Crossing Over - Villain Stories

Crossing Over is a feature I started to encourage the reading of "adult" books based on a "young adult" book that has similar themes, characters, or plots. Think of it as If You Liked this then Try but with varying age ranges. It's retelling month here at My Thoughts Literally and I wanted again to do another special edition but then I thought about a draft post I have been hanging on to since October. It includes one of my absolute favorite retellings but it really looks at a different spin on the stories.

So this time I've decided to do things differently. This time I want to recommend a YA novel based on the adult book that I found it very similar to...

Wicked by Gregory Maguire - Add to Goodreads 

Maybe you've seen the musical but don't judge the book by what you saw. Wicked is quite a dark and dramatic story. It is the first book in a High Fantasy series with a compelling and interesting world that is not what you expect it to be, this isn't your grandmother's Oz. But it's also essentially a villain origin story. Many of the characters in the book are complex and devious and despite the fact that you know them to be evil, they stay sympathetic and likable.There is a lot more political intrigue than you expect and even some unexpected plot twists.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu - Add to Goodreads 

The Young Elites is quite a dark and dramatic story and when I was reading it I couldn't help but compare it to Wicked in my mind. It is the first book in a High Fantasy series with a compelling and interesting world that is not what you expect it to be. But it's also essentially a villain origin story. The characters in this book are complex and devious and despite the fact that you know them to be evil, they stay sympathetic and likable. There is more political intrigue than you expect, unexpected feels, and it is full of so many shocking plot twists.

I was incredibly blown away by The Young Elites (Check out my review). I loved the characters, the drama, the plot twists, and the emotional roller coaster it took me on during and after reading it. It reminded me a lot of my thoughts for Wicked. And when I finished reading it I couldn't get the similarities between the books out of my head. And not necessarily the plot at all, but the way the book made me feel. I definitely would recommend TYE to fans of Wicked and vice versa.

Have you read both of these books? Just one? What did you think? Leave me a comment. And because it's retellings month here on My Thoughts Literally, and because Wicked is probably my favorite retelling, I'm curious what your favorite retelling is. Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!