Sign in with FacebookWendy Darling's Reviews > Legend
Legend (Legend, #1)
by Marie Lu (Goodreads Author)
by Marie Lu (Goodreads Author)
Wendy Darling's review
bookshelves: heroines-butt-kicking, dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, read-2011, sci-fi-or-futuristic, young-adult, training-schools-supernaturals, 2011-publication, action-packed, asian
Aug 29, 11
bookshelves: heroines-butt-kicking, dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, read-2011, sci-fi-or-futuristic, young-adult, training-schools-supernaturals, 2011-publication, action-packed, asian
Read in July, 2011
I like an action-packed adventure, don't you? Legend is a lot of fun to read, and follows two teens who are born into opposite sides of a war in a futuristic Los Angeles in the Republic of America.
15-year-old June is an exceptionally gifted prodigy who is being groomed to become a military star. But when her brother is senselessly murdered, she embarks upon a mission to find his killer--and discovers that all signs point towards Day, a notorious criminal who is already wanted by the Republic.
This is a cocktail of utopian YA, Romeo and Juliet, and various wronged imprisonment stories all blended together with liberal dashes of adventure and intrigue. I liked both June and Day, and I was eager to learn more about the big mystery behind why the government is so interested in Day's brother. The best thing about Legend, however, is the terrific action sequences that the author writes into the story: there are great chases, exciting escape scenes, girl on girl sparring, and lots more.
As with so many of these books that are stretched out to accommodate sequels, there really aren't enough answers unearthed in this first installment, so presumably we'll have to wait until book two to find out the details of government's involvement in biological experimentation.
What prevents this from being a truly excellent book, however, is that the book overall feels very slight. At 300 pages, it is surprisingly short and there isn't a great deal of complexity in the characters, the world-building, or the plot. It's also extremely predictable. While the story is certainly well-written, most readers will be able to anticipate pretty much every plot development and thought that crosses the characters' minds...and really, what's the fun in that?
Still, I liked this book and I think it's among the better dystopian YA books that have been released lately. It's definitely an entertaining read and I'm interested in seeing where the story goes next. I do wish, however, that it contained more depth and more originality and more...everything, really, in order to make it a truly outstanding and truly memorable book.
This review also appears in The Midnight Garden.
15-year-old June is an exceptionally gifted prodigy who is being groomed to become a military star. But when her brother is senselessly murdered, she embarks upon a mission to find his killer--and discovers that all signs point towards Day, a notorious criminal who is already wanted by the Republic.
This is a cocktail of utopian YA, Romeo and Juliet, and various wronged imprisonment stories all blended together with liberal dashes of adventure and intrigue. I liked both June and Day, and I was eager to learn more about the big mystery behind why the government is so interested in Day's brother. The best thing about Legend, however, is the terrific action sequences that the author writes into the story: there are great chases, exciting escape scenes, girl on girl sparring, and lots more.
As with so many of these books that are stretched out to accommodate sequels, there really aren't enough answers unearthed in this first installment, so presumably we'll have to wait until book two to find out the details of government's involvement in biological experimentation.
What prevents this from being a truly excellent book, however, is that the book overall feels very slight. At 300 pages, it is surprisingly short and there isn't a great deal of complexity in the characters, the world-building, or the plot. It's also extremely predictable. While the story is certainly well-written, most readers will be able to anticipate pretty much every plot development and thought that crosses the characters' minds...and really, what's the fun in that?
Still, I liked this book and I think it's among the better dystopian YA books that have been released lately. It's definitely an entertaining read and I'm interested in seeing where the story goes next. I do wish, however, that it contained more depth and more originality and more...everything, really, in order to make it a truly outstanding and truly memorable book.
This review also appears in The Midnight Garden.
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Comments (showing 1-50 of 54) (54 new)
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Jul 26, 2011 11:34am
I'm so excited to read this one :) Looking forward to your review!
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I know this question may seem absurd, especially because this isn't the first review of Legend I've read. But, are June and Day a boy and a girl, or both girls? If you read your review closely, you really can't tell. And interestingly enough you are not the only one to do this.
Hah! Good question, Kate. June is a girl and Day is a boy. I'm looking at the jacket copy now and it's not clear until you read the fourth paragraph that Day is a boy, either.Hmm, let me think about how to tinker with my review to make it clear.
Thanks ladies! This should make a pretty fun movie. Just like Blood Red Road, it kind of reads like one.
From what I hear, this is a lot like Divergent! I am one of those crazy people who read this one first. :/
Hi Kwesi--the book will be out in November 2011, and will no doubt be readily available everywhere since from the Putnam imprint. My friend Flann (her blog is linked in the review) was nice enough to loan me her ARC!
Ahhh another dystopian novel! Since the hunger games and divergent, I find myself really curious abt other dystopian books. This sounds fun although I'm not one for predictable plots. Any other dystopian books to recommend?
Thanks ladies! This was pretty fun, I think fans of Divergent will have a good time with it. SL, you're welcome to browse my dystopian/post-apocalyptic shelf if you like. :) I've written reviews for just about all the ones on it except for the few I haven't actually read yet. (I have them grouped together since I don't read all that many of either one.)
@Wendy: Thanks! *goes browses than realizes she has a bazillion of books that need reading in her to-read list* So many books so little time!!!
Sounds like an interesting book! Although a story being predictable does tend to ruin the fun, it's been pretty rare for me to find a book that I haven't been able to guess the ending of.
No problem, SL! And I have the same It's a pretty fun book, Jen--I think fans of Divergent will like it. I don't always go crazy if a book is predictable if it does certain things well. Hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it.
Oh, I can't wait for this book! I find that I always really like Kristin Nelson's clients (Ally Carter, Simone Elkeles, Janice Hardy, now Marie Lu), so... :)
It's pretty fun, Julianna! I hope you enjoy. I sometimes look over agents for reading suggestions, too; it's great when you find one who represents clients that you really like.
You're so right, Wen! Legend was definitely one of the better dystopian books out there! :) I guess a few parts of it WERE predictable, but I still loved the action scenes like you did and I'm so excited to get to know more about June & Day in the sequel!
I'm so happy you liked it, Mimi! And look, Juli ended up liking it, too. :) It was rather sketchy in some parts, but still an enjoyable read.
Wendy Darling wrote: "I'm so happy you liked it, Mimi! And look, Juli ended up liking it, too. :) It was rather sketchy in some parts, but still an enjoyable read."YES! It was AWESOME! :D
Oh Wes, I think you'll really like this one! It's pretty fun, as long as you just squint a little. ;)I'm glad you enjoyed it too, Juli. :)
Lol, one of the only parts I didn't like was the girl on girl sparring...ahh, I'm a nutjob, but I don't like girls pummeling each other. Blah. But I'm with you: this is definitely one of the better dystopians!
Well, I'm not a fan of girls hitting each other in real life, Amelia, but in this life or death type situation, I'm all for it. ;) And yes, I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes too, Arlene! I hope it's not too many books, though, this one did feel a little short.
Yeah, you're right. Just like in Divergent...couldn't really be helped in the situation, but...yeesh!
This is getting ridiculous Wendy! You seriously have reviewed practically every book I've read and loved. I always enjoy reading your reviews. I just picked up Legend today, looking for a decent dystopian future book (as you do). Anyway, I hope it's good, and keep reviewing the books I like! :')
There was something about this book I just didn't like. It wasn't embarrassingly bad like so many successful new YA novels, but it was just blah. Maybe my biggest problem was June, a supposed military prodigy who is the most unintelligent and least complex character in the book. She lacks good judgement, but is coddled for her mistakes. Disappointing.
Am I living inside your mind, Rory? :D Thanks so much, I'm glad my reviews are useful to you! Hope you enjoy this one.And I'm sorry this was a disappointment to you, Ebony. I agree that June (and Day, too) could have been much better developed--this book's strength isn't in their character studies for sure; it doesn't show us enough to prove June's ability. That said, I still found it entertaining! I'm curious to see where the story goes next, although I do hope the characters are more nuanced in the sequel.
I actually did still enjoy reading this despite my quibbles, and finished it in one sitting, but i'll read a few reviews when the sequel comes out before I continue with the series.
Awesome! Glad you're having a good time with it. You definitely have to suspend some disbelief, but I thought it was a pretty fun book overall.
I also think it's all too neat and the characters all fit into a template mould - kudos for voicing out need for more complexity! Things should be simple, but not simpler, huh?
No problem at all, Cait, I'm glad the review was useful!And yes, I enjoyed this, but I think it has the potential to be much more than what it was, sanshow. Oh, well.
Just finished this book, and really agree with the review. The ending was way too abrupt, and we still have so many questions left unanswered... yes, the plot was a bit clumsy and unpredictable, but the overall idea was different from most other dystopian books out there. I'm gonna read the sequel though.
