Is the gripping dystopian romance worth the read?
Nova is plagued with revenge.
When she was only five years old she was failed by the Renegades, the superhero group that promised to protect her and her family. With having to witness the death of her mother, father, and little sister, Evie, in front of her, she became consumed with revenge on the Renegades. Taken in and adopted by the enemy group of the Renegades is where her hatred grew. After eleven years of training, at 16 years old she was ready to bring the Renegade organization to its knees. It would be an inside job, but first she had to become ‘one of them’. Posing as Nova McClain, a superhero who never sleeps, she works her way into the organization. Along the way, she develops close relationships with the Renegades, some that even make her question her own mission.
While author Marissa Meyer is better known for ‘The Lunar Chronicles’ series, I find the Renegades Trilogy to be her best work. Filled with building tension, compelling characters, and a strong overall plot, the trilogy is one of the better young adult fantasy books I have read. Written in third-person, the books give a unique perspective of Nova’s life.
Not only do we get to look through Nova’s perspective, but also the lens of Adrian Everheart. The son of Simon and Hugh Everheart, two of the founding Renegades, Adrian offers a valuable part of the trilogy. As Adrian and Nova grow closer on the Renegade team, they both begin to question their own identities and motives of their missions. Meyer does an outstanding job as portraying two young people who aren’t entirely on one side of good or evil, but rather standing in a gray area. This stance is one that cues many issues within the story.
Nova, Adrian, and the other strongly developed characters help bring to life all scenes varying from action, to romance, to mystery. With an abundance of love, loss, and suspense, Marissa Meyer’s ‘Renegade’ trilogy is most definitely worth the read, cover to cover.