Champion - Review

Champion (Legend, # 3)

By: Marie Lu

Published: November 5th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile (first published January 1st 2013)

369 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from library

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*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--He is a Legend.

She is a Prodigy.

Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps-Elect, while Day has been assigned a high-level military position.

But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them: just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything.

With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

Prodigy left me in a place where I wasn’t really happy. Day’s recently received a medical diagnosis that he doesn’t share with June. And June’s accepted a political position that puts her close to Andon and not really close to Day. To make matters worse, Day pulls the card about how June was involved in the death of his mother and brother which is the one thing that June feels the most guilt over. It feels like one of those “sacrificing for your good”/self-sabotage things that get on my nerves. But there was something about the whole thing that kept me from getting too annoyed. But that’s basically where we pick up with Champion. June and Day aren’t spending any time together. They both have cares and concerns that draw them away from each other even when they both still care deeply for the other.

As with several other series similar to this one (The Hunger Games, Divergent, Under the Never Sky, etc), Champion has a very political aspect to it that drives some of the plot along. Granted this isn’t as unexpected with Champion as it was for the above mentioned series enders because the Legend series has been more politically driven and less character driven all along. The Republic is trying its hardest to form a peace treaty with the Colonies. Andon is fighting to undo all the damage that his father did. But as the description says, there’s a different plague outbreak in the Colonies that is being blamed on the Republic. The Republic’s allies won’t step in and help until there’s proof that the Republic either didn’t spread the plague or is providing an antidote to the Colonies. However, the problem is…this isn’t a product of the Republic’s making. But hope can be found in Day’s brother Eden.

I don’t remember how long Day and June were physically apart, but I don’t think it was as long as I was afraid of; however, they still weren’t together emotionally. This wasn’t easy to read because I was rooting for them. They both wanted to be with the other, but there were so many things keeping them apart. There’s the appearance of a love triangle (or love square really) in the series, but have no fear, it’s not really anything to worry about. Over the entire series, I have enjoyed Day and June’s relationship. Things have never really been easy for them. They’ve faced so much. They don’t always agree. But their feelings and their faith is pretty constant despite whatever circumstances surround them.

The ending…well I’m torn on the ending. On the one hand, it wasn’t very satisfying. With everything that Prodigy puts the reader through and then add to that the events of Champion, it was more emotional than I was expecting. I will say that if I didn’t have the added hormones of pregnancy then I likely wouldn’t have gotten teary eyed, but alas I did. And at the same time, the ending was satisfying too. How that’s even possible is a bit of a mystery. I didn’t love it, but the ending wasn’t as bad as I was expecting either. Just be prepared to be put through the ringer.

In the end, I did enjoy Champion. It wasn’t the typical happy-go-lucky American way, but it wasn’t an all-out disappointment either. I enjoy when a book or series doesn’t just seek to make the reader happy and I think that Marie Lu got that right here. Because I did find myself emotional at the end, I’m going to give Champion 4 Stars, but this could have easily been 3.5 had it not had been for a redeeming aspect. Have you read Champion? What did you think? Let me know!

Prodigy - Review

Prodigy (Legend, # 2)

By: Marie Lu

Published: January 29th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

371 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Borrowed from library

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*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

I’m probably the only person who feels this way about this book. Let’s go ahead and get that out of the way up front. Feel free to boo me and all that jazz or whatever. But I have to say that I found myself disappointed with Prodigy. At the end of Legend I pretty much determined what outcome I wanted to see as my happily ever after for this series and these characters. Well, while reading Prodigy I just kept getting increasingly frustrated because it just really looked like my happily ever after had entirely too many things being directed at it to tear it down. I felt like I was watching a trainwreck with no way to stop it. I only knew that I probably wasn’t going to be happy with the outcome. I’ve only done this like one or two other times, but I went out in search of some reviews. I didn’t really want spoilers, but I wanted to know if I should just let myself be apathetic toward the events knowing that I wouldn’t get my happily ever after or if there was actually hope left to hold onto. And well what I found wasn’t exactly hope.

While others really raved about Prodigy because of all the emotions that readers felt while reading this book and that this was a great 2nd book in a series, all I mostly felt was frustration. In the end, I felt like Prodigy followed the same path of most 2nd book in a series have.

Day and June are up against a lot in Prodigy. Day’s still on the search for his brother. Tess has gotten separated from them—I couldn’t remember most of the details about how that went down from Legend. And June’s still reeling from all that she’s learned about the Republic and their involvement in the death of her brother. Once they meet up with the Patriots, Day and June get pulled in their political plans. They’re all trying to serve one purpose but Day’s piece of the puzzle and June’s require them to spend some time apart. During their time apart Day and June are being pulled in different directions. Not to give too much away, but Tess is finally expressing her interest in Day (in the most annoying way possible), and June is being approached by the new head of the Repubilic. Their relationship is put to the test and we aren’t sure where true loyalty lies. Day and Tess have known each other for longer than he’s known June, and is June as cut off from the Republic as Day hopes? Well I’ll never tell. But you can see how they’re being pulled at and tested from all sides.

And this is what I mean by Prodigy following the typical path that other middle books have. Book 1 is usually the setup. You’re giving the information about the world and the characters and relationships start to build. Book 2 is the test of those relationships—time apart, other characters interested in the main two, etc—as well as deepening of the world around them. And then Book 3 is the resolution. The relationships either come through to the other side, or they don’t. And the characters overcome some issue in their world, or they don’t. Prodigy fits in just the same as any other middle book in a trilogy.

A separate and somewhat small gripe is how June realizes that Mateus had feelings for Thomas. I’ve discussed (repeatedly) about how gay characters seem to be forced into many (if not most) YA literature throughout the last few years and this is just one prime example. Mateus is dead. This isn’t a spoiler—he died in Legend. So why was it even necessary to bring this up in Prodigy? His character is dead and gone. And even though we see Thomas in this book, he doesn’t have a big enough role to warrant any discussion of this whatsoever. It didn’t move the story along in any kind of way. It just felt forced.

And then there’s the ending. The ending wasn’t a big surprise for me since I’d gone looking at reviews beforehand. I didn’t read anything that told me what happened, but I expected something big and not exactly happy and well I was right. I can’t say for sure, but I have some small hope that Champion can redeem this ending, but that’s all I’ll say about that.

In the end, I just felt disappointed with Prodigy. It wasn’t “bad,” but it was frustrating. And frustration is about the only emotion I felt throughout the whole book. Even when things were somewhat sad, I just felt slightly annoyed. Mostly I think Prodigy fell into the middle book in a trilogy slump for me. In the end, I’m giving Prodigy 3.5 Stars. Have you read Prodigy? What did you think? Let me know!

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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*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

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!

Waiting on The Young Elites

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Young Elites (The Young Elites, # 1)

By: Marie Lu

Expected Publication: October 7th 2014 by Putnam Books for Young Readers

336 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

I haven't read Marie Lu's Legend series yet, but it's on my list. And I definitely plan to check out this series as well. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!