Prodigies are people with certain magical powers. There are two groups of prodigies: The Renegades, who saved society from the awful reign of the Anarchists, the second group. A group of Renegades called The Council are the rulers and they are like rock stars. And other Renegades are used to keep order and administer justice.
But humans are suffering almost as much as when the Anarchists ruled. And the Anarchists have been driven into hiding.
Nova, also know as Nightmare since she can put people to sleep, is an Anarchist. She is determined to seek vengeance. She becomes a Renegade to infiltrate their organization and defeat them from within. She is on a team of Anarchists led by Adrian (called Sketch - because he can make drawings come to life). Adrian and Nova become close, and the distinction of who are the good guys and who are the bad guys is very hazy.
That's one of the best parts of Renegades for me. The fact that neither side are really doing the right thing. They are all misguided by different things, but neither group is accomplishing enough to improve this society.
The superpowers are interesting and very unique. (A woman that turns into butterflies??) There are great action scenes and battles. The characterizations, with the exception of our two main characters, are not very deep, but the deceptions on everyone's part keep you turning the pages. It is never clear until the very end...and unfortunately it isn't clear then either, since there's a startling revelation and a huge cliffhanger!
The conclusion (yes, only two books!) doesn't come out until November, 2018, so patience is required. My book club is reading Renegades this month. I cannot wait to see what they have to say. I always say I'm not a fan of books with a lot of magic, but Renegades sucked me right in!
Published by Feiwel & Friends, November 7, 2017
Copy obtained from the library
556 pages
Rating: 4/5
This sounds like one of those books where there aren't really any "good" and "bad" characters. And butterflies?!
ReplyDeleteI kind of regret not snagging this one before Winter Break but I definitely thought my teens would read it for break. I think they were burnt out from finals. I hope to read this one next month.
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