Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Book Description via Goodreads:

ARC, 301 pages

November 29, 2011, Putnam Juvenile

The United States is gone, along with its flooded coasts. North America's two warring nations, the western Republic and the eastern Colonies, have reached a breaking point. In the midst of this broken continent and dark new world are two teenagers who will go down in history....

Born into the slums of Los Angeles, fifteen-year old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. A mysterious boy with no recorded image or fingerprints. A boy who should no longer exist. A boy who watches over his family until one evening, when the plague patrols mark his family's door with an X--the sign of plague infection. A death sentence for any family too poor to afford the antidote. Desperate, Day has no choice; he must steal it.

Born to an elite family in Los Angeles' wealthy Ruby sector, fifteen-year old June is the Republic's most promising prodigy. A superintelligent girl destined for great things in the country's highest military circles. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country--until the day her brother Metias is murdered while on patrol during a break-in at the plague hospital.

Only one person could be responsible.

Day.

And now it's June's mission to hunt him down.

The truth they'll uncover will become legend.

Source: Marie Lu (Thank you!!)

My Thoughts:

Day and June are two characters whose names I will never ever forget for as long as I live. After failing his Trial, Day has become a fugitive, constantly disrupting the peace of the Republic. He was separated from his family, forced to keep his identity hidden and forced to live out in the streets and survive on his own at a very young age. He lived with Tess, a 13-year old girl orphan that he found in the streets. I considered it very sweet and brotherly of him to take care of a child and make sure that she was safe and that she had something to eat. Then there was June Iparis, the one and only person to get a perfect score in her Trial. She was the Republic’s prodigy. She was extremely smart, kickass, reckless but had a soft side for her brother, Metias. She was on her way to a great career in the military. Despite the loss of her parents, she lived a great life with her brother. But that changed when Metias was killed. Suddenly, she was alone and there was one person to blame: Day. Soon she was tracking Day in the slum sector. But nothing could have prepared her for meeting the famous criminal.

The family life of Day and June were one of the things that I really looked forward to in the novel. Day’s family was constantly exposed to the plague. They were so vulnerable to it. The slum areas were at a disadvantage with the popping up of the plagues. In the course that June got to know Day, they discovered something about the Republic: a dirty secret that can kill them and everyone else in all the sectors. But could she really believe the words of a rebel against the country that she proudly served?

The Republic was a harsh place for someone with a low social status. The plague was spreading and the antidote was too expensive. Their future depended on the Trial. Failing meant going to labor camps. I loved the word that Lu painted. Despite its cruel edge and unfair treatment to the poor, there was a raw kind of beauty in it. I found it in the characters and their ways of surviving every day. The writing was flawless and very beautiful. It was the kind that was easy to read that it captivated me and hooked me until the end. The attention to detail was fantastic. It made the military and criminal aspects of the novel stand out. Nothing felt out of place. Nothing lacked. The overall effect of it, added with the characters, was perfection.

Legend excelled when it came to emotional impact. I rarely cry over a book. But I did in this one – more than once, mind you. This novel really moved me to tears. I was so emotionally connected with the book. The characters were very well-developed and I felt like I knew them in real life. It was amazing how much I ached, worried, cried and even felt the urge to reach into the pages and strangle a soldier for them. I was appalled at the cruelty in the society. It was the heartless kind of thing that made me horrified. But despite that, I was addicted to Legend.

Shockingly unpredictable, violent, tragic and intense, this is surely one of the most addictive debuts I have read this year. Legend is remarkably “legendary” with its huge doses of action, suspense and romance. I was addicted to every page of Legend! Now, I can’t wait for the sequel. Fans of The Hunger Games Trilogy and dystopian fanatics will love this!

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