Review of "The Young Elites"

"I am tired of being used, hurt, and tossed aside."

     For the teenagers in Marie Lu's The Young Elites, the possession of an almost magical gift is nothing to be thankful for. Every child who survived the recent blood fever has emerged with two things: a marking and a talent. One-eyed Adelina Amouteru has grown used to her father's painful attempts to draw out her gift, whatever it may be. She's suffered a broken finger, sobbed as he mutilated insects before her eyes, and lived with the knowledge that she'll never, ever be as good as her flawless younger sister, Violetta, who somehow survived the fever without becoming a malfetto. But when a runaway attempt finds Adelina facing the stake, she discovers that she does, indeed, have a gift--one so powerful the greatest of all malfettos have sought her out for their cause. Suddenly, Adelina is thrown into a world where power is to be craved, not feared--and she can make everyone who's ever wronged her suffer.

     Lu takes a delicious and exciting new approach to the superpower-possessing-kids trope that so many novels explore. Adelina and the other malfettos have a legitimate reason to hide their talents: the  Kenettran king and his terrible Inquisition have it out for these so-called Young Elites. Anyone who is able to control water or wind, make gardens flower, teleport objects between locations, or otherwise possesses an ability not of this land is to be put to death. And although Adelina's power is impressive, it draws its strength from fear, rage, and pain, which threaten to stain her soul permanently. If she is to aid the Young Elites' revolution, she must give herself over to her natural cruelty and passion--and risk losing her sister, the only person who has ever loved her.

     Even if the internal struggle between love and darkness wasn't consuming, the worldbuilding certainly is. Kenettra is a beautiful island kingdom detailed with lovely pseudo-Italian architecture and canals, gorgeous scenery, and enchanting costumes. The Young Elites possess incredible talents that are as unusual as they are formidable. From controlling fire to manipulating emotions, they form a force to be reckoned with. However, the Inquisition is just as imposing. Led by a man who will do anything to atone for his flaws, they will stop at nothing to bring the malfettos to their knees. Adelina is the greatest hope the malfetto revolution has, but when the Inquisition threatens her sister, she must decide who to trust and who to save: her people, or the one she loves. And each choice comes with potentially deadly consequences.

     The characters Adelina associates with are a motley bunch that have somehow forged themselves into a strong, elegant unit that is both swift and deadly. Among them are a consort, an Architect, and an animal-charmer, all of whom are fully-fleshed individuals capable of standing entirely on their own. One boy in particular seems to be falling for Adelina, even as she struggles to remain objective herself. While this strays uncomfortably close to insta-love, their eventually passionate romance--which never quite passes the kissing-boundary--makes our heroine's challenges that much more heartbreaking. None of her consort-friend's work is actually described, so the tale remains fairly clean in that department. Also clean is the vocabulary, aside from a few minor curses. There is a fair bit of violence that is worth pre-reading, though, even if it isn't particularly gory.

     I would recommend this book to teenagers in the market for a well-written tale of one girl's struggle between darkness and light, love and hate. Adelina Amouteru is a strong, complex girl whose life is far from straightforward, but she faces each trial with such courage it's nearly impossible to look away. Only the violence and near-insta-love brought down the star rating, as everything else was grand, however dark it might be. Marie Lu's The Young Elites is certainly a successful start to the trilogy that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the last page is turned. It deserves four stars.