The Young Elites is a fantasy novel by novelist Marie Lu released on October 7, 2014. It is the first novel in the trilogy. The second book is called The Rose Society and was released on October 13, 2015. The third book The Midnight Star was released October 11, 2016.
It follows the story of Adelina Amouteru. A decade after the blood fever swept through the nation, most survivors—all of whom were children—gained strange markings during their time of illness. Those with visible markings became known as ″malfettos″. When people close to ″malfettos″ or people who have family members who are ″malfettos″ began having strange accidents or sometimes even death, people began to believe that ″malfettos″ were bad luck and they began being treated like second-class citizens. What people didn't originally know was that the blood fever gifted some of these ″malfetto″ children with strange abilities, and the children with these powers became known as The Young Elites. The Inquisition Axis believes that Young Elites are dangerous and vengeful and will destroy the nation. Thus, they seek to destroy them before they can do so.
Adelina Amouteru was a survivor of the blood fever. Due to the blood fever, her black hair has turned silver and her left eye is gone. Unfortunately, she grew up with an abusive father. He was a cruel and harsh father who wished to exploit her gifts if she had any. What both of them didn't knew was that Adelina is a Young Elite with the power to weave illusions that can trick the sense of sight, touch, smell, and sound. One night, in an attempt to escape from her father she accidentally murdered him using her hidden powers. She was then caught by The Inquisition Axis and was later to be executed. In the middle of her execution she was rescued by The Dagger Society, a group of Young Elites that seek out other Young Elites before The Inquisition Axis could and teaches them to control and use their gifts.
Though it seemed that the Dagger Society saved her out of kindness at first, the reader learns of the motives of Enzo, the leader of the society and the former heir of the throne, After his parents’ deaths, his sister removed his title and banished him from the palace because of him being a malfetto. She then married a duke, who became king, and started denouncing malfettos so Enzo could not regain the throne. Enzo seeks to overthrow the current king and gain control of the kingdom with the help of his society. Yet, as the story continues, Enzo and Adelina start to develop feelings towards each other.
Adelina Amouteru Known as The White Wolf, Adelina is the main character of the story. She is 16 years old and as confused as the rest of the malfettos. She grew up with her abusive father, leaving a vengeful darkness in her heart. After accidentally murdering her father she meets the Young Elites and is to join their ranks. She is attracted to the leader of the group, Enzo Valenciano. Adelina has survived the blood fever, her hair and lashes have turned silver and she has lost her left eye. Adelina Amouteru has the abilities to create and weave illusions that can trick the sense of sight, touch, smell, and sound. She is a former member of The Dagger Society, now a member of her own Rose Society. Her marking is her silver hair and her missing left eye.
Teren Santoro 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. Teren is also an elite, who has the ability to automatically heal himself after being injured.
Enzo Valenciano Enzo is the founder of The Dagger Society. Well known as The Reaper, Enzo is the son of the late king; the rightful heir to the throne. Enzo was deposed by his elder sister who gained the throne along with her husband, a powerful duke. After she became queen, his sister banished him from the palace. The monarchs encourage the hunt of malfettos and portray them as demons and bringers of ill fortune to keep Enzo unfit for the throne. Seeking vengeance, Enzo forms the Dagger Society, along with Raffaele, in order to assassinate the King and Queen and take his rightful throne. After surviving the blood fever, his hair turned red. He has the ability to burn those around him.
Violetta Amouteru She is two years her sister Adelina's junior, and is also an elite. She has the ability to temporarily remove other elites' powers. She does not have a marking.
Raffaele Laurent Bessette Raffaele is the one who found Adelina and brought her to The Dagger Society. One of his powers is to change others emotions which is why he serves as a consort in the royal court. He also has the ability to sense other malfettos. His alias is The Messenger. He has two markings, one being the blue streaks in his hair, and the other being his emerald and amber eyes.
Lucent Also known as Windwalker, Lucent has the ability to manipulate wind, and do whatever wind can do (scream, howl, etc.). She is a member of The Dagger Society and also a close friend of Queen Maeve of Beldain. It is implied that she used to have a secret relationship with Maeve (who is introduced in The Rose Society). she has spirals up her arms as her marking.
Michel He has the ability to "unravel" non-living objects and make them appear in another place, like teleportation. Michel is a skilled artist, and taught Adelina to create more realistic illusions when she was in The Dagger Society. His nickname is the Architect.
Gemma Salvatore Gemma is known as the Star Thief in the dagger society, and can command animals with her powers. She is a member of The Dagger Society. She has a way with animals, and often has an animal of some sort by her side as her powers are linked to kindness. Adelina secretly harbors jealousy towards Gemma, whose father supports and loves her, unlike Adelina's own father. Her marking is purple and covers half her face, but doesn't go into depth about it.
Dante Dante is the second recruit of The Dagger Society and was once a blacksmith apprentice. His mark from the blood fever is dark, irregular markings that stretch from across his neck to part of his chest. He’s known as the Spider for his strength in his hands abilities to see in darkness. From the very beginning he was wary of Adelina’s presence on the team and shown the most hatred towards Adelina compared to the other members of The Dagger Society.
The Guardian gave it 3.5 stars. The book reached number 4 on the New York Times bestseller list.
The second novel in the series is called The Rose Society and was released on October 13, 2015. The third and final book, The Midnight Star, was released on October 11, 2016.
On April 14, 2015, it was announced that the studio and producers behind The Maze Runner franchise, Fox and Temple Hill Entertainment, had bought the film rights.
