"Legend" by Marie Lu

	Reading Hammock’s Rating:	5 out of 5
	Category:	Fiction
	Fiction Genre:	Dystopian
	Title:	Legend
	Author:	Marie Lu
	Author Website:	http://marielu.org/
	ISBN:	039925675X
	ISBN-13:	9780399256752
	Publication Date:	November 29, 2011
	Publisher:	Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
	Format:	Hardcover | Paperback | Digital | Audio
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Synopsis:

Born into an elite family in one of the Republics wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy committed to her country.

Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal.  From 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. 

Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival while June tries to desperately 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 to which their country will go to keep its secrets. 

My review:

  

I am pleased to say that this is another one of the novels that I was able to bring home from the Book Expo of America (BEA) in May.

“Legend” revolves around a dystopian America where one’s fate lies in a test, called, the ‘Trial’, that every child is required to take at the age of ten.  June was the first and only individual to ace the Trial and was moved into the Republic’s best college four years ahead of her cohorts. 

Meanwhile, another character named Day failed the Trial and became the most infamous criminal in the Republic.  Adding onto the mystery surrounding Day is that no one even knows what he looks like. 

One of aspect of the novel that I like the most is the fact that the main characters, June and Day, differ in background but still share similarities, such as their ability to find ways to get into trouble.  I also loved how the author, Lu, bounced between the perspective of Day and June each chapter.  This really works in “Legend” because it adds a whole new dimension to the story and allows the reader to really see the lives of the two main characters.  The changing between characters in this novel helps the reader imagine Day and June’s starkly different lives without any explanation or narration.  In other words, Lu shows us the story of “Legend” as opposed to just telling the story, making this a vivid read.  Very often, I stop reading a book when there is too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’.

I absolutely recommend this novel to everyone and I think that it deserves to be a best seller.  If you are still not sure if you want to pick up this book, I think “Legend” is a perfect match for people who have enjoyed reading dystopian other novels such as “Divergent” by Veronica Roth (see my earlier review http://readinghammock.blogspot.com/2011/10/divergent-by-veronica-roth.html.)