Renegades by Marissa Meyer is a novel about a world in which select people have superpowers and the rivalry between good and evil is nowhere near black and white. Nova works for a rebel group, the Anarchists, who oppose the rule of the Renegades, a group of the most powerful people who saved the world from villainy and collapse. Nova wants revenge upon the Renegades and after a failed assassination attempt on one of the heads of the Renegades, she gets pulled into a scheme to take them down from the inside. Her mission as a double agent leads her to meet a boy named Adrian who will do anything for justice even if it means breaking a few rules himself. Her attachment to Adrian and her slowly changing views of her world try her loyalty to the Anarchists but also cause her to realize the true flaws in the Renegade system. When the time comes for her to make her move and take down the ‘heroes’ of society, will she be able to do it even if it means betraying new friends?
I really enjoyed this book, especially because of its complex take on the society run by superheroes angle. The idea of having the main character be on the ‘villainous’ side helps the reader realize that even the ‘heroes’ aren’t perfect, in fact, they’re quite far from it. I also liked how the author used the relationship between Nova and Adrian to both give Nova a lot of internal conflict and lighten up the novel. Another thing the author did really well is how she built the characters. Each person has such an intricate personality, it feels like you know them. Additionally, the writing style makes the book seem to fly by so you won’t be able to put it down. I would give this book a solid four out of five stars because it’s written really well and is very encapsulating with turns and twists everywhere. For fans of the Lunar Chronicles, the Marvel Universe, and other Sci-Fi and YA novels, I highly recommend you pick up Renegades by Marissa Meyer.
Review Written by Ada, 9th Grade