By: Marie Lu
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
To Be Released on: November 29th, 2011
Source: ARC from the publisher to review
5 stars: Loved It!
Pre-Order from: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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.
Wow! This action packed debut has everything I love in a book! The writing is beautiful, the plot is well paced, the story is not only engaging, but completely captivating with it's sit on the edge of your seat action, a butt kicking heroine, an equally awesome hero, and there's this fabulous, swoon worthy romance. Plus there's deception, lies, betrayal, close family ties and a dangerous mystery that leaves me wanting more from this series.
Marie Lu's dystopian world is heart pounding, exciting, dangerous and intriguing. Legend's world is set in the futuristic America in the republic of California. This world is chaotic to say the least. Not only is the government corrupt and doing secret testing, but it's at war with the Colonies, aka other parts of America, which have all been broken off into groups. I love the Marie doesn't reveal all the little details about Legend's world. With this being the first in the series, I'm looking forward to learning more about it as the series goes along. Let me just say the world building in Legend is amazing! If you removed the characters from the story, you could feel the desperation, chaos and danger that surround this republic.
The characters! These are some well written, well developed characters. Much like the world building, you learn just enough about them to connect you with them. I love June and Day's match up! These two are the perfect match, literately. They both have striking similar intelligence, combat skills, and they're both driven by the same thing. This match up made for some fabulous swoon-worthly chemistry between the two. As butt kicking as they both are, it was easy for me to connect with the vulnerability they both have. As similar as they are, I also like the little differences they have. Day is definitely on my list of favorite literary characters! How can I not fall in love with a character like him. How can I not love a heroine like June? She rocks it in this book.
I LOVED that Marie wrote this story from both June and Day's points of views, making it even easier to get to know them. This is one of the best written alternating points of views book I've read this year! Marie's writing is absolutely amazing! If you want to know how alternating points of view should be written, read Legend. I'm really blown away that this is Marie's debut book. Her writing is flawless, her plot is solid, fast moving and leaves me wanting so much! This is a thrilling dystopian read that's made my list of favorites from 2011. There's plenty of suspense, action and romance that will keep readers hooked from the moment they open the book to the very end. I highly recommend picking it up!
********************
Be sure to visit us on December 2nd for our blog tour stop for Penguin Teen's Legend blog tour! In the mean time, check out this awesome Legend art work done by Marie herself! You can find this piece, along with a few others on the CBS Films' Legend Movie Facebook page
You can read an excerpt here and watch the book trailer below-
Posts
Looking forward to the 29th! Awesome review.
ReplyDeleteI adored adored adored this book! I smell a movie in the making...
ReplyDeleteSophie- Thank you so much! This is one book I think you'll love.
ReplyDeleteAnna- This book is just made of awesome! I hope the movie makes it to the big screen!
Sounds wonderful! Excellent review =)
ReplyDelete-Wendy from A Cupcake and a Latte: YA Reviews
LOVE the illustration of June and Day! But we heard their voices weren't that distinct (like, the alternating could sometimes be confusing if it weren't for the different colors)? Glad to know you thought it worked. We're definitely looking forward to checking this one out!
ReplyDeleteMocha- Thank you! It's an excellent read!
ReplyDeleteWe Heart YA- Not at all! The voices are so easy to distinguish. The color coding with the different voices definitely helps.
Awesome review! I really enjoyed the dual POVs too both characters were a lot of fun! Glad you loved it too! :D
ReplyDeleteGiselle
Xpresso Reads
I can't get over how much I love this book. SO good! Yes, one of my very fav highlights was that it was told by both June & Day and I loved the gold print!
ReplyDeleteHope you can stop by and check out my review of Legend. Thanks!
GIselle- Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved it too! :D
ReplyDeleteVivian- YAY! I'm thrilled you loved the book as much as I did. I'm checking out your review now.
I so can't wait to read this. I already ordered it. And I'm excited that I'll be interviewing Marie in January.
ReplyDeleteNatalie- I pre-ordered this back when I pre-ordered CP from Barnes & Noble. I can't wait to read the published copy. I think you'll really enjoy it. I can't wait to read your interview w/ Marie.
ReplyDelete