The Young Elites by Marie Lu turns out to be the story not of the Young Elites, but Adelina, a survivor of a plague which mutated her such that she gained magical/mutant powers… In her case, the power of illusion, but not only illusion of sight, but smell, touch, etc. Lu’s exploration of perception reveals how powerful deception can be. In her hands, the inability to trusts one’s senses may just be more dangerous than fire, blade, or beast.
The first book is an origin story. It is, however, not the heroes journey, but the origin story of the super villain or perhaps the antihero.
