A Multi-Book Review of The Legend Series by Marie Lu

Multi-Book Review: The Legend Series by Marie Lu

March 1st, 2022- I started the journey of reading the Legend series by Marie Lu. So far, I’ve only read the first book, and I am loving it. I enjoy reading Dystopian novels and coming back to the genre that got me into reading. I haven’t read a novel like this in a while. Tropes are like themes that are repeated through many books, primarily young adult fiction, that hold certain meanings for something happening in a book. Dystopian novels are filled with classic tropes that we love to encounter as readers like enemies to lovers, love triangles, or the chosen one. It just so happens that the Legend series is a perfect example of some of these tropes.

Book 0.5: Life Before Legend

Marie Lu’s Novella of Life Before Legend is a look into the back story of her two main characters, Day and June, before the plot of the proceeding series takes place.

From the point of view of Day, we follow him as an orphaned boy who is doing his best to survive in an America turned upside down, where a new Republic has taken place, and he is a wanted criminal. Day’s willingness to do anything to survive and protect his family is his core character value within the first book.

From June’s point of view, the audience dives into her younger years as the youngest child to score perfectly in her trials. She is known as the Prodigy of the Republic, and she thinks very highly of herself because of it. This trait shows up later when she is portrayed in the later books.

I read the novella before I started reading the first book, and I felt it was easier to understand Day and June’s motivation for their actions. Seeing both of the characters as their younger selves also provides a larger payoff for their character development in the series. I also sympathize with Day and June more for their situations, because I knew what they went through in this novella.

Book 1: Legend

First, I want to mention that this book was pleasantly good. As a Dystopian novel, I knew that it would read like others I’ve read in the genre. Most books in this genre contain a world that is messed up, two enemies that fall head over heels for one other, and chaos is always ensuing; this book was no different.

Second, as I mentioned in the March 1st entry, America has been turned into a new system of government called the Republic which is at war with the neighboring colonies. The West Coast, where Legend takes place, has been divided into sectors ranging from the poorest of poor to the wealthiest of wealthy. Day is from the poor Lake Sector and June was born into an elite Republic family in the Ruby Sector. I also mentioned that Day or Daniel Altan Wing is a wanted criminal by the Republic. Take my word for it, Day is not the type of criminal you are thinking of. Unfortunately, the Republic doesn’t believe this and has sent their best operative, June, to find Day and take him down. Legend revolves around a game of wits between June, Day, and the country they know nothing about.

The book contains many twists and turns that might leave you asking yourself why you picked up the book in the first place. I was having doubts about Legend, but after I finished it, I kept thinking about what would happen next. Throughout the story, A plague is spreading, people are getting sick, and the vaccines are rolling out more as variants pop up. It is amazing how Marie Lu writes about such a controversial topic as a government that doesn’t care about their own country sending out a plague.

Finally, Lu introduces great characters who know exactly what they want; it’s inspiring to the audiences that read this book back when it came out, and those, like me, who recently read it. One of the coolest notions from the book is printed on the last page of the story. Day and June are talking about their future in the light of their resolved conflict and June asks why Day chose the nickname ‘Day’. This is how Day responded: “Each day means everything is possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all in one day at a time. You try to walk in the light” (Lu 305). Isn’t it amazing that this boy who went through so much in his life, or even the last week in the book’s timeline, that he would continue to fight, be there for the few people he has left, and stay focused on the next twenty-four hours ahead of him? This is a great lesson to learn in life; you focus on the positive, your direct path in front of you, and you do your best to not give up on those around you.

Legend by Marie Lu brought back the memories of when Dystopian novels were all the rage. I remember reading Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and a lot more that gave audiences the hope to fight every day for the life they wanted to live. Even in the light of all the tragedy surrounding their lives, they never gave up until they found the ending they were looking for. This book was a little slow going, but the impact it made on me as a reader will stick with me for a long time after reading it.

Book 2: Prodigy

Summary from Goodreads: Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. 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?

** This is not the full summary of the book, but I did not want to spoil the major events references from the first book.

March 4th, 2022- Yesterday, I started reading Prodigy, the second book in the Legend series. The plot takes off a lot quicker than the first book did. In my reading experience, the second books are the best in the series, and Prodigy is holding firm to that statement. The pace of the book has been much quicker, the plot has been thoroughly thickened, and a bit of romance has blossomed between enemies. I am actually really excited to continue reading Prodigy and the rest of the series. Without spoiling anything, the stakes are getting higher, things are happening, and this series is basically going to be taking up a lot more of my time. So excited!

March 8th, 2022- We officially have a love triangle after reading halfway through book 2! Does anyone else get annoyed when you don’t want there to be a love triangle, but you know there’s going to be a love triangle, and it takes forever to get there? I love a good romance, but when it takes forever for two characters to finally share their feelings, I get bored. June and Day have finally realized that they have feelings for each other and they don’t want to see anything happen to one another after all they have experienced together. The introduction of the love triangle with June, Day, and another guy leaves me with a weird feeling. I like Day and I like this other character, but I want June to be with Day because of their commonalities in life. Even though love triangles drive me crazy, I still love seeing each character's internal monologue, which develops who they are as fictional entities.

In the last section of the book I read, I could not help loving the snarkiness that June shows to her superiors. She takes every question that she is asked and flips it around to make the people in charge panic. June expresses her sarcastic wit and charm throughout the series, and in my opinion, this is where she just lets it all go to give all she’s got to survive.

“I let my temper go up, so that they might think I’m having trouble controlling my emotions (and my exam results). ‘And then I spent three years at Drake University,’ I snap, ‘I got accepted when I was twelve and graduated when I was fifteen, because I was just that good. Does that answer your question?’” (Lu 171).

As you can tell, June has the smarts to outsmart her superiors, the emotional control to manipulate those around her, and a fiery attitude that says don’t play with her. This attitude creates anger issues within June. The readers see a little more of June’s character emerge with visions from when she was younger. The visions show the deepness of her love for her brother, Metais. She uses her sarcasm and rigid sense of humor to cover the horrible trauma she has been through over the last few months. Losing her brother, left her hopeless about what her next move would be. Learning that he had a crush on one of his classmates, Thomas, was also a shock. June never knew about that side of her brother.

I know exactly how she feels. It isn’t fun to have to hide how hurt you are inside from the things people have said, not said, or done to you. June is an amazing character for being able to translate the harsh reality that certain situations make it hard to function and positively move forward. The day she met Day changed her view of everything going on in the world.

Day and June’s story is closely related to The Hunger Games, but the roles are reversed. Instead of Katniss being the Capital’s darling and Peeta the prisoner, we find the genders flipped in this book. June is taken by the Republic while Day is out making trouble for the same government. Prodigy was published in 2013 while the last book in Suzanne Collin’s book, Mockingjay, was published in 2010.

This relation to The Hunger Games keeps audiences seeking the same dystopian love story they’ve been falling in love with for years. Marie Lu brings tropes like the love triangle, enemies to lovers, and futuristic societal war to the forefront of this series. Like any Dystopian book, each book gets crazier and crazier. There are almost always twists that you won’t see coming.

June 28th, 2022- As you might be able to tell by the date of this entry, a few months have passed since the last time I wrote about the Legend series. I finished the original trilogy back at the beginning of March, but I failed to write my thoughts down. However, I am back to finish what I started and give you all a completed review.

Book 3: Champion

I first want to write about Champion, book three in the series. As this year goes, it is one of my favorite endings. The romance aspect has taken a turn for the worse when June and Day are separated from one another. It broke my heart when they were forced to not be around each other. It was for the good of the nation, but the cost of losing someone so close to you is heavy.

Along with the struggling relationship between Day and June, Day and his brother, Eden, also are forced to make decisions that could make or break their side in winning the war with the colonies.

This book is filled with struggle and strife among all of the characters. Everyone is fighting for their lives, their families, and their country. Some fight with honored hearts, while others are trying their best to aid the bad guy in winning. Who really is the bad guy? The Republic hasn’t been truthful to its citizens, but the colonies are also instigating the war because they believe they are the superior faction.

All of these ideas are good to think about in the normal day-to-day circumstances we face. What will we do for love, how far will we go, and what are we willing to lose to get our country back to a peaceful nation under a government that genuinely cares for the people?

Book 4: Rebel

The main trilogy is over, but there is still more to be written. Rebel is the fourth book in the Legend series, but I would call it a spin-off. This book follows Day and Eden 10 years after the final events of Champion. These brothers are doing their best to reconcile their feeling toward one another after the previous book’s conclusion.

I don’t remember what exactly happens in Rebel, but I’ll just say that the plot travels to the dark side, mischief isn’t well managed, and things do not always appear what they seem. It is one crazy ride through the tunnels under a futuristic Australia; you never know what you’ll find when you go exploring.

The author, Marie Lu, wrote this as the last line of one of the books “Day, the boy from the streets with nothing except the clothes on his back and the earnestness in his eyes, owns my heart. He is beauty inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light” (Lu 371). As the writer, she was connected to her characters as much as June was in this statement towards Day. Lu and June both fought for the people they cared about to continue living their lives.

My connection to Lu’s characters is similar. Melissa Alex Gino wrote this post on Instagram, “My point is, it takes a special person to cry over a book. It shows compassion as well as imagination…don’t ever lose that” (Alex Gino, Melissa). I agree that there has to be something that pulls you into a book, and sometimes that thing doesn’t want to let go. Those things for me were the vibrant settings of Lu’s beautiful descriptions of places. The romance also had me reading way into the morning to see if our heroes were going to make it out alive together or not. It also intrigued me that June, Day, Eden, and other characters were facing such harsh turmoil. I felt uplifted that they were fighting so hard to succeed.

I’ll stop chattering, but I do suggest that you give this series a read. If you have access to Libby, Overdrive, or audio CDs, you should listen! Thanks for reading my long review and making it this far. You can read more of my reviews on my Vocal.media page and subscribe!

Work Cited:

Alex Gino, Melissa. Bookriot. Instagram. 5 March 2022.

Lu, Marie. Legend. The Penguin Group. 2011.

Lu, Marie. Life Before Legend. Putnam Juvenile. 2013.

Lu, Marie. Prodigy. The Penguin Group. 2013.

Lu, Marie. Prodigy. Goodreads Summary. 2013. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414446-prodigy

Lu, Marie. Champion. The Penguin Group. 2013.

Lu, Marie. Rebel. The Penguin Group. 2019.