Renegade (Elysium Chronicles, #1)

by J A Souders

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she's believed that everything is perfect. Her world. Her people. The Law. But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into Elysium's secluded little world, Evelyn comes to a startling realization: Everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren't under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster. Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb...and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

• ISBN10: 0765332450
• ISBN13: 9780765332455
• Publish Date: 13 November 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 January 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

* Evie was great throughout. Gavin was as well, but I've got some questions still. Macie though me for a loop but it was understood later. The scene where they are standing there doing nothing made me angry but I see why now and am not that upset over it.

* With a bit more, it could really be a horror story, at least the last part. But the descriptions weren't there for me on the gruesome bits and there wasn't enough atmosphere, or the right kind at least. It was jarring between my expectations, feelings, and the content. Add in the characters repeated reference to it being a nightmare horror tale without it reaching that level for me, and I just kept feeling like something was off.

* Great ending, wrapped up the tight story arc. A follow up with what happens to Elysium would probably be cool, but hardly necessary. I like the tone, feel, and path.
*
* Part of me wants to say Evie's twist is partly a cop out from the consequences but really it makes perfect sense, and I'm sure after these new hurdles, the obvious ones will reappear. If not, it's still enough to know they didn't get off scot free. But there's a nagging suspicion that I'm forgetting/ missing something.

* I like the building creepy suspense mystery in the beginning. on point. If that kept ramping up through the climax, I think it would've been terrific. But that's not possible since we found out more. Which left the tone and atmosphere holding the bag and failing to do so.

* Great action scenes. Glad to see them having to stop for human needs. Makes the chase sections realistic, didn't shatter my suspension of disbelief, and the Villian one BAMF.

* World building was strictly what was necessary, but it worked. And I'm not dying with curiosity, frustration, and wondering about plot holes or sequels. It feels complete and satisfying.

[Angie]

I’ve read a few Dystopians set in a dome, but Renegade is the first one with the dome being underwater! Evelyn is the Daughter of the People, essentially a princess in this underwater dome. She spends most of her time tending her garden and meeting with suitors, but she’s also forgetful. At least, she thinks she’s forgetful until a Surface Dweller comes to Elysium and points out some odd things about her. Evelyn realizes that her perfect life isn’t so perfect, so it’s time to escape with Gavin to the Surface. If Mother doesn’t catch them first.

I was really enjoying Renegade until I got to some questionable and offensive world-building. This underwater kingdom was created as an escape from the war happening on the Surface. But only people with “perfect” genetics were allowed in: blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, no mental, physical or intellectual disabilities. Clearly we can see how this is a problematic? When Evie tells Mother that she wants to Couple with Gavin, her response is that he’s too dark! But Evie explains that he’s only dark from the Sun! Dark skin is bad, whether its genetic or temporary. And when there’s an alert put out for Gavin being loose in the dome, the citizens are basically told to look out for a boy with dark skin. Also, Surface Dwellers are (mistakenly) thought to be “animal skin-wearing savages.” Not even joking. How is this acceptable?

I can immediately think of other ways that this underwater society could be exclusive without being racist and ablist. How about if only those who are experts in needed skills (and their families) were allowed in? That would make more sense, because you need people to get everything set up and get it running. Having all types of people with solid skill sets as the first generation is a much better decision than choosing people with desirable physical characteristics. And just because those blonde haired, blue eyed, white people don’t have any mental disabilities doesn’t mean that they’re smart or useful for what would be needed to get something like this established. I’m just completely baffled.

Other than the awful basis for the world, I really did enjoy the plot of Renegade. Those first few chapters were super weird, because they start out exactly the same so we can see just how off things are with Evelyn. Then there’s exciting escapes and forbidden romance! Yes, it’s insta-love, and I was into it, so who cares? Most of the book takes place over just a few hours, so it was really nonstop fun and danger! I love stuff like this.

Sadly, I can’t look past the “perfect genetics” and this negativity toward brown skin. I mean, I know the character who supposedly started all of this did it for a reason, but really? A society dominated by one person, and only people with blonde hair and blue eyes are allowed? Doesn’t that sound scarily familiar? Renegade could have been really great if it weren’t for that.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

This was actually better than expected, I think the plot had quite a few unique detaails and Evie's character was written very well :)

[Ashley]

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

Holy smokes! Renegade was a whirlwind of lies, deceit, assassinations, and forbidden love! I barely even know where to begin!

The world of Elysium is awesome. Pure awesome. I adored reading about this incredible environment and I could picture it so easily! I wanted to crawl into the story and live in this gorgeous world (minus the corruption and lies, of course! :D). And the technology in Renegade was fascinating! The way Elysium even exists was so much fun to learn about. It's some sort of underwater 'paradise' but it's fully self-sufficient and it's packed with all kinds of holographic technologies, new weaponry, high-tech DNA-based security systems, and more!

Overall, this book was a lot darker than I expected. It's clear in the summary that something isn't quite right in Elysium and that Mother is a crazy, controlling monster. But Renegade is full of brutal murders, horrifying violence, and a scary abuse of technology and science. I loved seeing the mystery and the lies unfold. Mother was a brilliantly scary villain and the great thing about her is that her problems seem to run deeper than just being pure evil. I definitely got some kind of "mentally psychotic" vibe from her.

I think the romance was the one negative point for me in the story. When you think about it, Evelyn and Gavin only knew each other for a few days, since that's essentially the span of the book. In the moment, the build-up of the romance did feel a bit slower than typical insta-love since there's crushing, blushing, sexual tension, uncertainty, and all that jazz (instead of pure immediate love)! It wasn't done perfectly, but it was done well enough that my heart was racing and I was drooling over all the sexual tension! But towards the end when the love declarations came pouring in, I started to get more and more detached from the romance. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly bothered me so much about it. Maybe it's a combination of the fast pace and the fact that the two characters just didn't fully click with me. But even so, there were several funny moments with the romance that had me laughing out loud!

"Don't worry," I say. "I am well versed in this. I won't disappoint you."
Now he seems even more confused. His whole face is scrunched up. "Well-versed? You mean they teach you how to...?"
"Of course. Pleasure ensures coupling, and coupling ensures the continuation of our people. We learn everything we need to know," I reassure him.
"Great," he mutters. "That's more than I needed to know."

"Then what's wrong?"
It's quiet for so long I chance a peek down at him. He's keeping his eyes fixed on the wall behind the ladder and reaching blindly for the next rung.
"Gavin?"
"I can see up your dress, okay? It's...distracting."

Gavin flashes me a grin. "So, you going to show me what's under your dress?" he asks with a look toward my chest.
Huh? "Under my...Oh!" I laugh when I realize he felt the data cube in my bra.

But to be honest, I think I just had a hard time understanding why Gavin loved Evelyn so much. She kind of seemed like more trouble than she was worth. She was an okay character, but nothing really amazing about her stood out to me. Gavin could have had a much easier time escaping Elysium if he ditched Evelyn (and she tried to encourage him to do just that several times), but since he was so in love with her, he stood by her. I just never clicked onto where that love was coming from. What's so amazing about her? Why does he love her so much?


But overall, Souders' prose is beautiful and she masterfully created this world of Elysium. The world building is phenomenal and the writing will really suck you in! I love how Souders handled Evelyn's problems with memory loss. The information is presented to us in a unique way because sometimes we're aware of the memories that Evelyn has forgotten, but at other times we're struggling along with Evelyn to try to figure them out.

Souders also set the stage for a second book! There's still a lot to learn about the outside world and I can't wait to see what happens! I'd love to learn more about the war and devastation that ripped apart the outside world. We get bits and pieces of it in Renegade, but there's still a lot more to know!