Legend by Marie Lu

Legend

by Marie Lu

Speak, 2011

ISBN: 978-0142422076

305 p.p.

June is the prodigy of the Republic. Day is the nation’s most wanted criminal. In a perfect world, these two teenagers wouldn’t know each other if they passed on the street. But our world isn’t perfect, and neither is theirs.

Marie Lu’s Legend takes place in the not-too-distant future where the western United States has become its own independent nation and is constantly inching its way towards full blown war with its neighboring lands. In order to build up its premiere forces, this highly militaristic government administers an assessment every year called the Trial to all ten-year-old children in order to test their physical and mental strengths. Those who pass their Trials go on to be placed in different areas of society and trained for future jobs. Those who perform especially well are ushered into military training and assured very bright futures. But for all those who do not pass their Trials, lifelong punishment awaits. Failures are forced to do physical labor for the rest of their lives in one of the Republic’s many work camps. Or at least that’s what the Republic wants everyone to believe. In reality, all children who fail their Trials are taken away to be "disposed" of.

Except, of course, for Day.

Five years ago, one boy escaped his execution after receiving a failing grade on his Trial and he has been living on the streets as the illustrious criminal, Day, ever since. In order to survive, he has had to become nimble-fingered and tough, but Day also has a weakness. His family is living in one of the poorest districts of the Republic and is barely getting by. They believe Day is dead but when his little brother, Eden, contracts the infamously deadly Plague, Day is forced to resurface. He breaks into a hospital to secure Plague medicine for Eden and takes down a highly trained Republic soldier in the process. A solider who just so happens to be the brother of Republic prodigy, June.

Since the death of her parents, fifteen-year-old June, who received a perfect score on her Trial, has lived in the glitzy comfort of one of the Republic’s most wealthy districts with her older brother, Metias. When Metias is killed in Day’s escape, June is assigned to the case. She must now track down her brother’s killer and bring him in.

Inspired by revenge, June takes to the slums disguised as a street rat herself. But when Day saves her from a nasty street fight and helps her recover from her injuries, June finds herself falling for this mysterious young outlaw. Eventually she learns there is more to Metias’ death than the Republic has let on. The knife that Day threw in his escape landed in Metias’ shoulder, not his heart, a harsh but not fatal wound. There is something the Republic is keeping from June.

Desperate to avenge her brother’s death yet unsure of who to trust, June now finds herself questioning everything she once believed to be true. In a nail-biting climax of events, she decides to break Day out of the Republic cell and the two run away to start uncovering the mystery of their deceptive government. Lu leaves readers itching to dive into Legend's sequel, Prodigy, without hesitation.

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Legend is the first book in a trilogy of novels written by Marie Lu. Ironically born in 1984, Lu has a special place in her heart for dystopian books, like her Legend series. Originally from Beijing, China, she later came to the United States in 1989, at the age of five, and went on to graduate from the University of Southern California. Her latest book, The Rose Society, is the second installment in The Young Elites series set to come out this month. Today she lives in Pasadena with her boyfriend and their three dogs.