Elemental by Antony John

A lost colony is reborn in this heart-pounding fantasy adventure set in the near future... 

Sixteen-year-old Thomas has always been an outsider. The first child born without the power of an Element—earth, water, wind or fire—he has little to offer his tiny, remote Outer Banks colony. Or so the Guardians would have him believe. 

In the wake of an unforeseen storm, desperate pirates kidnap the Guardians, intent on claiming the island as their own. Caught between the plague-ridden mainland and the advancing pirates, Thomas and his friends fight for survival in the battered remains of a mysterious abandoned settlement. But the secrets they unearth will turn Thomas’ world upside-down, and bring to light not only a treacherous past but also a future more dangerous than he can possibly imagine.

In this book we follow Thom who has always felt like a failure because he had no "element" that he could either commune with or control. Plus everyone avoids even touching him. He does his best and tries to make himself as valuable as possible to the community. The community struggles but there are questions that never get answered as these kids grow into maturity. During one storm where the kids get stranded and the community gets kidnapped they find not only their own inner strength but the beginnings of answers they sought as well as new questions.

This is a fun book but don't seek it to answer all your questions. It is a trilogy so those answers will be spread out in those 3 books. It's still a good start and we have very smart kids. We also get the frustration of secrets being kept as well as those that hold power are not all benevolent. By the end of the book you can see the beginnings of an uprising, but for the good of the community. If they get that change it remains to be seen but you are rooting for that change in the end.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. It starts out a bit slow and the characters aren't quite full of the depth I often seek, but it is enough to keep me wanting to know what happens to them and how they change and grow. There is more than one character here that is primed for huge leaps in growth and I really want to see it happen. This book is also full of adventure and a sense of exploration that I think that not only older YA but younger YA and MG readers would enjoy. I really want to know what is next for our characters in the next 2 books.

I received this ARC from the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.