Review: The Young Elites

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book! This is a 4.5 stars for me. The main character is like nothing I've read before as she is an anti-hero. I didn't really know what that meant until I read the book. The Young Elites is a great start to a dark fantasy series.

This book follows a world where some young people have unusual marks and magical powers. A few years back, a disease, called the Blood Fever, swept the world and many people, adults and children, died of the disease. Some of the children that were sick but survived, developed certain magical abilities and were known as the young elites. Each person that has an ability was unique in what they could do. As time went by, most citizens began to fear these children thinking them unnatural and they were cast out of society.
The main protagonist is Adelina and she wants nothing more that to flee the harsh life that she has been leading. She is one of the marked individuals and has been abused much of her life because of this. Upon fleeing, and nearly being executed, Adelina has the opportunity to hone any magical gift she might possess. She is recruited by a group called the Dagger Society who seek others young elites and train them to use their powers before the government finds them. She may also possess enough drive to seek revenge on a society that has outcast her and others like her.

The plot is fast paced with many twists and turns. There is also a great cast of side characters that had their own story and character development. Adelina is great heroine who also has a really dark side which was refreshing. This series explores acceptance and equality and also the good and bad side of each person. This is definitely a great start to a series and one I can't wait to continue on with.

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