Review: Legend by Marie Lu

In a sentence or so: June and Day are both incredibly bright youth on opposite sides of the law, yet have more in common that either can possibly imagine. Their drastically different paths eventually converge and impact their entire society.

June is the top of her class - and she knows it. She scored a perfect score on her trial and is obviously hbic. Her peers treat her with crazy respect and adoration, but no one really gets to know her. That's cool though - she has her brother Metias and that's good enough.

Until he's murdered by the Republic's most wanted criminal, Day.

June sets off to find this Day kid and avenge her brother's death.  Sure, Day may be wicked smart and crazy skilled too, but he's just a street rat. June has no doubt she can best him in her physical ability, mental ability, and her detective skills. She's right, too. What she doesn't predict is that this criminal has motivations that resonate closely with her own, and that maybe the Republic she's devoted herself to isn't really that fabulous.

This is most definitely Dystopian Done Right. And I'll tell you why.

Smart Characters. Literally. Both Day and June are crazy intelligent and made sweet deductions and use Bruce Wayne level detective skills to figure stuff out. They are independent and crafty and make their own decisions. The alternating chapters allow for the reader to really get to know their motivations and the depth of their character.

Corrupt Government. It's super subtle, which is pretty rad. I'm sure we'll find out more as the series goes on, but we find out enough to let us know the Republic is really the RepubSUCK and that of course they aren't really acting in the people's best interest.

Slow Build. Of course, June and Day are connected and there's some swoony times. But it builds slowly and despite it being predictable, it's still fun to be a part of and read about. There's also a slow building of where the book is headed too, which I dig a lot. No rush to spill every detail right away, but rather keeping some back to keep you wanting more.

Action! People die! There's blood and torture and stuff! It's not crazy gory, but it's got enough action and violence to be considered a thriller. And seriously, dystopian societies are nothing if not violent as hell.

If you're looking for a solid new dystopian series with well developed characters and great writing, give this one a shot. And don't be surprised if you read the whole book in a sitting.

Fave quote: "I have a sudden fear that somehow, some way, what he said in the dream will come true." (271, Day)

Fix er up: It was a tad predictable, but the action and the groundwork with other characters and the crazy Republic certainly added enough freshness to keep me interested.

Title: Legend (Legend #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Pub Info: November 2011, G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Dystopian

[FTC Notice: I borrowed an ARC of this book from Jacinda at The Reading Housewives. I was not compensated in any way for this review. Thanks, Jacinda!]