Renegades (novel)

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Renegades is a novel by Marissa Meyer, a New York Times-bestselling young adult novelist. Her debut novel, Cinder, is the first book in a popular series, The Lunar Chronicles. Renegades was published November 7th, 2017 by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. It became a no. 2 New York Times bestseller two weeks after it's release, second to John Green's Turtles All the Way Down (released October 10, 2017)[1].

Synopsis

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Renegades follows Nova (Anarchist alias: Nightmare), the niece of the Anarchist leader, Alec Arting (alias: Ace Anarchist). Alec takes Nova in after her parents are murdered by another villain gang before the civil war, and was raised by the Anarchists. She can put people to sleep with skin-to-skin contact, and since her parents murder, she has not slept at all. She wants revenge on the Renegades for not protecting her parents as promised, and leads an infiltration into their headquarters by posing as a Renegade-in-training.

It also follows Adrian, the son of the leaders of the Renegades, Hugh Everhart and Simon Westwood. He was adopted by the two leaders after his mother, another member of the core-Renegades, was killed. He brings Nova onto his team at Renegades headquarters as she poses as 'Insomnia.'

The World of Renegades

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Renegades takes place in Galton (a fictional city), in the aftermath of a civil war between the Renegades and the Anarchists. Both are groups of people with superpowers. The Renegades consider themselves superheroes - fighting for the greater good. The Anarchists are the most powerful of many villain gangs, and consider themselves the super-villains. The Renegades have beat the Anarchists, causing them to go into hiding. The remaining Anarchists after the civil war live in the old tunnel of the city's subway system, in order to live their lives in the rule of the Renegades.

Characters[2][3]

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Anarchists

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Alias Name Superpower Relations
Nightmare Nova Artino Tranquilization/Insomnia Niece to Ace Anarchist
Ace Anarchist Alec Artino Telekinesis Uncle to Nightmare
Cyanide Leroy Flinn Alchemy N/A
Queen Bee Honey Harper Anthophilia (controls bees) N/A
Detonator Ingrid Thompson Explosives N/A
Phobia Unknown Fright/Shadow Control N/A
Puppeteer Winston Pratt Possession N/A

Renegades

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Alias Name Superpower Relations
Sketch Adrian Everhart Artwork Genesis Biological Son of Georgia Rawles, Adopted by Hugh Everhart and Simon Westwood
Red Assassin Ruby Tucker Hemo-Trnasformation (can turn exposed blood into gemstones) Patrol team with Adrian, Oscar, and Danna
Smokescreen Oscar Silva Smoke and Vapour Control Patrol team with Adrian, Ruby, and Danna
Monarch Danna Bell Metamorphosis Patrol team with Adrian, Oscar, and Ruby
The Bandit Max Classified Adopted by Hugh Everhart and Simon Westwood

Renegade Council

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Alias Name Superpower Relations
Captain Chromium Hugh Everhart Invincibility/Superstrength Married to Simon, adopted father of Adrian
The Dread Warden Simon Westwood Invisible Married to Simon, adopted father to Adrian
Lady Indomitable[4] Georgia Rawles Levitation/Flight Biological mother to Adrian
Tsunami Kasumi Hasegawa Water Manipulation N/A
Thunderbird Taymaya Rae Lightning and Thunder Control/Flight (has wings) N/A
Blacklight Avander Wade Light Manipulation N/A

Response

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As of November 19th, 2017, the average Goodreads star rating is 4.1/5 stars out of 1,291 ratings[5]. It was chosen as iBooks' Favourite for November[6].

Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review on October 9th, calling it, "a strikingly grounded story of star-crossed would-be lovers, deception, and the recognition that most of humanity exists between the extremes of good and evil"[7].

Renegades hit the New York Times bestseller list for Young Adult Hardcovers at number 2 the week of November 26th, 2017[1].

Publicity

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On February 24th, 2017, the release date for Renegades was revealed on Marissa Meyer's Twitter,[8] and her tweets until it's release date heavily feature the book. There were multiple snippet[9] and chapter releases[10] on social media, as well as a cover reveal with the LA Times[11]. There was also heavy use of the hashtag #JointheRenegades and #WinRenegades (along with giveaways) on social media. Book swag such as sunglasses[12], pens[13], slap bracelets[14], and chapter samplers[15] were also given out at conferences such as San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con, the American Library Association Annual Conference, and BookExpo.

In anticipation for the release date, there were multiple giveaways, one for a Renegades-themed trip to YallFest, a chance to have your own character featured in the Renegades sequel[16], and a photo contest to win an advanced copy of the book[17]. There was also limited-edition exclusive editions of the novel. One at Target, that is embossed with silver foil underneath the dust jacket[18]. Another at Barnes and Noble, which features Marissa Meyer's own author notes in a chapter[19].

There was also a gift with pre-order incentive, where those who pre-order the novel, can submit their receipt and receive exclusive Renegades-themed buttons[20].

An entire website was created dedicated to the novel, and the pages are slowly added in order to tease fans and get them excited for the novel's release[21]. On October 3rd, 2017, a Facebook Live event took place in which fans could ask Meyer questions, and hear her read an excerpt from the novel[22].

Citations

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  1. ^ a b "Young Adult Hardcover Books - Best Sellers - November 26, 2017 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  2. ^ "Characters". renegades.universeofmarissameyer.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  3. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017). Renegades. Feiwel & Friends. pp. Cast of Characters. ISBN 9781250044662.
  4. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017). Renegades. Feiwel & Friends. pp. 150–152. ISBN 9781250044662.
  5. ^ "Renegades (Renegades, #1)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  6. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-11-09). "RENEGADES was selected as an @iBooks Favorite for November!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  7. ^ "Children's Book Review: Renegades by Marissa Meyer. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 (576p) ISBN 978-1-250-04466-2". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  8. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-02-24). "The news is out: I'm so excited to say that RENEGADES is on sale November 7!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  9. ^ Reads, Fierce (2017-10-11). "Ready for the first new teaser? It's from page 78 of RENEGADES! #JointheRenegades". @FierceReads. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  10. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-05-23). "Start reading chapter one of RENEGADES!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  11. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-05-15). "HAVE YOU SEEN?! The RENEGADES cover is here! Also, an excerpt!!!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  12. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-04-29). ".@FierceReads is giving away #Renegades BLADs and sunglasses in 30 minutes! Stop by their table and get some!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  13. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-10-06). "If you preorder my new book #RENEGADES at #NYCC and bring proof of purchase to booth #2237, you'll get a bonus Renegades pen pack!pic.twitter.com/Z3dT45OTq6". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  14. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-10-06). "Didn't get your hands a #RENEGADES ARC & a slap bracelet at #NYCC yesterday? Good thing there will be more at booth #2237 in one hour!!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  15. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-06-02). "I'll be signing RENEGADES samplers at #BookExpo autographing table 1 in one hour! #JointheRenegades". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  16. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-10-10). "Want YOUR character to be featured in the sequel to RENEGADES? Enter my new #WinRenegades contest! #jointherenegades". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  17. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-09-20). "Strike your best superhero pose and you could win an ARC of RENEGADES! #SuperheroSelfie #WinRenegades". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  18. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-10-30). "Aaaaaand, check out the incredible case cover for the @target exclusive edition! I'm in love! #jointherenegades". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  19. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-10-30). "I had so much fun annotating one of my favorite chapters for the @BNBuzz #Renegades exclusive edition!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  20. ^ Meyer, Marissa (2017-09-06). "Just announced! Receive a set of Hero or Villain buttons when you pre-order RENEGADES and submit your receipt!". @marissa_meyer. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  21. ^ "Renegades by Marissa Meyer". renegades.universeofmarissameyer.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  22. ^ "Marissa Meyer, YA Author". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-11-19.