Kindle Edition, 336 pagesExpected publication: October 7th 2014 by Putnam Books for Young Readers
ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for an Honest Review
I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
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I write young adult novels, and have a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, I was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was an Art Director at a video game company. Now I shuffle around at home and talk to myself a lot. :)
I graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently live in LA, where I spend my time stuck on the freeways.
"Some hate us, think us outlaws to hang at the gallows.
Some fear us, think us demons to burn at the stake.
Some worship us, think us children of the gods.
But all know us."
The amazing cover of this book is the first thing that caught my attention. I absolutely love the cover. The cover makes me think of power, battles, strength, and perseverance. I love survival stories and of course Hunger Games is one of my most favorite books ever, so when I saw this cover and the name then I immediately wanted to read this book.
In this dystopian story a deadly illness spreads across the country and those who survive are called malfetto's because the townspeople believe that those who were plagued with the fever were also scarred and given special abilities which in turn made them back luck and abominations.
Adelina Amouteru is an malfetto. The fever gave her bright silver hair, a scar that stretched all across her face, and took one of her eyes. Adelina's special abilities come from her emotions so only when she is upset or angry is she able to tap into them and use them. She can create illusions and make other people think they are real.
Adelina is forced to run away from home and she is all alone until she remembers hearing about a group of malfetto's that live together and try to survive. Adelina sets out to find this group, whom are called The Young Elites.
Enzo is another malfetto whom was born the Prince of the kingdom and was denounced from the throne for being a abomination and his sister took over the crown. Enzo is the leader of the Dagger Society of Young Elites. Enzo recruits and trains other malfetto's in hopes that one day they will take back the throne and bring all the other malfetto's out of hiding and into safety.
This entire story is about Enzo and Adelina's fight to regain control and fight the Inquisition that wants to kill all malfetto's. I absolutely loved Marie Lu's previous work such as Legend and its sequel but I was not just over the moon about this one. The characters were very complex and I had a hard time connecting with them. The story itself was very confusing to me and I could not grasp the concept of what Marie was trying to portray. The first couple of chapters had some really good, exciting action scenes and then towards the middle of the book I just got lost. Don't get me wrong I still like the whole concept of The Young Elites but this one was just not for me. Fans of Young Adult and High Fantasy will possibly enjoy this and it also had a lot of political aspect intertwined within the story and I just don't love politics so that could have also been the issue with keeping my attention.
**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**
**I want to say Thank You to Putnam/Penguin for the opportunity to review this book!!**
Aw that is too bad that you didn't end up enjoying this one. I really enjoyed Legend so I can't wait to read more of her work including this one. I don't mind high fantasy in YA so maybe I'll have an easier time with this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review!