Legend Review
Before or after?
I’m not sure if I liked this book so much because of the good reviews, or because I enjoyed it. Did the masses influence me? Who knows? But I found this book engaging because of the characters and the way it was written. Fast paced and exciting will always capture my imagination. I read a few reviews that said it’s the same-old-same-old, but maybe that’s what we like.
Characters (Spoilers)
In this book, we follow two characters who are worlds apart from each other. Let me start with June. June comes from a very wealthy background and is a very smart girl with her whole world in front of her. She acts out against the society for fun to prove she’s up for the challenge (against the behest of her older brother). She’s lived in a perfect world (or near, her parents died when she was younger) and has had nothing but her life on a platter.
The second character we follow is Day. Day grew up very different from June. On the day that he took his “test” to determine placement in society, he was cast out and forced to live a life of the poor. He helped his family by becoming the Robin Hood of the world (or I should say his suburb). We learn that both he and June were smart and that the test is pretty much a lie.
Themes
Love can conquer all, right? Well at least that’s the premise of this book, as June (spoiler ahead) gives up everything she’s had and ever will have to join the fight against society. She gives up everything for her new found love of Day. That’s some Romeo and Juliet stuff right there. I can tell you that my wife is currently giving up her life to move with me overseas and I appreciate and love her greatly for that.
I guess another theme that is familiar with these post-apocalyptic worlds is that society becomes meaner. In the book, we see that there is some war that divided the United States and that the society is using that to test viruses and biological weapons/create a stronger people. Here the government has complete control and is very authoritative in every way.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the book thoroughly and would recommend it to any Young Adult lover. Add it to their Christmas or Birthday list if they haven’t got it already. I think that Lu has created a smart and robust story (even if it is like many others) and that it is paced fast enough for most people to enjoy. I give this book a big thumbs up.
