Book Review // Legend by Marie Lu

Cover designed by Lori Thorn

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Cover Designer: Lori Thorn

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 295

Where: Goodreads | BookDepository

My word, what a book! I haven’t read any dystopian in a while and I honestly don’t know why. I love the action-packed story; the corrupt society and the valiant rebels. Yet, it’s never my go-to genre when I finish a book. I’ve been reading a large amount of contemporary recently so it was nice to jump into a different world with a new setting and interesting characters. I think the characters are where we’ll start…

Day is the Republic’s most wanted criminal. Sorry, what was that… one of the two perspectives in this book is a wanted criminal? Yes, please! Day is a great perspective and you really get a feel of the world when you’re reading through his eyes because he’s living on the streets and looking after himself. The thing that makes Day relatable is his love for his family and friends. He’s so loyal and wants to help the people he loves so much that sometimes he becomes more human than you think.

Marie Lu - Author

The other perspective we get in Legend is from June. A girl high up in the military society, who seeks vengeance for her brother’s death, and doesn’t question the society she lives in. June is the other side of the scale to Day: she doesn’t have to scavenge food or worry about family sickness. Everything she needs is available yet the death of her brother is what kick-starts her into meeting Day and beginning to think for herself. I felt a connection to June because we’re both female and we both follow the rules. Yet June beginning to think for herself is also a reason I felt connected to her because that’s something I’ve started to take very seriously as well.

Legend follows June and Day, the perfect soldier and wanted criminal, who cross paths through a terrible murder and slowly start to unravel the secrets the government have been keeping from them. This is a great story, full of action and mystery (although, I guessed most of it pretty early on) that shows what it’s like living on the streets and within skyscrapers. My only qualm is the instalove that made it impossible to assume anything other than romance would blossom; I was hoping the romance could begin in the next book. This is a brilliantly written, original novel that kept me hooked throughout and desperate for more. I highly recommend.