This book was a whirlwind! The Young Elites takes place in a 14th century Italianesque setting where a plague called the blood fever has ravaged the population. The survivors of the blood fever are left with markings, such as different colored hair, splotched skin, or strange eyes and are called Malfettos. However, some of these Malfettos were marked with more than just physical traits and were gifted with powers. These special Malfettos are called The Young Elites, as they are all young in age and elite in power. This novel follows Adelina, a 16 year old girl who murdered her abusive father with her powers of murderous, demonic illusions. She is then taken in and saved by a group of these Young Elites, and learns to control and harness her powers.
This novel was fantastic. It was such a great high fantasy novel with such a unique premise and interesting characters. The Young Elites is like no YA book I've ever read, and Adelina is like no heroine I have ever seen. For one, "heroine," isn't exactly the term I would apply to this character. Marie Lu is masterful in the way she has crafted Adelina in that the reader finds themselves rooting for her despite the bad, sometimes murderous things she does.
This novel is all about the grey area between good and evil, and there is no stark evil character. The characters and groups you think are the good ones turn out to be a little more multi-faceted than that, and same with the "villains." What Marie Lu has done with this concept is pure genius in my mind, and her writing style is so cinematic and sucks the reader in. I couldn't put this book down, and absolutely loved every part of it. For sure one of my favorite fantasy novels I've read recently, if not ever. This novel was masterful and delicious and I highly recommend it!
~ Charlotte
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