Legend
I remember when I first heard of Marie Lu’s Legend, like always when I hear of a new book I immediately see a storyline in my head, based on what I’ve heard about it. Which makes me think I know what it’s about only to actually read it and realize that that’s not the case, at all. And it happened yet again with Legend. I remember hearing about it, remember seeing things in my head, what I thought it was like. And I remember how excited I was to read it, how long it’s been on my to-read list. Then I got it, I sat down and read it and I cursed myself because it wasn’t at all what I had expected.
Legend takes place in Los Angeles, California, the Republic of America, some time into the future. Day is the male main character, a fifteen year old boy who lives on the streets and causes the Republic a lot of trouble with his not so boyish pranks. June is the female character, a fifteen year old girl who lives in a wonderful flat with her older brother, who works as a captain for the Republic. June herself attends the most honorable school in the Republic and is expected greatness in the future, working for the government. But everything changes the night that Day kills June’s brother. She swears to avenge his death, starting with hunting Day down, whatever it might cost her. But upon meeting him, she realizes that he might not be that horrible monster she set him out to be. And maybe some of the things he tells her might be true, even though they all make the Republic out as the bad guy. Can it be that everything she’s believed her entire life is a bunch of lies?
This story is written in both Day’s and June’s perspective which isn’t all that common, but I liked it. It gives a lot to the story in itself to see it from both angles, especially since Day and June are so different. He comes from a poor sector of the city and she is rich. But he has seen the government for what it really is and June has grown up hearing things that she now realizes might as well be lies. Their differences draw them to each other and throughout the book they both work to find the truth, only to realize that they’re working in the same direction. This is more obvious for the reader of course, since we get to see both sides of the story, which is exactly why I think it’s good that the book is written in both perspectives. You get to see the differences and you get to see the joint target.
It’s a surprisingly small book, I thought it would be larger, but a lot of things happen. Actually, there’s never a dull moment. It’s quite fast-paced and very dark, the government hidden underneath a coat of lies and question marks pops up everywhere, for both Day and June. I have to admit that it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, though I did picture it to be about something else, if not entirely, then definitely not what I got. But that’s not to say the story isn’t good, because it is. It’s really good, actually. Just not quite as good as I thought it would be. I do, however, love Lu’s characters. They’re deep and profound and you really feel that there are things, secrets, hidden in all of them. Secrets I can’t wait to discover. Legend is the first part of a trilogy and even though it wasn’t quite what I thought it would be, I’m very excited to see what comes next.