The Young Elites

I wasn't going to write an actual review of this one, because the holiday break just started and I honestly didn't feel like writing a review. However, a little nugget told me that I needed to write, and I quote, a “Real review!!” So, here I am now. Writing a real review.

A little while ago, the same “Real review!!” friend peer pressured me into reading the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu (great trilogy, by the way). I found that I really enjoyed Marie Lu's writing style, and was really excited to find that she was writing a whole new series. I managed to get this book for my birthday, and finally got to reading it a little bit ago. So, without further ado, here is what I thought of this book.

It was amazing. The first 10 pages were a wee bit slow, but then it quickly picked up. The characters seemed tangible and I found myself being surprised by every plot twist this book seemed to offer. And there were a lot of them, trust me. The characters went through lots of development, and the ending? The ending takes your dreams and crushes them into smithereens. And then you read the epilogue and panic because the second book isn't out yet. I picked my top 4 reasons as to why I really enjoyed this book, and put them down below.

1)Adelina. Adelina seems like the perfect protagonist. She's tortured, broken, and you find yourself aching to know more about her. As the book progresses, you begin to realize other things about Adelina. When you finally hit what I call the, “WHAT THE HECK, I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT” part, you realize what exactly Adelina truly is. And as the book ends, you want to know what happens to her next. And do you know why that is? It's because Adelina has the ability to destroy the world, and the Dagger Society finally gives her a reason to do so.

2)The Romance. The romance was not the central part of the book. Yes, it added to the book, especially at the end, but it was not what the book was based on. Adelina's love interest is quite mysterious, and I found that I wanted to know more about him as well. The romance was not insta-love, and they didn't even have their first real kiss until a little over halfway through the novel.

3)The Plot. The entire plot of the story is extremely unique, and Marie Lu executed it perfectly. Not to mention, little things that you didn't think would matter, ended up mattering very much so in the long-run of the book. The ending of the book also leaves you knowing that Adelina's story is just beginning. Overall, the plot was very intricate and unique, and I loved it.


4)The Ending. You guys must've known this was coming, didn't you? I've mentioned it a lot in my review so far, and that's because this is one of the best endings I have ever read. The final 20 pages of the book sort of went like this:
Step 1: Gasp.
Step 2: Scream internally.
Step 3: Try not to cry.
Step 4: Cry. A lot.
Step 5: Take a break and watch an hour long assembly to try and process what just happened.
Step 6: Finish the book.
The ending was literally the plot twist to rule all plot twists. I mean really, there was no predicting that one. And a plot twist had just happened, so I was SO not ready for this one! The ending destroys you, and has you begging Raffaele to not do the thing. It also makes you want to hug Adelina, even though you know that's a terrible idea.

In conclusion, this book was phenomenal. It's clear to me that Marie Lu has grown as an author. All the characters experienced some sort of character development, and the multiple POVs added to the story. Above I mentioned just 4 of my favorite aspects to this book. Let me tell you that I have many others. In fact, I think I may have liked this more than Legend. I would recommend this book to a lot of people, although it probably requires a bit more of a mature audience than Legend did.