Legend by Marie Lu

Title: Legend
(Legend #1) Author: Marie Lu
Length: 305 pages
Publisher: Speak (Penguin Group)
Classification: Young Adult, Dystopian
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Source: e-book

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.

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I LOVE this book. I knew after reading it that this was going on my Favorite Series list/shelf.

I found this book to be action packed and I had a hard time putting it down.

This book is based in a broken America. It is primarily split into two sides, the Republic and the Colonies. There is also a group of people known as the Patriots.
Not to mention there is a plague that is killing people (mostly in the lower sector since the more wealthy can afford shots to protect them from the plague).

The story is told from two different points of view. Day and June.

Day is the Republic's most wanted criminal.
June is a prodigy of the Republic and starts to work for the military.

I liked the plot of the story. Day's brother catches the plague and so Day does pretty much anything he can do to get his hands on the cure to save his brother's life.

I really like Day's character. She is strong, determined and cares for others in his life. He will do anything including risking his life to save/protect those he loves. And I love it! Yes there were parts of his speech that annoyed me a little bit, like how he calls everyone cousin. But it didn't annoy me enough to quit reading or even take away from the overall loveness of this book.

I liked June's character. She is strong and determined too. I think her and Day were quite similar in a lot of ways. But instead of being a criminal, she is part of the top military of the Republic.

SPOILERS AHEAD. Click the button to view Spoilers

  I was surprised when June's brother died. ...probably because I didn't read anything about what happens in the series (not even the information on the book) before picking it up to read. I had seen good reviews and that it was a dystopian, so I knew I would end up liking it so I didn't need to know much about it. But I was, especially when we read from Day's point of view of him hitting Metias in the shoulder with the knife. I was also really surprised that Day was able to jump from such a height and not really get hurt. Especially since he already had a bum knee. Then we have June going to look at her brother's dead body, being told that Day is the one that murdered him. Which I immediately took note, that I did not believe that Day did it. Because he hit him in the shoulder. I made a note saying "did someone else move the knife and kill Metias?" But I kept thinking, if Day didn't do it then who did? My mind thought to different soldiers, the captain, or even maybe someone else that had been on the streets. I just didn't think that Day did it. (Maybe I just didn't want to believe that the character I started to like could do something like that...) June is very smart and she went under cover to find Day. She didn't really have to look long. She ended up stumbling into the cage match that he had been at to win some money to buy a cure. And she ended up taking the place of Tess (Day's best friend) and fought in the cage match. She gets stabbed and runs off. Where Day comes to the rescue. She doesn't realize that it is Day at the beginning (which I found easy to believe) and ends up staying with them for a few days. They kiss. They both really like it. Then she figures out that he is Day. She follows him to his family's house and then is able to make a report about it to her superiors. I was a bit surprised that she still turned him in. I thought there was starting to be something between them, and figured she would probably hold out a little bit longer and maybe find out what happened before turning him in. Nope, I was wrong. The next morning they came for his family and when he got there he found a trap. All thanks to June turning him in. Not to mention they killed his Mom, right then and there. Took his brothers into custody and captured Day. I felt so bad for him. And I also felt anger towards June. Maybe because I thought her act of revenge to capture her brother's killer was not really happening. Since I still thought that Day didn't do it. But I was a bit surprised that she went through with it. I thought she might help him or something. Later on in the story we find out that she finally believes him about not killing her brother. And she finds some interesting information regarding her brother and her parents. I loved the puzzle that Metias left for June. I thought it was so creative! Also finding out that Day also scored a perfect on his trials was surprising. I didn't see that coming. I did think a couple times that there had to be some kind of mistake with his score. But I didn't think that it would be him getting a perfect score like June. Another thing that had taken me by surprise was the fact that Metias loved Thomas. I totally didn't see it coming either. And it really made me sad for June and Metias (about his death) when she found all the information that he had discovered. I wish he didn't die. But I also liked his advice to her. He was a very good big brother. I found Day's flashbacks to his childhood to be interesting. Especially about his necklace. And the banquet that they had to celebrate Day's capture. The second we were introduced to Anden there was going to be our LOVE TRIANGLE. I love June's determination. And her desire to do what is right. After finding out that Day didn't kill her brother, she decides she needs to help him escape. She wanted him captured for justice, but when she learns that he is the wrong guy, she wants to get him out. I knew when his execution date got pushed up that something was going to go wrong with the escape plan and I was really worried for June's safety as well as Day's. And then we have one of the biggest surprises of all for me was when June and Day escaped, and John was executed as Day. This really broke my heart. John (Day's older brother) pretended to be Day (since they look similar) and was executed in his place. Which gave Day the chance to get out. To survive. It made me so SAD. I felt so heartbroken for Day. Between him and June, they both pretty much have lost everyone. Parents. Siblings. At least Day still had Eden (which they weren't able to get to yet).

 


And the ending made me want to immediately start reading the next book!
So I really loved this book! And I recommend it to anyone that likes to read YA dystopians and likes action and adventure.

My Rating: