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Renegade The Elysium Chronicles J A Souders Books

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Renegade The Elysium Chronicles J A Souders Books

I’ve read a few Dystopians set in a dome, but Renegade is the first one with the dome being underwater! Evelyn is the Daughter of the People, essentially a princess in this underwater dome. She spends most of her time tending her garden and meeting with suitors, but she’s also forgetful. At least, she thinks she’s forgetful until a Surface Dweller comes to Elysium and points out some odd things about her. Evelyn realizes that her perfect life isn’t so perfect, so it’s time to escape with Gavin to the Surface. If Mother doesn’t catch them first.

I was really enjoying Renegade until I got to some questionable and offensive world-building. This underwater kingdom was created as an escape from the war happening on the Surface. But only people with “perfect” genetics were allowed in: blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, no mental, physical or intellectual disabilities. Clearly we can see how this is a problematic? When Evie tells Mother that she wants to Couple with Gavin, her response is that he’s too dark! But Evie explains that he’s only dark from the Sun! Dark skin is bad, whether its genetic or temporary. And when there’s an alert put out for Gavin being loose in the dome, the citizens are basically told to look out for a boy with dark skin. Also, Surface Dwellers are (mistakenly) thought to be “animal skin-wearing savages.” Not even joking. How is this acceptable?

I can immediately think of other ways that this underwater society could be exclusive without being racist and ablist. How about if only those who are experts in needed skills (and their families) were allowed in? That would make more sense, because you need people to get everything set up and get it running. Having all types of people with solid skill sets as the first generation is a much better decision than choosing people with desirable physical characteristics. And just because those blonde haired, blue eyed, white people don’t have any mental disabilities doesn’t mean that they’re smart or useful for what would be needed to get something like this established. I’m just completely baffled.

Other than the awful basis for the world, I really did enjoy the plot of Renegade. Those first few chapters were super weird, because they start out exactly the same so we can see just how off things are with Evelyn. Then there’s exciting escapes and forbidden romance! Yes, it’s insta-love, and I was into it, so who cares? Most of the book takes place over just a few hours, so it was really nonstop fun and danger! I love stuff like this.

Sadly, I can’t look past the “perfect genetics” and this negativity toward brown skin. I mean, I know the character who supposedly started all of this did it for a reason, but really? A society dominated by one person, and only people with blonde hair and blue eyes are allowed? Doesn’t that sound scarily familiar? Renegade could have been really great if it weren’t for that.


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Renegade The Elysium Chronicles J A Souders Books Reviews

Sixteen year old Evelyn lives in the underwater colony Elysium and is known as "The Daughter Of The People". Her mother, just known as "Mother" to everyone in this world, is ruler. Mother is trying to develop a perfect race, a perfect community free of crime or disease. Everyone above the sea is known as a Surfacer and is considered the worst kind of threat to Elysium. Evelyn is raised to believe and go along with everything Mother says until the day she meets Gavin, a Surfacer not much older than her... and Gavin doesn't seem so bad. Certainly not as evil as she's been raised to believe! In fact, as time goes on, she feels a magnetic kinship with Gavin and can't understand the level of hate / fear Elysium citizens have for Surfacers. Gavin, considered a sort of "enemy of the state", is thrown into the small prison Elysium does have for those who don't respond to Conditioning (ie. Mother's brainwashing techniques, those who prove strong enough to think for themselves). Evelyn is initially sent to interrogate Gavin to learn what she can of the Surfacers, but as she gets to know him, a friendship & flirtation develops. Gavin even gets Evelyn to see what Mother has been doing to the people of Elysium.

Evelyn comes to learn from Mother that Gavin, having not given up any useful information, is facing a death sentence. Finding herself falling for him, Evelyn puts into motion a plan to help Gavin escape prison and get back to the Surface. It's only when she starts to carry out this escape plan that she really sees the true core of evil that lies within the woman she knows as Mother.

I was really excited for the concept of this novel since I seem to be a sucker for dystopian or underwater worlds and this seemed to be a little bit of both. It took me a little while to really get into this book though --- a large portion of the book actually. I was liking it but not really loving it. I was curious why Mother was as cold as she was in the beginning, just how evil her character would turn, so that kept me reading. Mother seems SO obsessed with power, being the creator & controller of the perfect race, perfectly blonde and blue-eyed, immune to any and all disease. She puts together teams of scientists to experiment with gene manipulation and nanobot technology (to be used to clean the blood of sick citizens), developing mind control programs so she can influence citizens into doing, saying or feeling only what SHE wants, getting them to the point where they won't think twice about killing anyone who challenges her methods or her vision. Honestly, it all made me wonder if Souders was playing off what we know of Hitler and his drive to create the perfect Aryan race.

I liked Gavin, but I found Evelyn a little flat as a character. She did start to grow on me some near the end, so that makes me curious to continue the series and see how or if she develops. Gavin and Evelyn, I admit, did make kind of a cute couple but there were a few times where their smooshy face love moments got a little gag inducing for me (to be fair though, that is kind of a by-product of late teen first love).

I also liked the world of Elysium, I just found myself wishing it had been fleshed out a little more. Some of the descriptions were a little confusing or not explained well enough. There were also some minor issues I had with the writing itself. There were some continuity issues in the plot. It takes 120 pages for us to meet the girl that is suppose to be Evelyn's best friend in the entire world -- if she's such an important person, why does she not come into the storyline sooner? Also, I think I read some variation of the line "I dug my nails into my palms, breaking skin" AT LEAST 3-4 times. Got a bit repetitive for me. But this is Souders' debut novel, so a reader has to allow for room to grow, I think.

The plot intensity does go up a good in the last quarter or so of the novel. There's enough here to leave me curious enough to continue on with the series -- let you know how it goes!
I’ve read a few Dystopians set in a dome, but Renegade is the first one with the dome being underwater! Evelyn is the Daughter of the People, essentially a princess in this underwater dome. She spends most of her time tending her garden and meeting with suitors, but she’s also forgetful. At least, she thinks she’s forgetful until a Surface Dweller comes to Elysium and points out some odd things about her. Evelyn realizes that her perfect life isn’t so perfect, so it’s time to escape with Gavin to the Surface. If Mother doesn’t catch them first.

I was really enjoying Renegade until I got to some questionable and offensive world-building. This underwater kingdom was created as an escape from the war happening on the Surface. But only people with “perfect” genetics were allowed in blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, no mental, physical or intellectual disabilities. Clearly we can see how this is a problematic? When Evie tells Mother that she wants to Couple with Gavin, her response is that he’s too dark! But Evie explains that he’s only dark from the Sun! Dark skin is bad, whether its genetic or temporary. And when there’s an alert put out for Gavin being loose in the dome, the citizens are basically told to look out for a boy with dark skin. Also, Surface Dwellers are (mistakenly) thought to be “animal skin-wearing savages.” Not even joking. How is this acceptable?

I can immediately think of other ways that this underwater society could be exclusive without being racist and ablist. How about if only those who are experts in needed skills (and their families) were allowed in? That would make more sense, because you need people to get everything set up and get it running. Having all types of people with solid skill sets as the first generation is a much better decision than choosing people with desirable physical characteristics. And just because those blonde haired, blue eyed, white people don’t have any mental disabilities doesn’t mean that they’re smart or useful for what would be needed to get something like this established. I’m just completely baffled.

Other than the awful basis for the world, I really did enjoy the plot of Renegade. Those first few chapters were super weird, because they start out exactly the same so we can see just how off things are with Evelyn. Then there’s exciting escapes and forbidden romance! Yes, it’s insta-love, and I was into it, so who cares? Most of the book takes place over just a few hours, so it was really nonstop fun and danger! I love stuff like this.

Sadly, I can’t look past the “perfect genetics” and this negativity toward brown skin. I mean, I know the character who supposedly started all of this did it for a reason, but really? A society dominated by one person, and only people with blonde hair and blue eyes are allowed? Doesn’t that sound scarily familiar? Renegade could have been really great if it weren’t for that.