The Young Elites (2014) by Marie Lu is a young adult fantasy novel with thriller and romance elements. Protagonist Adelina Amouteru faces a dismal future as a malfetto—a person marked by the blood fever epidemic that occurred when she was a child. Discovering that she has the supernatural capabilities of a Young Elite, a quality marking only a few malfettos, positions her on a path of deadly conflict and desire. Highlighting themes of The Concept of Monstrosity and Society’s Role in Creating It, The Journey to Understanding and Fulfilling One’s True Purpose, and The Impact of Secrecy on Power, Corruption, and Redemption. The Young Elites follows Adelina’s quest for goodness even as her dark soul awakens. 

This guide refers to the 2014 edition by the Penguin Group at G.C. Putnam’s Sons.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of child abuse, child death, graphic violence, illness and death, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual content, and self-harm.

Plot Summary

On the island nation of Kenettra in the city of Dalia, 16-year-old Adelina Amouteru is imprisoned for murder and awaiting execution. The year is 1361; a decade ago, many died in a blood fever epidemic, including Adelina’s mother. The sickness marked some children like Adelina with strange physical characteristics; Adelina’s hair, for example, turned silver. They are now considered malfettos—flawed survivors. Some malfettos are also Young Elites capable of supernatural powers. Other children who had the blood fever have no lasting signs, like Adelina’s sister, Violetta.

Adelina’s cruel father intended to exploit Adelina if she displayed signs of Young Elite powers. None ever surfaced. Weeks before the story begins, he sells her as a nobleman’s mistress since she, as a malfetto, would never be able to marry. Adelina runs away to avoid this fate, but when her father catches her, her fury and fear manifest in an illusion of phantoms. These terrify her father, who dies beneath his trampling horse. Imprisoned for his murder, Adelina wonders how she produced the illusion.

As the Head Inquisitor, Teren Santoro sets fire to her execution stake. The next morning, Adelina’s panic creates another illusion: an attacking locust swarm. Spectators panic. A Young Elite called the Reaper suddenly arrives, creates a wall of fire to hold back the Inquisitors, and steals her away to Estenzia. A city on the other side of Kenettra, Estenzia is a maze of canals, catacombs, streets, and alleyways. The Reaper hides Adelina in a brothel. He invites her to train as a Young Elite and—if she can gain control of her powers—join his select group of Elites, the Dagger Society. Adelina recognizes the Reaper as Enzo Valenciano, the rightful heir of Kenettra, rejected by his own family and subjects as a malfetto. His mark is blood-red hair; his Elite power is making fire. Adelina realizes that if she fails to join the Dagger Society, Enzo will kill her for learning the society’s secrets—including his plot to overthrow his older sister, Giulietta the queen, and her husband, the king, to regain his throne.

Adelina struggles to control her Elite powers. Raffaele, a consort (sex worker) in the brothel and a Dagger Society member who can sense others’ energies, tests her. Raffaele confides with Enzo that Adelina has too much bitterness; he thinks she should be eliminated, but Enzo thinks she will be useful. Adelina meets other Dagger members Dante, Michel, Gemma, and Lucent. Enzo begins instructing her; she becomes passionately attracted to Enzo but is not certain he feels the same.

Teren finds Adelina and blackmails her: Adelina must reveal the Daggers’s plans or Teren will kill Violetta, who is imprisoned in the Inquisition Tower. Adelina’s worry and guilt grow. Meanwhile, unrest among Estenzia’s citizenry grows over an economy still soured by the epidemic. Adelina helps the Daggers in a rebellious act at the Spring Moon Festival; after, Dante sees Teren threaten her. In the ensuing struggle, Teren shows his Young Elite power to heal his wounds. The Daggers initiate Adelina; she later hides in an illusion of invisibility and overhears Enzo speak of Daphne, his former fiancée.

Doubting Enzo’s sincerity, Adelina tells Teren about Enzo’s plot against the king and queen. Meanwhile, Teren murders the king so that Giulietta can rule alone—and he, her lover, can rid Kenettra of malfettos and Elites, whom he considers sinful mutants (though he is one). In the Tower, Adelina cannot bring herself to reveal Enzo’s plan. As Teren moves to kill Violetta, Violetta reveals she has Young Elite power to stop all other Elite powers. Violetta and Adelina escape; in the wake of the king’s death, Inquisitors storm the city, killing malfettos and burning their businesses. Dante accuses Adelina of betrayal; Adelina uses illusions to make Dante feel imaginary pain, inadvertently killing him.

The next morning, Teren announces malfettos will be banished and that he will kill the newly imprisoned Raffaele unless the Reaper surrenders. Masked, Enzo challenges Teren to a duel. Teren accepts. Adelina and Violetta agree to help with Enzo’s new plan to kill Teren and rescue Raffaele.

At the duel, the Reaper reveals his true identity to Estenzia; Gemma saves Raffaele; Adelina and Violetta use their powers to help Enzo fight Teren. When Violetta tires, however, and Adelina’s invisibility wavers, Teren attacks Adelina; confused and wounded, Adelina uses her powers to make Teren feel pain like she did Dante; too late, she realizes it is Enzo she is hurting. Teren kills the weakened Enzo.

Despite Adelina’s idea to save Enzo by finding an Elite whose power is bringing back the dead, Raffaele banishes Adelina and Violetta. More bitter than ever, Adelina chops off her silver hair, full of hate for her malfetto and Elite fate, and swears to create her Elite society to seek revenge against Teren.

In the Epilogue, Crown Princess Maeve of Beldain learns that Enzo is dead. Maeve patronized Enzo’s attempt to take back his throne anticipating a deal restoring trade between their countries. Miffed that her secret plan (taking over Kenettra) may not work out as easily as planned, she visits her brother, Tristan. Maeve brought back Tristan from the Underworld after his untimely death; he has since transformed into an unnaturally brutish murderer at her command. Maeve tells Tristan they are going to visit Estenzia.