Legend by Marie Lu Review

4.5 out of 5 stars

Ok, so I really liked this book.

In Dystopian Western United States, two teenagers living opposite lifestyles (are destined to) meet. One, June, is a wealthy orphan who lives with her brother. She is considered the country’s prodigy and is being trained for elite levels of the military. The other, Day, is a criminal living in one of the poorest parts of the city. When June’s older brother is killed and Day is blamed, she tracks and down and captures him. However, as June begins to learn more about her brother and her government’s past, she realizes that maybe Day is the only one she can trust.

 Whew. I am getting more dramatic by the minute.

So I know that sounded like the story was mostly about June, but in all actuality the story alternates between Day and June’s point of views. I generally enjoy multiple narrators, especially between first person boy and girl. There are so many popular dystopian books out now, but this is probably one of my favorites, along with Divergent. Except this one, which is also in a trilogy, has a much better book #2 than the Divergent one.

Okay, now for the actual review. There were so many things to love about this book. Both of the characters were extremely different, but they both drew my sympathy in different ways. They had very distinct voices, which I think is often lacking in multiple POVs. Day is a little rough around the edges, but was also very vulnerable and open, if that makes sense. June, on the other hand, is polished, tight-lipped, and calculating.  They are wonderfully opposing characters. The government, like in most dystopians, plays a huge role in the book, yet it is also filled with characters who are good, bad, and in between.

Overall, I think this book was well developed and well written. It gets a bit violent at parts, and there is obviously some romance, so I would say it would be about 12 and up. A quick warning: if you are planning on reading the second book, it is more mature than the first. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a dystopian book or just one with some interesting action and conspiracy theories and that sort of thing. I loved it, and I hope you do to.

Thanks!

Liv