Powerless by Lauren Roberts is about an eighteen-year-old girl named Paedyn Gray. In a kingdom of Elites, she is an Ordinary. “Elites” are classified as people with supernatural abilities: extreme strength, healing powers, telekinesis, etc. “Ordinaries” are people with no power at all and they are viewed as disgraced. In the kingdom of Ilya, King Edric decreed that all Ordinaries were to be banished because their lack of power was weakening the Elites. This assumption is false, but the King is set in his ways and has no regard for the life of his people. The idea of mercy is foreign to him; he is a cruel man who orders all Ordinaries found in the kingdom to be executed, no matter the age or status. Although the King is cruel, Paedyn soon discovers his sons are not. There is an undeniable spark between her and one of the princes, but will this be a weakness? Paedyn’s hate for the King burns strong, seeing as he killed her father. She doesn’t come from money or legacy; instead she lives in The Slums as a thief. Despite this fact, she is a strong-willed woman with the fighting skills and mindset of a warrior. Throughout the book, Paedyn fights to honor not only herself, but also her father as well while defying the kingdom and proving her worth. 

Hosted annually by the kingdom, there is an event titled “The Annual Purging Trials” where candidates are chosen from around Ilya to compete in a series of gruesome and deadly trials where they are pitted against each other with the intention of murder, similar to The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins. The Trials exist to bring honor and pride to the kingdom. When Paedyn saves the prince of Ilya from a fight in which he was losing, news spreads about the girl from The Slums who fought three men by herself and saved the beloved prince. After her heroic gesture, she is nominated to participate in these trials, despite having no choice in the matter. Life is burdensome as it is for Paedyn, but having to hide the fact that she’s an Ordinary from the kingdom presents an even more difficult task. While staying in the kingdom and participating in the trials, Paedyn struggles to hide her true identity, stay alive during a situation in which she is disadvantaged, and attempt not to fall in love with the prince.

This book is one of my favorite fantasy books because of the way it was written. The author includes many intense battle scenes, various moments of friendship between characters, interactions with enemies, and heartwarming romance scenes. This book had me captivated from the first line, “Thick, hot liquid runs down my arm. Blood.”(Roberts 1). The story portrays a girl who rises above the stereotype and norms that come with being an Ordinary. She knows who she is, and won’t change for people. Powerless emits emotion from the page, it was never once boring and is full of unpredictable plot twists. The romance in this book was an amazing part of it, but the message revealed by the end of the book is to use other’s underestimation to your advantage. Paedyn was thought to be nothing more than a slummer who was incapable of winning anything, and she used this to her advantage. This is a crucial lesson of not allowing others to degrade you because of where you come from or how much money you have. It’s a lesson to never lose yourself or give in when a situation seems impossible. It’s a lesson that perseverance and integrity pay off in the long run. Most of all, it’s a lesson to prove to yourself that you are capable of so much more than you assume. Although this book is simply fiction, the message communicated is very real, so I suggest you consider reading Powerless and find out what happens.