Legend by Marie Lu
Science Fiction; 305 pages
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.
Sam’s review:
In a distant future, the United States has devolved into two warring factions and a world in which a few people are privileged and rich and the rest of the population struggle for food and medicine. These conflicting worlds come alive with the two narrators. June, from the wealthy upper class, has amazing talent for fighting and climbing and is about to take her place in the Republic’s army. Day, a well-known outlaw from the underclass, is just as talented and struggles to help his mother and brothers, though his mother thinks that he has died. As Day robs a hospital to get medicine for his little brother who has a virulent strain of the plague, he crosses paths with June’s brother, a commander with the Republic. This ill-fated encounter catapults the plot forward and brings the lives of June and Day together. I really cared about each of them as their lives unfold under the pressure of an oppressive government. The complex and surprising plot, along with the details of the dystopian world, kept me turning pages. I appreciated that the book’s ending is satisfying even as it leads to Prodigy, the next book in the trilogy.