Customer Reviews

Legend

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I tend to be very skeptical of YA dystopias now because when something becomes trendy, many things that are not of the best quality get published, seemingly to cash in. I love these kinds of stories when they are well written, because what is not to love about messed-up societies and the strong characters that fight them? But of course even something that awesome can be, and has been ruined by bad authors.

Not here.

Legend is the sort of book that pulls you in immediately. It simply throws you into the story without "telling" you any backstory beforehand and you get to learn things as you go along. Which I love! And it is not done in a confusing way, but rather in a way that seems natural- you are learning things as the characters learn them, or learning details that the characters always knew as they become important.

The characters are what made this story. It alternates between the point of view of Day and June. What is interesting about reading from their viewpoints is that they are both exceptional people in their world, but they seem like normal young adults once you are inside their heads. I think that if the book had been written from the point of view of a "normal" character who met one of them, they might have been portrayed with a sort of sense of wonder, but reading it you don't get that sense- instead you see two human characters who are just trying to fight for what they believe. And what great fighters they are! Day has managed to become his nation's most wanted anti-government terrorist (it doesn't actually call him that, but that's what he is,) at the age of 15. June, the same age, is a prodigy quickly rising in the army. Their ages were actually one thing I didn't like as much- I think some parts would have made more sense if they had been a couple years older, since some of the backstory, like Day's past criminal acts, tells us that he would have been doing noteworthy terrorist attacks at age 12 or 13. But even so, Marie Lu makes it work, somehow. I guess it's not any more crazy than the things other sci fi heros have done while going through the early stages of puberty. June's history is a bit more believable, as she has led a pretty sheltered life completing her schooling up until the novel begins, with the added twist that she has received some quite special treatment due to her enormous talents. Still, when you are reading their narration, they both seem about 18-19.

Both characters are given enough depth to humanize them, and when they meet one another, which happens about a third into the novel, the fact that so much has been developed already makes the meeting a very exciting event to read- all the more so because they are enemies, for now...

The plot was very fast-paced and exciting- at around 300 pages, shorter than many books of this genre, it had to move quickly- but it manages to be well developed even within the space constraints. The writing was decent- I would have liked a bit more description to make the world feel more real and alive, but with a fast-moving story like this it didn't detract from the overall enjoyment.

Overall I give this 4/5. I recommend it to people who read for story and characters, and are not after the kind of heavy social commentary found in traditional dystopian lit. Whereas traditional dystopians tend to treat the setting as the main focus, this is more of a fun cat-and-mouse/ Bonnie-and-Clyde-style adventure with an oppressive society as the backdrop. Among many YA dystopians, this one stands out for its awesome characters and addictive plot.

I'm a dystopian book fanatic. I collect them like the Cookie Monster collects his cookies. So when I first heard of Legend earlier this year I knew I had to get a hold of it ASAP. And I wasn't entirely disappointed because Legend features a strong, kick-ass heroine, a disturbing future world, multi-cultural characters, and tons of action.

Legend tells the story of a two remarkable 15-year-olds, Day and June, living on West cost of the United States now known as The Republic. This book instantly reminded me of Aladdin because Day is from a very poor area of The Republic and steals from the rich to help out his family and community. June on the other hand, has grown up in one of the wealthiest areas and has everything she could ask for and a secure future. Their paths suddenly cross after June's brother is murdered during a hospital break-in attempt by Day. The Republic's military uses June's thirst for revenge and has her track Day and bring him to justice. However, June soon finds out her safe world has not been what it appeared to be at all.

I loved all the characters in Legend. I felt they were well developed and very likable. Even June's brother, Metais, who dies very early in the story, was likable. Both protagonists were strong and resourceful, though, at times, a little too resourceful. I enjoyed the alternate POVs allowing the reader to get a chance to really understand the backgrounds of both characters. But there were times when I got a little irritated with June for not being able to see the bigger picture of the evils of the Republic. She just seemed entirely too loyal for her to be portrayed as a rule breaker in the beginning. Contrastingly, I really liked Day, who struggles to provide for his family throughout the novel. There were a few scenes that managed to pull at my heartstrings.

However, I did have a few issues with the world building. We are led to believe the rest of the US are considered the Rebels and a few natural disasters destroyed most of the East coast. There isn't any real mention of what the outside world is doing either. I know it may seem like I'm nitpicking, but hear me out. If the US were to suffer that bad of a natural disaster, resulting in the crumbling of our government and the extinction of the dollar bill, this would have a huge negative effect on the world's economy. You cannot expect me to believe the rest of the world is chillin' while the US is under a civil war. Where is the United Nations? What side of the war are our ally countries on? For this book to be so focused on military and a US civil war, I expected to have these answers. Sadly, I did not and for that this book felt a little incomplete.

I also had trouble with Day and June being so...unstoppable. Yes, let's use that term. Day breaking into a hospital guarded by armed and trained gun men with just a disguise and two knives? When the soldiers open fire on him only one bullet manages to graze him? Whoever trained these soldiers needs to send them straight back to the boot camp they came from. This is one of those situations where you have to just let all sense of logic float out the window if you are to remotely enjoy the novel. And for June to be so smart I'm not sure how she never guessed the Republic's true intentions from the start. Even when the evidence was sitting there screaming, "Look at me! Look at me!" she just...looked the other way. It was very obvious why the Republic treated the poorer citizens so badly.

And of course, my biggest pet peeve was the semi-insta-love between June and Day. I say semi because it wasn't like they met and they were instantly proclaiming their love for one another. It was more of I just didn't believe their romance had enough time to become anything, let alone love. I would have perferred if the romance was left out completely in this book and instead introduced in the second. You know, because usually you become friends before lovers.

Despite those issues I was still able to enjoy the book and I'm looking forward to the sequel. My only hope is that the world building is tightened up a bit and possibly a map is thrown in.

More reviews and other random things at my blog Book Catching: [...]

I, too, read this in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Fast, twisty, focused. I also just read Eve by Anna Carey and while the Eve and June have a similar starting point (elite education in a dystopian future post-plague western US with girl who starts to see through the veneer of the ruling class), Marie Lu's June is written as a more active and empowered girl while Carey's Eve is very inexperienced, even though she can take action. Both are worth a read, but Legend's pacing just rocks and Day really leaps off the page. Lu is not afraid to let her characters get beat up (er, really beat up) and take some wild crazy risks.

Like another reviewer, I was starting to get burned out on the YA Dystopia genre. This book renewed my interest. I did like the dual points-of-view, but I think I enjoyed the Day sections better than the June sections.

It was one of those books that you can't put down, but you also don't want it to end. I lingered on the last page before I could hit "next page" on my Kindle.

If you liked Divergent, I think you will like this book.

Legend falls victim to the "enough plot for one book stretched into 3+" plague that seems to be the recent fad of all young adult novels. I've seen so many advertized as being #1 of the insert-random-name series--Glow (Sky Chasers), Matched, Divergent. How about you publish a good book with room for growth and then think about sequels?

There are some interesting themes in Legend and the characters are well developed but, honestly, there is very little plot and far too many unanswered questions. There are several times (the pendant, the marked doors/pieces of metal, the trials, etc) where the main characters are all "woah, I can't believe this evil government is doing this! I am so shocked/disgusted/horrified/etc" and then they promptly forget about it two paragraphs later. There is absolutely nothing resolved in this book that you can't glean from the blurb on the cover.

This would have been a great first 4 chapters to a larger book but, as it stands, its completely unsatisfying. I'm all for a series of stories but each one actually has to have a somewhat complete story arc for me to keep coming back to the author and series.

Whoa. whoa. I LOVE DAY! Haven't had a crush in a dystopian book-boy in a while. But... Oh, Day!

Wonderful pacing, great plot, dizzying sexiness, heart-pumping action, and one of the yummiest heroes this year! Plus, the messed-up futuristic factor, and all the mystery around what is really going on, left me thirsty, craving more!

This book was like, EXACTLY everything I enjoy. First of all, dystopia. Set in a future America where California is part of the 'Republic' and they are in war against the 'Colonies'. We are not given much details of how the politics work yet, but the world building was fantastic. You can feel the chaos of the setting flowing out of the pages.

Second, tough-as-steel characters. Day and June and virtually the same person in opposite sex and opposite worlds. I love a strong heroine that can practically match up to the yummy hero. Which takes me to the third point.

Day, Day, Day. I love Day. Day reminds me a lot of Han from Cinda William's Chima's Seven Realms. So, he reminds me of one of my biggest literary crushes so it's safe to say he is now one of my biggest literary crushes as well. And Day is even more special because it's hard not to connect and fall for the male character a bit more when the story is told in his pov. And by this I mean that Marie Lu rocked the alternating povs! Even though the characters are so similar, the voices were uniquely different. And whereas June's had the vulnerability and softness of a girl (I don't mean this as a sexist comment but it's true), Day's was dry and acid, just like he is. Not that he's not vulnerable, because he is, but he just doesn't show it the same way.

The action was non-stop, the twists were full of surprises, and the romance was sexy and thrilling and perfect. Definitely one of the sexiest and most heart-pumping romances I've read in a dystopian book. The next book cannot come fast enough! I need MORE now!

Legend by Marie Lu is a great addition to the YA dystopian genre, although after reading about 10 of these I can say that parts of it were definitely better than most while other parts of this book were quite lacking.

Overall, I was thoroughly entertained. A solid plot with plenty of action and suspense kept me up at night furiously trying to read it. Anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games will no doubt also enjoy this book.

Things I really liked:

-Switch between narrators between Day and June. I felt that was the strongest part of this whole book because you got to experience the story from both their perspectives, without the alternating narration hinder the momentum of the plot.

-Clearly Marie Lu is a writer who has spent hours watching action movies or playing action video games because she writes her action scenes very well. A lot of action scenes in other YA books tend to be a lot of the reading filling in the blanks, but Lu's scenes are clear and well thought out.

-Pacing was perfect. I rarely found myself bored or skimming sections.

Things That I Didn't Like:

-Even though the point of this story was to get inside June and Day's head and really get a sense of who these people are and how they operate under extraordinary circumstances, I really felt there was a lot missing in the writing. I really wish Lu had spent more time with June and Day when June goes undercover into the slums. Even though their time together was brief, I really didn't believe that a relationship would develop that quickly, especially for someone as careful and cautious as June. I also feel like June's time with her brother could have been lengthened, it was so quick and I really missed their dynamic through the rest of it.

-Normally I hate it when writers spend way too long describing scenes, but in this case I think it could be the opposite. I would have appreciated a little more detail in almost every scene, not a lot, just a little more. That also would have helped make this short, short read a little bit longer.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I'm eager to see where the storyline picks up in the second one. While the writing was solid, I do want to commend Lu for pacing and again, those action scenes rocked!

My First Book review EVER -Legend by Marie Lu
I dread writing book reviews...but here goes anyway

So, for everyone who can't stand those multi-page reviews, here is my review of Legend by Marie Lu.

One sentence synopsis: In a post apocalyptic United States still caught in the throws of civil war, LA's most wanted criminal (boy) is pursued by the government's most gifted agent (girl) after boy kills girl's brother.

At 336 pages (even less on my nook) the book is a super-fast read. Legend currently sits at #393 on the Amazon best sellers ranks, which is awesome for her first novel! The character descriptions and thought processes are excellent -you feel like you're inside her characters as she alternates between the two, chapter-by-chapter. When I got to within 40 pages of the end, I thought to myself, there is no way she will be able to wrap everything up before the end. I was wrong.

There is no fat in Legend, her editors did an excellent job of seeing to that. My only gripe is Lu tipped her hand earlier than necessary (in my humble, worthless opinion) on a mystery that could have been left unexplained and made the reader more anxious for the next book in the series. There is only one course of action driving the main character forward at the end- justifying a sequel when she could have left at least one more major plot point unanswered. I don't believe it would have taken away from the story had she done so.

Considering it took me less than ten days to read (with my schedule that's an accomplishment) I'd say it was captivating, well worth the money and quite enjoyable overall. I would recommend this to anyone seeking escape from reality and immersion into a creative mind.

P.S. She has a cool website well worth checking out if you enjoy her writing.

I listened to Legend on my Kindle while making a long drive. I needed a book that didn't require too much brain power to follow the plot but was thrilling enough to keep me awake. I'm a huge Hunger Games fan, so I thought Legend would do the job and it did. The narration on the audio was fantastic. The story is alternately narrated by the two main characters, Day and June, and this dual first-person narration was very cleverly done in carrying out the story. It didn't get really interesting until about half way through. The plot was decent but I found it too predicable, and Day and June came across much older than 15 year olds. I thought there was too much romance, considering the tragic situations they were both constantly in. The story would have been less annoying if it wasn't frequently interrupted by Day's and June's rant on how each want the other. Despite these flaws, both characters are very likable and the plot was interesting enough for me to want to read the next one.

For Hunger Game fans:
Would I recommend it? Yes, but don't get your hopes too high. From reading the reviews, I thought Legend would be just as good as the HG or even better, but this does not hold a candle to the HG.

I was so excited to read this book and after 75 pages I closed the book frustrated, confused and done.

The problem for me was that the two main characters sounded exactly the same...same feelings, voice, and attitudes. I was totally confused at times trying to figure out why I did not like this story, and ultimately it came down to an uninspired, tired and boring story about characters I did not care for...at all.

I hate to give these kind of reviews, but it seems I am in the minority with my opinion. Clearly Ms. Lu can write...it just seems her editor did not push her to differentiate her characters enough.

I am a huge fan of dystopian novels and this just did not hit the mark for me.

PG12
Not YA Crossover