The Young Elites (Young Elites, #1)

by Marie Lu

Carla Corvo (Narrator) and Lannon Killea (Narrator)

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series 

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.

• ISBN10: 0553396862
• ISBN13: 9780553396867
• Publish Date: 7 October 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Listening Library
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 10 hours and 4 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

DNF @ like 6%

yeah, that's a little awful. But so was my reading experience. I feel like this book has so much extreme ableism and violence against disabled people disguised as representation.

Content warnings:
ABLEISM
abuse (child abuse)

I initially picked up this book because of the many good reviews and recommendations -- and because the MC has a missing eye. Representation! Yay! But it wasn't long before things started to become really icky.

A severe fever wiped out much of the people of Adelina's country. Survivors often don't come through unscathed (such as Adelina, whose eye had to be removed). These survivors with disabilities are called malfettos, and treated as second class citizens, shaming their families, blamed for their failing country, usually unable to get suitors, abused constantly, and are even burned at the stake.

ok. Read that again. As a disabled person, do you know how awful it is to read a book where there's this much violence against disabled people? People like me are already treated as second class citizens. I don't need to read about a world where we're villainized even more (you can't get disability, what about our family reputation? our taxes are wasted on the disabled! you can choose either medicaire or marriage, but not both [which really happens]. And don't even get me started on the violence against disabled people that happens in real life).

Not to mention that the title, The Young Elites, refer to those malfettos who somehow got superpowers from the fever that almost killed them. And they only rescue the disabled people who also have superpowers - as in, who can also do something for them. At least that's how I read it. It feels like how in real life disabled people are only "worth something" when they have something to "give society," like an autistic person who's an amazing artist or something.

In any case, this is all I'm gonna say about this book now. I can't read any more.

[inlibrisveritas]

The Young Elites is another brilliant book by author Marie Lu, but it brings something dark to the mix. We meet Adelina, a girl who has been abused most of her life and has abilities that not only surprise her but others like her, and we finally get to see a story about a person who tries to be a hero but struggles and loses their way.

I have to say I’m very impressed with the amazing consistency in Marie Lu’s writing. Like the Legend series this pulls you in right away, presenting you with an idea turned on it’s head. In Legend the typical gender roles were swapped, in this the typical shiny “girl saves the disenfranchised’ trope is nodded at and immediately thrown in the dirt. I love Adelina, because I understand her. She’s been used and abused by someone who should have protected her, and because of those experiences she finds it difficult to let go of the years of hurt and anger inside of her. Her story is one of pain and personal torment, and one she strives to move past but instead finds her strength within it. The Young Elites and Teren, the head of the Inquisitors played a big part in pulling Adelina back and forth between what she feels she needs to do and what she feels she has to do. It’s a game of tug-o-war that shapes her future decisions and pulls her a part. I will say that we don’t get to know a ton about the individual members of the Dagger Society, as most of them make a point to keep themselves at a distance from Adelina, but I did enjoy learning what we were given. The best part is, everyone is flawed in this. No one is the perfect leader, or follower…they all have their own motives and personalities, and sometimes those things clash making friendships shallow and bonds brittle.

Add that to a world that is rich and full of promise, and you have a winner. The setting of Daila was really amazing, and I loved all the Italian influence that popped up here and there. The best part are the powers though. Lu spends a fantastic amount of time letting the reader get to know what the Malfetto are capable of and let me tell you their abilities are beyond cool. I’ve actually been dying for a story like this for a long time, I even had a manuscript blocked out for something a little similar to this, so it goes without saying that I love nearly everything about this book.

If you want a fast paced book with plenty of picturesque world building and a protagonist with antagonist tendencies then don’t hesitate to grab this one! I can’t wait to see where Lu leads us in the next book.

[Stephanie]

I still don't even know.

Re: review. After sitting on this for a couple days, I can say that I loved and hated Adelina, which made it very complicated for me to get behind parts of this book.

[jnikkir]

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

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You know those books (YA or not, you pick) that have the main protagonist move from a not-great environment, rise above their situation, take up with a group who makes them feel worth something again, and then that group goes on to do great, heroic things, like saving a kingdom, or overthrowing an evil ruler, or what-have-you? They're uplifting tales filled with hope, and the assurance that the good guys always win. And there are so many books like this out there, I can't even begin to count them.

Well, The Young Elites is - and most definitely is not - one of those books.

I will rise above everything you've ever taught me. I will become a force that this world has never known. I will come into such power that none will dare hurt me again.

The Young Elites, ARC, pg 19

The Setup

The Young Elites follows the story of Adelina Amouteru, who was one of thousands of people afflicted with a blood fever 10 years ago. Very few of the survivors, who were all children, escaped the sickness unscathed, and Adelina is no exception. The sickness left her with silver hair and only one eye; and it left her and her sister without a mother. As a result, she and her sister were raised by their father. But their father - along with most of the rest of the unaffected population - believes that those marked by the fever are less than human, dangerous... but possibly useful. So Adelina grew up at the mercy of a man who saw her as nothing more than a potential tool - did she have powers? How could he get them to manifest? How could he use his daughter to further his own greed and ambition?

Don't you see, Adelina? Don't you see how I have always looked out for you? Everything I've ever taught you is true. Who will ever love a malfetto like you?

The Young Elites, ARC, pg 244

In a typical book, this sort of thing might often result in the main character becoming unsure of their own self-worth, but then brought up and saved somehow; or they'd find their own strength in the face of this adversity - but there would be an air of hope and an obvious light at the end of the tunnel. But as I said, The Young Elites is anything but typical. Adelina - though certainly strong and determined - is very much a broken character. This upbringing damaged her soul, and she is not okay. There's a darkness in her that is not easily brushed aside, and her light at the end of the tunnel is incredibly faint - if it's there at all.

"I know you crave the fear. Let it build. Nurture it, and it will give back all of your care tenfold."

The Young Elites, ARC, pg 104

Pushed too far one night, when she overhears her father bartering away her future to the highest bidder, she decides to run away. But she ends up arrested, accused of being a Young Elite - a survivor of the blood fever with mysterious powers - and sentenced to death. She's saved by a group called the Dagger Society, and their leader, Enzo. The Dagger Society is made up of a few Young Elites who have learned to master their powers, and their mission is overthrow the king and queen of Kenettra.

"...let me tell you a secret. You are not an abomination. You are not merely a malfetto. That is why they fear you. The gods gave us powers, Adelina, because we are born to rule."

The Young Elites, ARC, pg 56

In any other book, the Dagger Society would've welcomed Adelina into their membership with open arms, training her and helping her and just being there for her in the aftermath of her escape from her father. The Dagger Society are the good guys, after all, right? Out to rid the world of the evil king and bring justice and equality to their country! Well, yes... to an extent. The Dagger Society are the good guys, but they're definitely not all good. They mean to overthrow the king's hold on the city and make it safe for malfettos - and for them, the ends almost always justify the means. Adelina isn't saved because of their goodwill - she's a means to an end, an investment, and she has to prove her worth in order to stay among them. Otherwise, she's... expendable.


The Setting

The world in The Young Elites is pretty limited to, first, Adelina's home city of Dalia, in southern Kenettra; but then it mostly takes place in Estenzia, in northern Kenettra. Estenzia seemed almost Venice-like to me, except maybe more tropical, made up of a mix of waterways and roads. It's lush and vibrant - with glowing lanterns, masquerades, beautiful costumes - but it's also dark and unsettling. The city itself teems with unease. There's serious discord between the Inquisitorial Guard, who work for the king and are dead-set against the malfettos, and those who sympathize with the Young Elites and think the prejudice against them is unwarranted. There's the threat of an uprising simmering underneath everything.

But the plot is not limited to this single city... Though you don't see it much in this first installment, let me tell you: There is SO MUCH MORE going on behind the scenes, in distant places, and once you read the final pages, those things... and characters... open up the world like CRAZY. The epilogue is one that will make you go "OH MY GOSH WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT THIS IS SO INTENSE." And obviously I mean that in a really good way.


The Cast

Obviously I was struck by the main character and main narrator, Adelina. I don't think I've read a YA book where the main character was so dark and broken. She knows it, too, and her powers are hard to control, and they sometimes get the better of her, to devastating effect. Adelina does not have it easy. Nothing is given to her, and she has to fight for everything she achieves.

We also get glimpses into the perspectives of three other characters: Teren, Raffaele, and Enzo. Teren is the head of the Inquisition Axis, but his allegiances are not with the king... rather, he serves the queen. And that relationship is... well, "messed up" would be putting it mildly. Teren is one of those antagonists who I think is going to be really popular. He's... I don't even have words for him. Just read the book. Ugh.

Raffaele and Enzo are members of the Dagger Society. Raffaele becomes Adelina's closest friend among the Dagger Society, and he's a truly intriguing character even though we only get a few glimpses into his perspective. There's more to him than he allows people to see, that's for sure.

Enzo is the Dagger Society's leader, and constantly pushes Adelina to be the weapon they need her to be in order to take the city from the king. He's the most striking character in the Dagger Society - a natural leader, passionate, driven... almost to a fault. And he and Adelina have great chemistry and what I thought to be a really believable progression to their relationship. ...And that's all I'll say about that. :P (SHH NO SPOILERS.)

 
In conclusion...

If I had to pick one word to describe The Young Elites, it would be intense. Even writing this review and thinking back on what happens in this book, the characters and the plot and the state of the country by the end... Gah. I can't explain this feeling in coherent words. The plot, coupled with the seriously complex and dark characters and situations, are what made me love this book.

But do be aware, this is not hope-filled YA fantasy with heroes who are made of light and goodness. If you want a good picture of my reactions to the intensity that was The Young Elites, check out my Goodreads updates:

This book will surprise you. It will make you gasp. It's upsetting and often a little bit disturbing (in a good way) and it will make you question whether the people you're rooting for really deserve it - which is exactly what I wanted it to be.

If you've been looking for a dark YA fantasy that's actually dark and super intense, look no further. Preorder this book. Request it from your library. Just make sure you have a way to read it as soon as it comes out.

Meanwhile, to tide you over, check out Marie Lu's The Young Elites pinterest board. Because yeah. The book is as awesome as that board makes it look.

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There were books involved...