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abinthebooks 's review for:
The Young Elites
by Marie Lu
So I still can’t tell if Adelina is the villain or the hero, but it doesn’t matter because Barnes and Noble needs to take my money for [b: The Rose Society|23846013|The Rose Society (The Young Elites, #2)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443368070l/23846013._SY75_.jpg|42990051] and [b: The Midnight Star|28588345|The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461260409l/28588345._SX50_.jpg|42990052].
I heard about this book long before I was avidly reading, and even then the premise intrigued me. But, I didn’t pick it up, because I didn’t really like reading. I completely forgot about this book, and about 6 or 7 months ago, I heard a booktuber talk about it again. I knew at some point I had to read this book, and I’ve finally done it. And I’m happy to say, I loved it.
If you are unaware, this book takes place in the beginning of what the dark ages would have been for us, (1361) in a world strikingly similar to Renaissance Italy. But that’s not even the cool part about this book. We’re actually following the point of view, of the villain.
A lot of the things in [b: The Young Elites|20821111|The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407318399l/20821111._SY75_.jpg|25217978] felt so surprisingly historically accurate, that I was genuinely alarmed. The world felt like Middle Aged Italy, with the prejudices, and the lush descriptions in the writing, making me nostalgic for I time wasn’t even alive in. A disease has swept through the lands (much like the Black Plague) and has killed many. Some of the children that survive, become graced with unnatural powers. Adelina Amouteru has been gifted with these powers, but not without a price.
I think what really made this book a 5 star read for me was the characters, and Adelina dealing with pain and suffering. I’ve found over the last 3 years of reading, I tend to love books that have great characters. And [a: Marie Lu|4342215|Marie Lu|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1285032806p2/4342215.jpg] knows just how to write characters.
Adelina is our main character, and she’s by far my favorite character. She’s reckless and fearful, but she’s also headstrong, determined, and cruel in a way. Even in the first 50 pages I could already tell Adelina was going to be my favorite character. I was already sympathizing with her character from the 1st page. The amount of pain and suffering Adelina had gone through was truly indescribable, and it really shapes her character and we really see why she becomes the villain of the story.
I want to talk about the sister bond between Violeta and Adelina as well. As the story progressed, we finally see a bond forming between the sisters, and we don’t really see that a lot in YA, especially YA older than 2016. This was something really unique for the time, and gave a good insight into Adelina’s character.
I also really loved Enzo. I don’t really think their was a specific thing that made me love his character, but his atmosphere, and his actions made me love his character. I just hope we get his character in book 2
I heard about this book long before I was avidly reading, and even then the premise intrigued me. But, I didn’t pick it up, because I didn’t really like reading. I completely forgot about this book, and about 6 or 7 months ago, I heard a booktuber talk about it again. I knew at some point I had to read this book, and I’ve finally done it. And I’m happy to say, I loved it.
If you are unaware, this book takes place in the beginning of what the dark ages would have been for us, (1361) in a world strikingly similar to Renaissance Italy. But that’s not even the cool part about this book. We’re actually following the point of view, of the villain.
A lot of the things in [b: The Young Elites|20821111|The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)|Marie Lu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407318399l/20821111._SY75_.jpg|25217978] felt so surprisingly historically accurate, that I was genuinely alarmed. The world felt like Middle Aged Italy, with the prejudices, and the lush descriptions in the writing, making me nostalgic for I time wasn’t even alive in. A disease has swept through the lands (much like the Black Plague) and has killed many. Some of the children that survive, become graced with unnatural powers. Adelina Amouteru has been gifted with these powers, but not without a price.
I think what really made this book a 5 star read for me was the characters, and Adelina dealing with pain and suffering. I’ve found over the last 3 years of reading, I tend to love books that have great characters. And [a: Marie Lu|4342215|Marie Lu|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1285032806p2/4342215.jpg] knows just how to write characters.
Adelina is our main character, and she’s by far my favorite character. She’s reckless and fearful, but she’s also headstrong, determined, and cruel in a way. Even in the first 50 pages I could already tell Adelina was going to be my favorite character. I was already sympathizing with her character from the 1st page. The amount of pain and suffering Adelina had gone through was truly indescribable, and it really shapes her character and we really see why she becomes the villain of the story.
I want to talk about the sister bond between Violeta and Adelina as well. As the story progressed, we finally see a bond forming between the sisters, and we don’t really see that a lot in YA, especially YA older than 2016. This was something really unique for the time, and gave a good insight into Adelina’s character.
I also really loved Enzo. I don’t really think their was a specific thing that made me love his character, but his atmosphere, and his actions made me love his character. I just hope we get his character in book 2