Review : Legend by Marie Lu

Summary (from Goodreads)

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.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

Personal Thoughts

I'm not very experienced with dystopian novels. In fact, I'd say that Legend is my 3rd dystopian book. Before I started the book, I'd heard great things about this book. Most reviewers I know were raving about how amazing Legend was. Therefore, I expected to be extremely satisfied with this book. However, this wasn't the case and there were a few things that bothered me.

Let's start with the main character, June. June is a child prodigy who is recruited to catch the Republic's most wanted criminal, Day.  June was a wonderful main character. She was smart, strong and bad-ass. I loved her. She was easy to connect with and I found her very realistic. She was also very kick-ass. She stands up for herself and doesn't let others mess with her. Overall, I enjoyed June as a character.

Day is a criminal. In fact, he is the most-wanted criminal in the Republic. He was an okay character. I liked the fact that he was ready to risk all for his family and Tess. He was sweet and caring. I loved the scene where he takes care of June's bruises. Although Day is depicted as an evil criminal by the Republic, he is in fact very nice. All his crimes were to help his family.

The romance in this book was a okay except for the fact that I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters. I'm a huge fan intense chemistry and I felt that this book was lacking in this aspect.

Another problem I had was the writing. The story is told in the POV of both June and Day. Now, it's very fun to see the world in both character's eyes. However, it was very difficult to differentiate between these two. I felt like they were the same person. It was a tough job to distinguish between June and Day since I felt like they had the same personality and the same way of describing things. So, it was a bit confusing at times.

The plot of the book is fairly enjoyable. I found it intriguing and interesting. I also think that Marie Lu did a great job with the action scenes. They were vibrant and gave me an adrenaline rush.

Overall, I think this is a debut novel that was very promising. Marie Lu is a good writer, but I think maybe she should try to enhance her dual POV writing. 

I think Legend might appeal to fans of Divergent.

Rating

Cover : 4/5

Plot : 3/5

Characters : 3/5

Writing : 2/5