teens, Adults
What is this Book About: Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever, the deadly illness raged through Kenettra a decade ago and killed half of the population. The few people who got infected but survived where left with strange marks. Adelin’s hair and lashes turned silver and she lost her left eye. Her father wants to get rid of his abnormal “malfetto” daughter and plans to sell her into marriage. Adelina notices his plans and flees from her home. Her escape plan doesn’t work out and she learns the hard way that the blood fever left her with more than just visible marks. Adelina possesses a power which gains her the attention of the Young Elites. That group, consisting of outcasts, has one big goal: They want to depose the king of Kenettra, and they want Adelina to take part in that plan.
My Review: When I started reading The Young Elites I expected nothing but a shallow romance taking place in a renaissance-style fantasy world. But the book managed to surprise me. At first I had sympathy for Adelina, I even pitied her. But as the book went on she started to become darker and more mature and the poor abused girl showed that she is a though fighter. Adelina is indeed a heroin with a very dark side, but this was another thing I liked about her character, she isn’t gleeful, happy or perfect but she is real! And I like my book characters like my people, they have to have rough edges. Romance starts to arise during the book, but even the romance is far from perfect and Adelina stays an independent character all the time. But she is not the only brilliant character in that book, the villain Teren is also a very complex character and brilliantly written. All in all, a good book with well written characters and definitely something adults can enjoy as well as teens.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Fantasy, dark, serious
Give this a try if you like… anti-heroes, very light romance, complex characters
Rating (Out of 5): 4/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
