Review: The Young Elites by Marie Lu

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Title: The Young Elites
Author: Marie Lu
Published: 7th October 2014
Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: 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 believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and they have come to be called the Young Elites. But when Adelina is recruited by the Young Elites they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen before.

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Review:

I’ve heard lots about this book, I’ve seen it in people’s book hauls and on people’s TBRs but I didn’t really know what it was about. As a result, I went into this book mostly blind. I had no expectations or preconceived ideas on what this book would be like. And I never expected to enjoy it as much as I did. I loved this book so much! It contains some of my favourite elements of the YA genre as well as some lesser used aspects that I also love.

This book is the first in a trilogy and  is set in a land where people have been affected by a terrible, fatal disease. The only people who survived this plague where children. These children have been left with scars and are known as malfettos, however some of them have special powers. They are feared and hunted. Adelina is a malfetto who stumbles across her powers and joins a group of Young Elites who are trying to rise to power.

Adelina is an intriguing character who I loved reading about. She’s tired of being mistreated and wants to fight against those who’ve done her wrong. She has a dark side to her which was delightful to read about. She experiences so many struggles over the course of this novel, after having spent the majority of her life alone and rejected. The only person she could ever trust being her younger sister who she’s incredibly protective of. She’s strong and brave yet there’s something broken about her.

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

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There’s a bit of a love triangle in this story between Enzo, who rescues Adelina and Raffaele, who nurtures her. I thought this would result in a typical love story but there were lots of twists I didn’t see coming. People weren’t all what they seemed and so many things happened  in this novel which shocked me. I enjoyed both Enzo and Raffaele characters; to me they represented two sides of the same coin. There were some lovely side characters in this book who I would’ve loved to learn more about.

This was such a fun book to read. I’ve never read a Marie Lu novel before but I’ve discovered that she’s an excellent writer. This story was fast-paced and I felt involved in everything that happened. The setting differed from our own world however it was easy to lose myself in it.

I have no issues with this book, which is rare. The story was dark and edge and I thoroughly loved everything about it. I’m super excited to continue this series as soon as possible. I highly recommend to this book to any who loves fantasy and surprising twists and turns.