I found this old review I wrote last year in September, and I thought it would be fun to publish it. I strongly recommend this novel if you're into YA fantasy:

"Warcross" is easily one of the BEST books of 2017. Marie Lu sets up not just one world, but two complex and stunning worlds built to contrast each other. Both the Dark World and the original Warcross dimension are equally mesmerizing and crafted with the utmost care. Lu does such an excellent job at keeping us always in a position where we can never see the whole picture. We are always wanting to know MORE, even to the very last page.

One of my favorite things about the novel was the extraordinary character development. Every time we encountered a new character, there always seemed to be a set of unique traits that set each and every character apart from each other. I was thoroughly impressed by almost every character we encountered. I enjoyed the mysterious vibe that shrouded around Zero, and even though his identity wasn't revealed until the last few pages of the novel, Lu still does an excellent job crafting his character. Additionally, none of the Phoenix Riders ever felt one dimensional. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to YA fantasy was one dimensional characters, and I was so incredibly relieved that all the Phoenix Riders were extremely well-developed characters.

Another thing that made the novel so worthwhile was the battle arenas. Very few authors can seamlessly pull off an action-packed scene that lasts more than a few seconds; for a good part of the novel, we're thrown into battle arenas that are packed with action. For the better part of these scenes, I was pretty much always on the edge of my sheet, anxiously awaiting. These scenes are nothing short of powerful, and I loved every second of them.

There was so much about this book that makes it worth the read. The arena showdowns between the teams was always exhilarating and is written with such impressive fluidity. Can’t wait to see what Lu has in store for us in the sequel!