Legend - Review

Legend (Legend, # 1)

By: Marie Lu

Published: November 29th 2011 by Putnam Juvenile

305 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from the elibrary

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Goodreads description--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's 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’m not sure that I have much to say about Legend. It’s been on my TBR list for a couple of years now, and so when I saw that the e-library had it available on audiobook I put a hold on it. It didn’t take too long to listen to it, but I feel like I didn’t absorb as much as I wanted to as well. I’m sure it didn’t help that I was reading The Body Electric by Beth Revis at the same time. Though the stories don’t seem that similar on the surface, they both had a lot of similar aspects. So I hope that I’m keeping all of the details straight for Legend.

Yes, Day is the "most wanted" criminal. He grew up poor and has to remain a bit separate from his family to keep them out of the trouble he’s caused for himself. He does have Tess, a street-smart yet vulnerable girl, that he’s taken under his wing. Tess has her usefulness as she’s quite a handy medic when needed. Day’s all about causing mischief. I guess you could say that he’s rebellious by nature. Yet, I found myself a little confused by his character. I couldn’t figure out exactly why he keeps doing these little stunts. It’s obvious that he doesn’t trust the government, but he’s not joined the rebel forces either. So I guess I just found myself a little confused by him.

June is straight-laced. She’s the only person to have a perfect score on her trials. So she’s somewhat of a prodigy. She’s young, but when her brother is killed she’s called up from training to hunt down her brother’s killer, namely Day. Yet the problem is…Day didn’t do it. June is too smart for the government’s tricks though. She can see that Day being her brother’s killer doesn’t reconcile with the boy who’s pulled the prior stunts that he has nor with the boy she sees before her—the boy who didn’t leave her behind and the boy who takes care of Tess. But it’s going to take a lot for June to switch off her loyalty to the government.

The romance honestly felt a little bit forced to me. I mean there were parts that were believable, but things happened a little bit fast for me. I think I would have liked for the romance to remain tension until book 2. But that’s just me. And truthfully, I never really thought I’d say that. The romance from a book is usually my favorite part. I love love stories. But I also need them to feel authentic. I love the idea of June and Day developing more than friendship, but that takes time and trust—which I imagine they will have more of in the next book.

Marie Lu’s writing style was smooth, and I’m definitely interesting in continuing the series. But I can’t say I was completely blown away with Legend at the same time. I’d give it a 3.5 Star rating. Have you read Legend? What did you think? Let me know!