Legend by Marie Lu: review

Legend
by Marie Lu
Series: Legend #1
Release Date: February 2, 2012
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 295
Source: borrowed
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 4/5
Synopsis:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives might not be as malicious as they seem. From very 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. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in race for his family's survival, while June seeks to 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 their country will go to keep its secrets. Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. 

*This review contains spoilers, but I have marked them off with brackets like **[[this]].

After finishing Legend I had no doubt about its amazingness.  However, when I first began the book I was a little bit conflicted. Not only had one of my friends hated it, I had a bit of trouble getting fully enraptured in the story until several pages in. 

This book is about two 15-year-olds. One of them is Day, the world's single most notorious criminal. And the other is June, the only person to ever score a perfect 1500 on the trial, a test that each citizen takes once they reach a certain age. This book shifts perspectives between June and Day, and although I enjoyed both of their POVs, I really liked Day's. All of his feelings were poured from the pages and into my heart. I could feel his pain at certain especially difficult moments in the book. I found it hard to make much of a connection with June unless she was with Day, because otherwise, she was cold and stiff. But when she was with Day, she was just a normal girl and I liked that about her. She wasn't just the Republic's pet. I also liked the fact that the characters were only 15. It made things more realistic and I felt like I could connect to them more, because in a lot of books I read the characters are 16,17, or older. I could connect more to June and Day, even though they still have 2 years on me.

I have to admit that I nearly gave up on this book within a mere 30 pages of it. I guess I went into it with mixed feelings because I've heard lots of hype surrounding it and if there's a lot of hype surrounding a book, I tend to be disappointed. One of my friends loved it, but my other one hated it, and I usually like the same books as the other friend who hated it so I didn't know what to think. But then I hit page 40 or 50 and the story fell in place, giving me a scenario and keeping my fingers unconsciously turning the pages until I finished the book. I've never been so fully engrossed in a book as I was in Legend, and that shows you Marie Lu's undeniable skill for writing. Although I ended up loving this book I still have to admit that the first pages were rough to get through so that is why my rating is a 4 not a 5.

The other complaint I have is that I found this book to be very predictable. I totally guessed who Metias's murderer was right from the start. Also I feel like there should've been more suspects other than Day and **SPOILER ALERT: [[[[Thomas]]]] because it just made things way to easy to figure out who it was. **SPOILER ALERT: [[[[Even though I predicted it was Thomas from the beginning, I wish there could have been a distractor to make me think its someone else. ]]]]

I loved the story so much. It was an interesting twist on a dystopian society, I felt like it was portrayed so realistically. I love dystopian books because they always get the wheels in my brain turning. Legend is no exception. I thought about the world that Marie Lu portrayed so much that my head kinda hurt. (In a good way :P)

This book gave me a lot to think about. It left me yearning for more, of the stories of these two young people, and their fates. I can't wait to see where Marie Lu takes this series in Prodigy, and she definitely provides a thrill ride for her readers.