I've been avoiding Mary Sue heroines for quite some time now. So it took some persuasion from my part to actually start reading Written in Red. And honestly I have no idea how to rate this book. Let me give you some examples. So what's this book about? Well there is a girl who can cut herself and see the future. She manages to escape her former master and ends up with group of shifters called 'Others.' Sounds good doesn't it? Well, these shifters aren't the usual fuzzy and cuddly kind. They pretty much eat people and have wet dreams about slaving them all. Oh and yeah, they call all humans 'monkeys'. So still sounds promising eh, but then comes the BUT. The Others are protecting the girl, Meg, and no one messes with the Others (because they eat people). Okay fine. So why the Others are protecting a human in the first place? 'Coz they like her. You guys starting to get my point? The Others likes her because she delivers their mail and is their first decent Human Liaison, like ever. So that's when I started to wonder why everyone liked Meg for no apparent reason. I can't honestly say. I liked her. I don't like Mary Sues but still liked her somehow. She's not THE snowflake but a snowflake nevertheless. And 90% of this book was Meg delivering the mail. So I'm a bit confused here you see. I liked the multiple POV, I liked Meg and the supportive cast (magical ponies!). The evil was evil and at least entertaining the last 10 % of the book. So somehow my observations should not be leading me toward generous review. Still solid 4 stars. Sue me.

I don't know how to describe this book properly. It's dark, it's sexy. It's all about a strong heroine with a darker side. (Oh, and there is neither love-triangle included nor romance that is neither underwhelming nor overwhelming.) The Young Elites is not a book about a hero's journey, it's rather a story from anti-heroine's pov. When I picked this book, I instantly knew that I was going to get something different and my expectations didn't fail me either. The story's main protagonist, Adelina Amouteru, is scarred and haunted both physically and mentally by her abusive father. Adelina is an incredibly complex and vivid protagonist. The reader knows instantly that she's not a hero and there is so much darkness inside of her but is nevertheless powerless against her dark pull. I don't enjoy causing pain or watching it to happen but I still sympathized with her. The reader can only wonder how far is she going to go? It was very interesting indeed to read a story where the lines between evil and good are mixed. We don't often get YA books where a main character is more or less beyond salvation. This book leaves you scarred and raw. If you want rainbows and happy thoughts this isn't your book, but If you are looking for something else and something more than usual bland YA fantasy I recommend this book. All in all I'll let Adelina's thoughts summarize what this book is truly about: "The rush of darkness though me is intoxicating and irresistible, and I find myself embracing it, letting it cover my insides like ink. Such power over these little masses. I love it."