'Finding a way to show the logic behind Adelina's decisions and stay true to her character - without pushing her completely into unlikeability - was the biggest challenge,' she says. Marie Lu admits that getting into Adelina's headspace was challenging, but she had methods for staying true to the character. 'I wanted to make sure I surrounded her with at least a few likeable characters for whom she cares for deeply, to ground her in some humanity.'

'I think walking that line between Villain and Sympathetic Protagonist is incredibly tricky,' Marie Lu tells Bustle. Adelina may be a hero in her own head, but her actions are guided by vengeance, hate, and a quest for power. Marie Lu took a huge risk when she made the series' major villain the main character. I chatted with the author about the conclusion of The Young Elites, about writing a sympathetic villain as the main character, and about her forthcoming novels.

She has two huge projects in the works - including a highly-anticipated retelling of the story of Batman. Now that The Young Elites has reached its conclusion, Lu can turn her attention to her next books. 'I imagine my characters leaving my mind, actually, and entering the larger space of the creative world, that they now belong to my readers and no longer to me. 'Bidding farewell to The Young Elites feels bittersweet and wistful,' Marie Lu tells Bustle. Though #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu is ready to close the chapter on this series, she hopes fans will make a forever home in their hearts for Adelina and her comrades. 11, and author Marie Lu is ready to say farewell to Adelina, Violetta, Magiano, Raffaele, Enzo, and the other characters she lovingly created (and, occasionally, destroyed) over the past three years.

It's time to say goodbye: The Midnight Star, the final book in the bestselling The Young Elites series, hits bookstores on Oct.

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