With a complex storyline, interesting characters, and extraordinary world building, “Renegades” by Marissa Meyer definitely deserves its place as one of the best Young Adult books of 2017.
“Renegades” is set in a near future world where a race of humans with superpowers, known as prodigies, have revealed themselves to the public. After a terrible era of crime and chaos known as the Age of Anarchy where the world was ruled by crime gangs of prodigies, a group of superheroes known as the Renegades came to power to bring peace and prosperity back to the world.
The story is centered around the two main characters Nova Artino and Adrian Everhart, and it alternates between their perspectives.
After a tragedy that occurred when she was six, Artino was raised by her uncle Ace, the leader of the notorious gang known as the Anarchists. Since his death, Artino has been working with other members of the gang to bring down the Renegades. She wants vengeance.
Everhart was raised by two of the most famous Renegades in history, and has devoted his life to fighting crime and carrying on his family’s legacy. He wants justice.
When one of Artino’s missions leads to her meeting Everhart, the two develop a tentative alliance. However, neither knows the truth about the other, and both will do anything to accomplish his or her own goals.
With this intriguing premise and stellar execution, “Renegades” deserves all the hype that has been following it up to and since its release in November 2017.
The novel was on the New York Times Best Sellers Top Ten list for 10 weeks, and boasts a 4.1 and 4.4 out of five stars on Goodreads and Amazon, respectively.
Meyer has previously written other Young Adult novels that made it onto the Best Sellers and received much attention, including the #1 New York Times Best Selling Series “The Lunar Chronicles,” a futuristic retelling of fairytales with some shocking twists, as well as the New York Times Best Seller “Heartless,” a tale about how the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland” became so villainous.
Freshman Aisha Asghar says, “I found those novels wonderfully crafted. By putting a twist on the fairytales, these books were enticing from the first page. The author adds her own plot to well-known stories, which makes you wonder what will happen next through the entire novel.”
“Renegades” continues to prove Meyer’s talent in bringing a story to life through her beautiful writing style, great characters and character development, and a shocking plot line that always leaves readers on the edge of their seats and eager to keep reading.
Freshman Carmen Escobedo says, “I particularly enjoy all the characters within Marissa Meyer’s novels, but I have to say that the cast of ‘Renegades’ is my favorite. All of those characters are diverse, well-developed, and unique. On top of that, they have abilities as prodigies that made them even more interesting to read about.”
This is the perfect book for anyone who enjoys reading science fiction or someone who enjoyed any of Meyer’s previous novels. It is also a great book for anyone who is interested in reading from the perspective of an antihero such as Artino.
The series is set to have one more book, which comes out in November 2018 called “Arch Nemesis.”
All in all, “Renegades” is a fantastic new YA book that is definitely worth reading.
Would you consider reading this book? If you already have read it, what were your opinions on it?