Legend Featured Hot

I had such high hopes for this book. Like most of the world who finished The Hunger Games and was immediately ravenous for more, I asked my trusty search engine what was the next best thing for someone like me, eager to plunge back into the what-if world of future dystopian America. And the answer was a resounding "Legend." So I immediately ran out and plopped down my hard-earned cash so I could devour this masterpiece.

Imagine my disappointment when I just...didn't...care.

Legend follows two protagonists - Day and June - in a future dystopian Los Angeles. They live in the Republic, which is at constant war with The Colonies (not exactly sure where these are, but they appear to be the rest of the U.S. outside of L.A./California...seems like it wouldn't be much of a battle, but apparently it is). The Republic is being ravaged by "the plague," a mysterious illness that seems to only affect the poor parts of town - including Day's family.

Day and June are both 15. Both are geniuses. Both are good looking to the point of absurdity. Both can very nearly leap tall buildings in a single bound, in spite of the fact that Day has a knee injury that prevents him from walking normally, but NOT from scaling a 10-story building from the outside in a matter of seconds.

Both are exactly. The. Same.

Except for the small fact that Day grew up in the poor parts of town and is the country's most-wanted criminal (for crimes that are never fully disclosed, but sound like the equivalent of juvenile pranking of expensive government equipment). June grew up rich and is top of her class at the University, even though she's several years younger than her classmates. June is promoted to active duty and assigned to hunt down Day. Predictably, they ultimately join forces (which I would precede with a "Spoiler Warning," except that this plot "twist" is completely spoiled on the back cover of the book when it labels itself a "romantic thriller").

Legend's chapters rotate between Day and June's points of view. With the exception of the different fonts/colors and the fact that they repeatedly remind us that Day is Poor and June is Rich, their voices are indistinguishable from each other.

The murder "mystery" is not all that hard to figure out, and there are some plot holes large enough to drive a truck through. And maybe it's because I'm an adult and not a 15-year-old, but I wasn't even kind of invested in the "love story." Even setting aside the fact that they're both 15 and barely know each other, the foundation of their relationship seems to be that they're both pretty.

I could get into all the little things that irked me about the book (not the least of which was the 20-something Thomas' creepy and stalker-ish pursuit of June), but then this review would be a book in and of itself.

The main point is that while I probably could have finished Legend in a day or two if I was invested in it, it took me nearly a month to finish this book. I kept putting it down for days at a time, then forcing myself to pick it back up, mostly because I hate leaving things unfinished. If not for that little quirk in my personality, I could have put Legend down after just a few chapters, and never thought about it ever again.

So, Legend brings us yet another dystopian world to explore. This one is the 'Republic Of America', a country fighting a perpetual war against the neighbouring 'Colonies'. The country, as a result, is very militaristic - all the best jobs are involved with the military and all the best students are sent to the best universities where they train to become soldiers because 'better soldiers make for better chance of victory against the Colonies.'

Every child takes a Trial at the age of 10, and this test will determine the rest of their lives. A mix of physical and academic tests, the Trial measures a child's ability and each person is then given a score out of 1500. The education and opportunities you will receive in life depend on your score - it's the difference between university and a successful, happy life or being barred from school and destined to a life in the slums. And those who fail are taken away from their families and sent to labour camps for the rest of their lives.

A perfect Trial score is practically unheard of; only one person has ever achieved it and that's our story's heroine - June. This makes her somewhat of a prodigy and she is the only fifteen-year-old senior in a university meant for sixteen and up. She is very lucky - as well as being smart, she is from a wealthy district.

On the other end of the spectrum is our other protagonist, Day, the Republic's most wanted criminal. He's from the slums and he failed his Trial.

Legend alternates between Day's and June's perspectives and we find that, despite their differences on the surface, they are actually quite similar - both very brave and fiercely loyal to their families.

In my opinion, it took a little too long for June and Day to actually meet, I was waiting for the bit where they finally met each other and this didn't happen until nearly half-way through the book. Also, I didn't feel like I was sucked into Marie Lu's dystopian world - it never really felt completely real to me.

However, Legend was fast-paced and full of action and a very exciting read. I wouldn't say I loved it but I definitely liked it a lot. It was full of twists and turns and mysteries - where do the children who fail their Trial really go? What's really behind the plagues that keep breaking out all over the Republic? And the biggest question of all for June - is the country and government that she trusted and believed in so much, and fought so hard for, really what it seems?

Thanks to the lovely Blair Kensley, and one of her fabulous Giveaways, I had the honor of reading Legend from debut author, Marie Lu. I had read the hub-bub over the Twittersphere about this book so it was on my TBR list and could not wait to get my greedy hands on it. It was worth the wait.The kiddo was home sick today so I spent my afternoon flipping page after page of this book. I was hooked.

Miss Marie introduces us to a post apocalyptic Los Angeles where nothing is as it is today. The cities have been redefined, plagues ravish the poor, the classes of people have a clear division, and there is an all around instability to life. Children are tested through Trials and, depending on how well they pass, their future is defined. If they fail...well...you have to read to find out. *grin*

I instantly fell for June and Day. The characters were both confident without being snarky or unlikable. June is the top of her class and the brightest star in the galaxy when it comes to her training by the Republic, and Day is an over-achieving street rat who has a heart of gold. Both characters were written well. There was a subtlety to them that made them seem more real, if that makes sense. Sometimes you read about over-achieving characters and they are so filled with awesomeness that they are truly fiction. June and Day did not come off that way to me at all.

The alternating 1st person POV's were awesome! I like this style. You really get into each characters head and see them for who they are and not how they appear to the narrator. Each chapter called out whose head you were in, but I don't think it would have been difficult to tell them apart otherwise. Miss Marie gave a clear picture on each individual.

The world Miss Marie built was very interesting. She did not go into a whole lot of all around detail, but focused mostly on the immediate area. You get a sense that the world has been turned on its head with the crumbing of the good ole US of A, but she does not stray from the "Los Angeles" area. Perhaps in the next installment we will see more of the chaos.

At the same time, I really didn't need to know what was going on at the East Coast or in the UK since my characters were not there. The slums that Miss Marie created were well crafted. From the waterfronts to the crumbling remains of buildings, she gave just enough to paint a picture and let the reader create the finer details.

The romance that built up between June and Day was very sweet as well. It was not full of steaming glances or heart pumping hormones, but then again, both characters are only fifteen so I felt it was appropriate. They are essentially the same person, just in boy and girl form, so it was nice they saw this in each other. The lovey-dovey was not overdone by any means and did not distract from the story, but added to it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Legend was a great fast paced read. Hell, I read 2/3 of it while the kiddo took a nap! It kept me reading, as it's supposed to do, and I will anxiously wait for the next installment!

A highly entertaining debut from start to finish. I really enjoyed this book! It's hard to put down once you start reading. Action, adventure, heartbreak, betrayal, and survival. Loved it! It's told from a dual POV, and I liked being in both Day's and June's heads while reading. I would've loved a bit more explanation for the world and how it came to be the Republic against the Colonies. I have a feeling that might be coming in book 2. :) I'm definitely a fan and will be picking up book 2!

The main characters are very well-rounded and I am eager to read the sequel to this book.

This is the dystopian I've been waiting for all of 2011.

Though not completely a retelling of Les Miserables, Marie Lu's talented debut still takes the important threads of the plot line and weaves them together into an entire new setting. I was a little thrown off balance at first because somehow I figured that Day was the girl (blame the long hair), but after that little confusion was sorted out, it was one smooth ride.

I loved the way that Lu made both characters loveable and sympathizable in their own way. Usually, I end up liking the boy and hating the girl for totally not deserving him, or vice versa. In Legend, I do admit that I was biased towards Day because it felt like he had so much more at stake than June, but she still had a soft spot in my heart for her circumstances. Confession: It hurt when Metias died. It really did.

(But definitely not about her Trial-SAT-whatzit scores. Way to make all us non-evolved teenagers feel dumb.)

Also, in my opinion, Day > Katniss when it comes to be a revolutionary starter. I mean, I probably mentioned this before, but in the Hunger Games, it seemed like people chose Katniss as their symbol merely because of a flaming dress gimmick. With Day, it made much more sense - a Robin Hood tripping up the rich set with every step they take? Of course the citizens would take him as their figure of hope.

(No offense to any Katniss fans. I say it how I see it.)

The main thing that irritated me - as it does in most every YA I read nowadays - is how quickly a cute face and "glittering eyes" can make a girl/guy fall in love. Day and June knew nothing about each other, and Day still acted like a sop over her even after she betrayed him. I do have to admit, though, that I liked the way that the author kept June on her guard until she learned more about Day for herself. Rational researching heroines for the win. Another thing was the miraculous case of their both being prodigies, which I hope will be explained more in the next book: if Day was a prodigy, too, why was he shipped off?

Also, did anyone else notice some subtle foreshadowing on page 182 - the confrontation between Thomas and June? Cool hinting, that.

After reading most of the new titles in this genre I find that Marie Lu has a fresh voice with a well thought out plot and characters. I am looking forward to the next book in what should be a trilogy.