Book written by Marie Lu, published 2014.
Every plague is devastating, but none quite as destructive or curious as the blood fever. It swept through the nation, killing many and leaving its strange markings on the children who survived. But there are rumors that some of the children survived with more than new coloring in their hair, eyes, and skin. Some are said to have gained strange abilities, both powerful and dangerous. They are known as the Young Elites.
Adelina Amouteru doesn’t feel like a lucky survivor of the blood fever. In her mind and her father’s, Adelina is a cursed malfetto, an omen of bad luck, an abomination tainted by the Underworld. Unwilling to endure her father’s cruelty any longer, Adelina runs away and soon discovers that maybe there is more to her than meets the eye. She possesses the power to create illusions, and it is a power that is dark and hungry for vengeance. After a rather violent display of her abilities, the Young Elites take her under their wing, promising to train her so that she can gain control over her illusions. For a moment, Adelina’s future seems secure, but there is dangerous unrest in the kingdom, and with the fate of every malfetto at stake, Adelina can’t help but wonder if her loyalties are where they should be.
This book reminded me so much of the X-Men—a whole demographic persecuted for a physical mutation they didn’t ask for and a covert team of people with precise control of their abilities that fight back against their oppressors. As familiar as the premise and some of the powers were, Lu managed to make the whole concept feel fresh and exciting. I really felt for Adelina. I wasn’t just reading her story as a passive observer, I was rooting her on the whole way through.
That being said, I’m wondering if I want to finish out the trilogy. I don’t want to spoil anything here, so let’s just say that the ending has me asking questions that I can’t imagine have satisfying answers. And if the next two books give me the same feverish anxiety, I don’t want all of those heart palpitations to be for nothing, you know?
This book involves physical/verbal abuse by a parent and many an out-in-the-open murder. No language or romantic intimacy though.
Here is your spoiler warning! Everything from here on out reveals important information about the plot and characters, and I would hate to ruin the story for anyone ;)
"To love is to be afraid. You are frightened, deathly terrified, that something will happen to those you love. Think of the possibilities. Does your heart clench with each thought? That my friend, is love. And love enslaves us all, for you cannot love without fear."
Okay, before I get into the ending, let me just say that I KNEW IT. From the first moment Teren blackmailed Adelina, my instinct was to go straight to the Daggers and tell them what had happened. I know that was probably asking a lot of Adelina’s loyalty (and maybe that was the point), but I thought it was rather obvious that Enzo wouldn’t have kicked her out or executed her. If he didn’t offer to help rescue Violetta outright, he would have at least seen Teren’s blackmail as an opportunity to take advantage of the Inquisition and keep them running in circles for a bit. I can’t say that things would have been better if Adelina had trusted the Daggers right from the very beginning, but I think we can agree that things went so spectacularly wrong at least in part because she didn’t. So, I’ll say it, I told you, Adelina Amouteru.
Now, the ending of the book.
*Insert incoherent hemming and hawing here*
Again, I feel for Adelina. She hurts more people by accident than on purpose, and I can only imagine the pain of that. My heart broke right alongside hers when Enzo died (talk about a plot twist!) and again when Raffaele turns his back on her. I’m glad Adelina still has Violetta, but that bridge is rickety at best, too weathered and battered to bear much weight. Adelina’s life just seems empty at the end of the book, without a whole lot to really live for. I gathered that she creates her own society with the goal to overthrow the queen, but I can just see that club crumbling underneath her hatred. AND even if she finds love again—something to live for again—Raffaele pretty much indicated that love would only strengthen the pull of the darkness instead of keeping it at bay. Don’t get me wrong, I get that. I get that love can be scary, and the thought of losing it is enough to push some people over the edge. But it just paints such a bleak picture of Adelina’s future, and I’m not sure there’s any coming back from that. It would be one thing if Adelina became a Magneto-type character (who has the admirable goal of helping people but twists it into something unethical), and another group of Young Elites (who believe that humans and malfettos could live in harmony with each other) came along and took her down, but even then, why did I root for her only for her to go down a path that I don’t know I can follow her on? I don’t want to abandon Adelina; I want to be loyal even if she has no idea that I exist, but something tells me that it’s really gonna hurt if I keep going. Plus—and I just may not be as strong as Adelina—I don’t want to keep going without Enzo. I really liked his character, and I think there was still more for him to do.
So, if anyone here has read the whole trilogy, I would really love to hear your thoughts! Tell me—without spoilers, please!—should I keep reading? Is it really worth the minor heart attack?
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