Marie Lu’s ‘The Rose Society’ Is A Modern Day Parable [REVIEW]

After losing everything, Adelina Amouteru seeks revenge in Marie Lu’s THE ROSE SOCIETY.
(Photo by Boudewijn Berends, Flickr)

Marie Lu returns with The Rose Society, a breathtaking thriller that is both chilling and compulsively readable. It is guaranteed to leave young adult readers begging for more.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

In this sequel to 2014’s The Young Elites, Adelina Amouteru wants revenge after losing her family, friends, soulmate and kingdom. Fueled by her thirst for vengeance, she seeks out others who will assist in her campaign.

Like a female Bruce Wayne, Adelina is a series of contradictions: sympathetic and splenetic, beautiful and treacherous, menacing and strong.

Lu utilizes this duality to address timeless questions humanity has asked since the beginning: At what point do others’ cruel actions overcome the good within us? Just how far are we willing to go to exact revenge? And are love, acceptance and kindness qualities we should nurture or should they be pushed aside to maintain control?

Equally fascinating in this complex novel is the entire mythology Lu creates as a historical backdrop for her multi-layered characters, all of whom either help or hinder Adelina’s agenda.

However, the novel’s overall theme is that each of us have two decisions to make: we can either rise above perceived and intentional slights against us or we can allow them to consume us. Revenge is a silent companion, or as Adelina said,

“I force a smile onto my face. In the silence, I sit alone on my throne and wait eagerly for all the satisfaction and triumph to hit me. I wait, and wait, and wait. But it doesn’t come.” (Pg. 395)

With The Rose Society, Lu has done a remarkable job creating a protagonist that leaps off the page and grabs readers by the throat. Adelina is as lethal as she is spellbinding, and Lu uses the entire cast to create a parable that blends equal parts myth and fantasy.

This novel is destined to captivate fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent, whether they are young adults or not. But be warned, this is one dark, twisted, sinister read!

Marie Lu
(Photo by Paul Gregory)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Lu is the author of the New York Times bestselling Legend series and The Young Elites. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist.

Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing Assassin’s Creed and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles, California (see above: traffic), with one husband, one Chihuahua mix, and two Pembroke Welsh corgis.

Visit Marie at www.marielu.org; follow her on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram; like her on Facebook; and watch her on Deviant Art. You may also find out more about her books at www.theyoungelites.com.

THE ROSE SOCIETY
By Maria Lu
416 pgs. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. $18.99