The Young Elites

Marie Lu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Year Released: 2014

Date I Read It: June 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Science fiction, Dystopia

Grade:  C/ 3 Stars

“So. Tell me, little wolf. Do you want to punish those who have wronged you?”
― Marie Lu

The young elites is an anti-hero story about a world where an deadly illness has infected kids, killing some, changing others. Those who survived the illness have been given a mark on their body. The mark is different for everyone but it is always a clear sign to the public, those who bear the mark are the Malfetto. Adelina is our main character. The sickness causes Adelina’s hair and lashes to become white, and takes one of her eyes, leaving behind a jagged scar. Those with marks like these are treated as damaged good, and most of all, are feared. It is rumored that some of the kids with a mark posses gifts. Powerful gifts. These kids are called, The Young Elites and they don’t want to settle for the public treating them like garbage.

I love anti-hero stories. Heroes mess up and aren’t perfect. This book sounded really good and had high praise from everywhere I saw. Sadly, I did not like it. It wasn’t the story that was bad. The story was very engaging. It was Adelina. I did not like her. I found her very annoying. Most people get annoyed by characters that don’t do anything or are very weak. That is not why I don’t like Adelina. The whole story point from Adelina’s view was focused on the betrayed her. Except they didn’t betray her. Adelina was selfish and didn’t trust them. She got them into trouble and betrayed them so they cut off contact with her. She wasn’t betrayed, it was the equivalent to firing someone because they majorly fucked up. If someone causes you to lose everything and continue to do what they want you wouldn’t keep them, you would cut them loose. You don’t keep a leech attached to you while it sucks you try, you get rid of it. Adelina throughout the series that they betrayed her when they didn’t. They helped her and she screwed them over. I got tired of hearing her complain about it. Adelina acts like a brat. She is aloud to do something, while others can’t. And if she only felt betrayed for a little while, I would understand, but she holds on to that fire like it is her only life source. The book is muddied by Adelina’s hatred for the people who ‘betrayed’ her. The only people who betrayed her is her father.

 

Pros

• The one thing I like about Adelina was the realness of her mentality as far as showing how each experience takes a toll on her. As the books goes on and Adelina does even more villainess things, caving into the villainess role, she starts to actually lose her mind. She literally starts to go insane. I think the author wrote her mentality very well. Adelina’s family relation wasn’t good and that reflects very well on Adelina’s character. My favorite part of this book was watching Adelina go from having only a little bit of darkness in her to going to where she is almost completely corrupt and is starting to barely make sense of reality.
• The abilities are actually really cool. They have some unique ones that I haven’t seen in other stories so reading how they worked was interesting. I liked reading how Adelina’s power worked and I liked Magiano’s ability as well.  
• The plot twist was by the best part of this book. I haven’t expected it and it was the only reason I wanted to keep reading. I give Marie Lu props on that one. It was good. It pulled me back in where it had been losing me. That mixed with Adelina’s compete spiral into insanity.
• The actions scenes were, in my opinion, the best written parts of the book. I’m usually the type who when reading action like scenes have a hard time paying attention. The action in the book wasn’t just telling you. It made you feel emerged into it.

 

Cons

 

• Once again, despite the things I said I liked about Adelina, the whole her thinking she was betrayed and sticking to that ruined her as a whole. There are even moments where she admits that she betrayed them, but she doesn’t think they should be mad and betray her. When I read it I keep thinking of a child who knows they did wrong but refuses to actually accept it. I hated reading it. Adelina could of been so good, but I couldn’t get past it. She kept bringing it up and wouldn’t let it die. I know that authors need to give a reason for the characters to keep going and do these big things they do, but there are better ways to do it. The idea of the push wasn’t even bad, it was how Adelina handled it. And I guess I can see the other side of it where people say it’s more realistic because Anti-hero’s would have that set of mine, and I agree that some anti-heros would, but anti-heroes also hero characteristics to go along with it. Adelina has none. She doesn’t help anyone but herself. That would make her a villain, not an Anti-hero. Even then, that’s a whiny villain and I prefer smart, terrible in a good way villains, not someone who complains non-stop, that’s just a bratty child.
• Adelina and Magiano. At first I loved it. I thought it was cute. But then both of them couldn’t decide if they wanted each other. I liked Magiano, he was probably my favorite character, but they were constantly going back and forth about how they felt with each other, and it got annoying kinda quick.

 

I don’t hate this book by any means. It was not bad. If Adelina’s character wasn’t as whiny to me, then I would have fully enjoyed it. Books to me really depend on the characters, especially the main character since you see them the most. When I don’t enjoy a book’s characters it’s really hard to enjoy the book. The other most important part of a book to me is the relationships built between all the characters and I didn’t particularly like the relationships in this besides how loyal Magiano felt towards Adelina. If these things don’t bother you like they do me, then this book will probably be very good to you. These characters are definitely more on the darker side, and not very much on the good side other then wanting equality, which is important, but it feels like Adelina is doing it for more selfish reasons while the other people, the ones who ‘betrayed’ her are actually doing it for the right reasons.

“Embellish your flaws. They will turn into your assets.”
― Marie Lu

I haven’t read any other Marie Lu books but I do plan on reading her Legend series. I enjoyed the tone of the story and dark atmosphere. I don’t believe that just because I don’t like one of her series that much that I won’t love her other series. The Young Elites just wasn’t for me.

“Sometimes, the only way to set things right is to do what is difficult.”
― Marie Lu