Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Legend by Marie Lu

"Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time."



What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.


From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias' death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.


 


I'd been hearing a lot about this one, and the synopsis reminded me of Divergent, which I loved, so I decided to check it out. (Literally. Thank you, library.)


There are so many dystopian books being talked about out in the YA market right now, it's incredibly hard to guess which books are going to be good and which ones just have a really fantastic publicist. Legend, fortunately, is one of those books that is just that good.

The book alternates the point of view between June, a teen genius, and Day, a boy renegade, who constantly on the run. (What's really intriguing is that when viewpoints switch in the book, so do the font and the text color—from black to gold. I'd never seen that before in a book, so, naturally, I geeked out over it.)

Anyway, I have to start out with the amazing characters. I don't know about you, but I've read so many books where the main character is supposed to be a genius or a total expert at something, and then, when it comes down to it, they really aren't. June is actually really smart. I loved being in her mind; she's constantly analyzing the situation she's in and making observations on the most minute details. 

Day, on the flipside, was great as well. I have to say that I loved that the alternating point of view because you get to be in Day's mind. There are lots of books out there that don't really flesh out the guy love interest, and his point of view really helped to do that. I loved that we got to see so much of him.

As for plot, I was kept guessing. What I expected to be the finale of the story happened in the middle of the book, and totally threw off my expectationns.


Like a lot of dystopian books, I would have liked a little more world-building. Let me make this clear: I've never really care to know how a dystopian world got where it is then from how it is now; I don't think every book needs to drone on about the history that happened hundreds of years ago. (Example one: The Hunger Games. Did it ever explain its history? No. Was it fabulous still? Absolutely.) What I wanted was more details on how their society works, and more about the world that the author had created.

This book is a fantastic choice for those dystopian lovers out there; I hope many more readers pick this one up so it gets the attention it deserves.

Read more reviews for Legend at:

17 comments:

  1. I'm really excited to read this.

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    1. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks for the comment! (:

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  2. Hey!
    This is my first time stopping by your blog and I just wanted to say I love how you format your reviews! Very fun and unique! I like how each one opens with a quote, it sucks you right in!

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    1. Thank you! I've always been really into quotes. Whenever I'm reading a book, I write sentences from the book everywhere—on napkins and post it notes and in my school binder—and I love sharing the quotes I find with others. (:

      Thanks for checking out my blog! (:

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  3. Hi Thanks for entering my giveaway and following!! :o)

    Brianne @ memoriesovertakingme.blogspot.com

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    1. You're very welcome. Thanks for checking out my blog! (:

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  4. This book sounds amazing. Thanks for the review! By the way, I gave you an award on my blog: http://bluestribbon.blogspot.com/2012/03/liebster-blog-award.html

    Be sure to check it out!

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  5. This book sounds so great! Thanks for the awesome review. It always catches my eye at the book store, but I tend to be weary of dystopian novels because sometimes, they're just not very well thought out and I don't find them interesting! Awesome blog though, I'm a new follower :)

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    1. Yeah, I'm like that too with dystopians, because the YA market is flooded with them now, but I really enjoyed this one.

      Thanks for following! (:

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  6. I really enjoyed Legend as well. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Follow returned. ^_^

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  7. I love the sound of this book, the dystopian genre is quite popular now so I'm sure I'd enjoy Legend! Thanks for the review :)

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  8. Hi, me again! Just wanted to say thanks for leaving the comment on my Book Blogs profile! I'm now following, would love it if you could check out my blog too :)

    Beverley
    A Reading Daydreamer

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  9. Yes, this book is in my top 10 fave books!
    The quotes are so beautiful and June is such an inspiration bc her character's so strong!

    Would you maybe want to check out my book too?
    It's bookstain3.blogspot.com

    Thank you!

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