Learning | Musketeers and Elites

This week, I've been reading a dystopian fantasy novel for teens. Marie Lu's The Young Elites takes place in a world where survivors of the Blood Plague are feared and ostracized. The king has an organization called The Inquisition, which aims to eliminate the malfettos, or survivors. 

These survivors are all marked in one way or another, with strange colorations of hair or skin. Adelina is one such survivor; she lost an eye to the plague, and her hair is now silver.  The story begins when Adelina is about to be executed for the murder of her abusive father; she quickly discovers that she is one of the rare malfettos with special powers--an elite. She finds herself joining The Daggers, a group of young elites who are using their powers to protect other malfettos from The Inquisition.

Cover image courtesy of LibraryThing.

You may remember that Marie Lu is the author of the Legend Series. The Young Elites is the first novel in a new series for teens.  It is recommended for ages 12 through 17.  

While I was reading The Young Elites, I was reminded of a classic series by Alexandre Dumas, The D'Artagnan Romances, including The Three Musketeers. 

Cover image courtesy of LibraryThing.

The iconic Musketeers have been featured in countless adaptations on the big and small screen.  D'Artagnan and his fellow Musketeers fight with swords, not superpowers, but I think people who like Alexandre Dumas' stories would like Lu's book.