Seen at Bookish Antics! 
 The Young Elites is a departure from Marie Lu's Legend Trilogy, but it's just what readers will expect from her. The Young Elites is just as imaginative, well-written and addicting as Lu's previous books, plus it successfully sets up a new series that readers will inevitably fall in love with. TYE is a tale of super-hero misadventures, but at it's heart it's a story about learning to grapple with your destiny. I had enormous expectations for this book and Marie Lu certainly didn't disappoint. 
 Adelina lives in a world where a blood fever irrevocably marked kids called mulfattos in a world that looks down upon those who don't conform. A certain group of mulfattos is rumored to have superpowers and is called The Young Elites. Adelina gets sucked into the world of the Elites unexpectedly and is thrown into a conflict she couldn't ever fathom. 
 One of the beautiful things about Marie Lu's novels is how seamlessly everything just seems to click. At first, Lu introduces three characters who seem to have nothing in common and slowly, she shows the threads that bind them together. Another little quirk that interested me was how one single event seemed to have a domino effect on all of the characters' lives. In both Legend and TYE, there's a blood plague but it was intriguing to see how Marie Lu went on totally different routes with each book. Another common factor for these books is the one character who's entirely devoted in a Javert-Jean Val Jean kind of way to defeating his/her mortal enemy. 
 I absolutely love the way Marie Lu writes and her expertise is highlighted in her descriptions, especially those of her male characters. Enzo and Raffaele are brought to life in such a vivid manner and I could easily picture both characters in my head because they felt so real. I really loved both characters and I was simultaneously frightened and allured by Enzo -- there was something so magnificently despicable about his character. Raffaele was just so charming and tenderhearted, yet conflicted and his character arc was developed so well. It's too early to tell who I want Adelina to be with, but I can definitely say that I love both guys so much. 
 Usually a novel's protagonist isn't also the antagonist, but Adelina's greatest struggle is against herself. Through out this novel, Adelina is battling the darkness that lies within her and it allowed readers to really delve into her character. Her struggle with her powers was extremely fascinating and Adelina's dauntless personality really shines through in these moments. Pitting Adelina in the face of danger also shows how devoted she is to saving her family and friends -- no matter what, she always puts others before herself. 
 The Young Elites is one part Shadow And Bone, one part X-Men and is simply epic from start to finish. I was so engrossed and drawn into the Venetian fantasy world that Lu created and the characters she finely drew out. Fans of Legend will find much to love in The Young Elites and will be drawn into the novels' conflicts early on. I'm beyond ready for book two of The Young Elites and I'm fairly confident that it's going to be amazing.