The Rose Society

Starred review from October 5, 2015
This intense sequel to The Young Elites begins with Dagger Society outcast Adelina and her equally gifted sister, Violetta, seeking other powerful Elites in the city-state of Merroutas after escaping from Teren and the Inquisition Axis's clutches. After acquiring new allies, Adelina heads back to Estenzia to seek revenge. Adelina has learned the hard way that "not all Elites can be allies," and Raffaele and his Daggers have formed their own alliance with Maeve, the northern queen of Beldain, whose dark Elite power can help them seize the Kenettran throne. Lu constructs a fascinating triangle of opposing forces seeking power, and the ensuing twists and epic battles leave many dead, broken, or forever changed. The novel is much darker than its predecessor, largely because its focus remains on the complex Adelina, more villain than hero. As her Elite strength grows, Adelina struggles to control her illusions, and the escalating whispers of fear in her head fuel her mistrust. "What is so great about being good?" she wonders as revenge becomes not about love or justice, but winning. Ages 12âup. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency.

September 1, 2015
A heroine's tragic tumble dominates the second volume of this trilogy. After Adelina's expulsion by the Daggers for the dreadful events at the conclusion of The Young Elites (2014), she and her sister flee abroad seeking allies for their vendetta. The sisters are malfettos, survivors of the blood fever, marked with physical changes that leave them hated and feared in their native Kenettra. Kenettra's now ruled by the sister of Adelina's beloved Enzo, crown prince of Kenettra, who was killed by Adelina's own mistakes. The new queen allows her Inquisitor lover to take out his anti-malfetto hatred by enslaving the country's non-Elite malfettos: mere scarred victims without the phenomenal cosmic powers marking Young Elites. Adelina claims her goal is rescue of the malfettos, but she is truly motivated by less pure urges: vengeance on the Daggers, who cast her out; destruction of the Inquisitor, for all the harm he's done to Adelina and Enzo; and sheer ambition, as she's egged on by the whispering voices in her head that fuel her illusion-shaping powers. Adelina's new allies try to soften her more spine-chilling urges, but they're not models of temperance and morality themselves. The direction of this trilogy's conclusion is left refreshingly difficult to predict. Original and sobering, Adelina is an antihero of nigh-unremitting darkness: an unusual young woman in the mold of such archetypes as Lucifer, Macbeth, and Darth Vader-and even Kissin' Kate Barlow from Holes. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

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October 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-"Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, so she destroyed them all." Lu's epic series takes a dark, gritty turn with her latest offering. Adelina, known as the White Wolf, has fled Kenettra with Violetta, her sister, in order to recruit other malfettos (superpowered humans) for revenge upon the Inquisition-the faction that killed her love Enzo and countless other malfettos. Turned out and betrayed by her former comrades, the Daggers, Adelina is determined to form her own army, especially once she stumbles upon the near-mythical malfetto named Magiano. As the leader of the Inquisition, Teren, continues to search for Adelina so he can destroy her, she turns toward a more somber facet of her energy. Her path explodes into a dizzying array of power, murder, and revenge, leaving Adelina to question her true nature. When a malfetto queen conspires to raise Enzo from the dead, Adelina must face, once and for all, her feelings and her desires for power. What sets this novel apart is Adelina's slow spiral into bleak, joyless corruption; Lu doesn't wrap up the narrative with a shiny bow. Teens will be fascinated to watch the main character descend into villainy and revel in it. VERDICT Fans of Sarah Maas's Throne of Glass (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes (Penguin, 2015) will enjoy the author's latest.-Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2015
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* If The Young Elites (2014) set the stage for a tale of one young woman's descent into villainy, this even darker sequel delivers the drama. After she's cast out of the Daggers, the society of teens whose struggle with a devastating illness left them with special powers, illusionist Adelina flees with her sister, Violetta, determined to form her own society and, ultimately, seize the throne. But the Daggers have plans of their own: with a resurrectionist now on their side, they plan to bring back Enzo, the fallen heir to the throne and Adelina's former love. But darkness is growing in Adelina's heart, threatening even the ones who still stand by her, and soon she may be too far gone to savenot that she wants saving. Where book one put much of its energy toward world building, the focus here is character: Adelina and Violetta gain depth, and characters who were only peripheral before now have personalities of their own. The result is a tightly woven tapestry of a story that ensnares even as it disturbs. Adelina's power is that she can create illusions so detailed they seem real; it's a craft in which both she and Lu are expertly skilled.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Young Elites was both an instant best-seller and critically acclaimed, and the success is sure to hop to this even-stronger sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)