Title: Prodigy
(Legend #2)
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: YA Dystopia
Format: Hardcover
Length: 371 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publish Date: January 29, 2013

Death, War, Attempted Assassination,
Bombing, Surgery, PTSD, Violence

Mongolian

Remember how I was supposed to be doing a Legend Trilogy readalong back in September? Well, I finally got to the second book! More than a month later, but whatever. I’m shocked I even got to it in this year.

If you needed a reminder of who hosted it, when the dates were and all that. Also, if you guys didn’t know, there was a fourth book that Lu wrote, Rebel, that came out this month I believe! You should totally check it out if you haven’t already.

• Pretty sure Day and June are going to have to deal with some shit on the run
• I don’t know whether they are going to actually side with the Patriots, but that may be their best bet
• I took so long to read this after the first one that I kind of don’t remember whether I want to see Tess again or not
• Still feeling some grief over John
• Is Eden even alive? Or is this all a trap?
• Do I even want Day and June to be endgame? Doubt it, but I don’t know yet.

Day and June are still our two main characters in this novel, and the story still splits the narration between the two. While they both went through some shit in the first book, it seems like there may be a fracture in whatever trust or friendship that they developed in the first one, during their time separated from one another. In this one, we see that June is starting to show a little bit more feelings, and has to work through it. Both Day and June are going through major PTSD from what happened to them, and somehow they are trying to work together to keep each other afloat.

Anden is the new Elector Primo that took over for his father, and it seems like he’s pretty radical compared to his father. Rather than continue the path that his father was taking, he wants to change the Republic into a better government. Maybe not what the United States used to be, but something better than what it is today.

Razor is the code name of one of the leaders of the Patriots, and he is someone in a high position in the Republic. He gets June and Day to agree to work with him and the Patriots in a plan that is supposed to jump start some sort of revolution. He’s kind of sketchy and old though.

Pretty sure this took place maybe a week after the ending of Legend. Day and June are on the run from the Republic, and Day is dealing with the aftermath of what was supposed to be his execution. But then when they finally hit Vegas – a heavily armed military city – they end up finding some members of the rebel group The Patriots, and end up getting separated in order to complete a plan to start a revolution. During their separation, things happen, and by the time they do end up coming back together, things have definitely changed in the worst way. Will they be able to salvage whatever kind of relationship that they built in the first book, and will they even want to?

• Tess growing up into her own person, and showing that she is actually really capable of handling things on her own. She makes such a great Medic, and I’m so glad that her being with the Patriots helped to hone her skills.
• June trying her best to be more emotional and see people as more than just marks. She still has her analytical thought process and we still get her statistics and all that during different low key moments, but she also has been learning more about her own self, and her own emotions and it’s really interesting to see. I’m super proud of her to see that kind of growth.
• Getting to see the stark differences between the Republic and the Colonies in the flesh. That was… definitely interesting. I feel like The Republic was reminiscent of what the world thinks North Korea or China are, and the Colonies was a cracked up version of the current United States, full of capitalism and stuff.

MY POOR POOR [REDACTED] AND WTF THAT WAS SO CRUEL OF LU.

• The freaking love square thingamabob that happened in here. I’m telling you I’m freaking done with romance right now. It just felt like it was added in there for drama because I don’t feel like either of the couples really had enough romantic chemistry for either of them to work. But that’s just me. I like friendships that are so solid and emotional and stuff that they just work.
• I get what Day had to go through, but I feel like he was a little TOO emotional in this one. To the point that he wouldn’t listen to logic or reason, and was just a total dick to June when they finally reunite. It just bothered me.

I think that this was such a great sequel to Legend, and I like that there was still action involved in it. There were times where I was completely engrossed in it, and I had no idea how everything was going to play out. I think those were my favorite parts, honestly. I know that this was supposed to initially be a trilogy, and with the addition of Rebel coming out this year, it almost reminds me of what happened with the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. From what I heard, I don’t think it’s really going to be about Day and June.

Now, does that mean that I’m going to want to read it? Of course. I’m really glad that I finally got to read something by Lu, and so far I think she’s been doing a great job at these novels. The dystopian world that she created is certainly intriguing, and I could totally see it happening in real life. I wouldn’t like it of course, but it feels pretty unique to what I’ve read before.

I am definitely excited to see how this trilogy ends, and then finding out how Lu brings back this world in Rebel.

• Lori’s Bookshelf Reads
• Dhechan’s Diary (Review written in Indonesian)
• Stephanie Cassidy’s Blog
• TL;DR Zone (spoilers)
• Bizarre Brunette