Review : The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Title : The Young Elites
Author : Marie Lu
Genre : YA fantasy
Release Date : October 7th, 2014
Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons

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I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all. 

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. 

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Okay, if I could describe The Young Elites in one sentence, that would be X-Men in the Medieval era. This book is so similar with X-Men, with the "secret organization" and all. That doesn't mean I hate it, though.

Let's start with the character, Adelina. She's a survivor of a blood fever, which currently attack her country. Basically, every survivor of the blood fever has some "marks"--whether it's a scar or else. In Adelina's case, her hair become white. Personally, I think Adelina is a complicated character. She's--no doubt--the heroine in this book, but her behaviors are sometimes more like the villain rather than the hero. It's pretty confusing for me at first, but it's definitely refreshing and unlike the other MC in fantasy books.

In the beginning of this book, Adelina is recruited by a secret organization called The Dagger Society--which sole purpose is to take the throne for Enzo, the true heir. Enzo was a crown prince before he got infected by the blood fever and then banished from the royal family. That's why, he created a secret organization which consist of malfettos to help him claim his throne. At first, I'm not sure about this organization. The members were not very friendly--and I have a feeling they all have some dark secrets--event if they all basically save Adelina. Only Raffaelle who's friendly with Adelina, but he too, has a secret that made me (kinda) hate him in the end. Even until this book end, I'm still not sure how I feel about this organization and its member, though I can't say that I'm not curious.

If there's Professor X (aka Enzo), then there's also Teren, which is the Magnetto in this book. He and Enzo used to be friend (See? X-Men again) until the blood fever took his father's life and since that, Teren swore that he'll kill all malfettos. Teren, surprisingly, is the least complicated characters. From the beginning, I could understand him. I could guess his motives and why he'd do that. Also, surprisingly again, he's actually my favorite in this book (at which point I even ship him with Adelina. This ship is clearly not going to sail).

So, after reading my really-long-rant about the characters, you probably wonder why I still read this book if the characters were all confusing. The answer is definitely the plot. It's fast-paced, and it will hooked you up from the beginning until the end (which end with a cliffhanger, of course). Also, the romance between Enzo and Adelina is pretty sweet too, though it's not the main focus of this book.

In conclusion, The Young Elites is a much, much darker book than the Legend series. I admire Marie Lu for writing this, since there isn't many fantasy book where the hero is also the villain. I obviously will read the second book.