Champion
I first heard of the Legend trilogy last year but didn’t start reading it until a bit over a half a year ago. And now, after Legend and Prodigy, the time came to pick up the last one, Champion. I was uncertain beforehand and actually thought back and forth for a while about whether I should read it or not. In the end I did and it’s not something I regret.
About eight months after Day and June’s good-bye in Denver, Champion begins. Day is in San Francisco where he gets treatment for his illness and June is working as a Princeps-Elect in Denver, next to the new Elector, Anden. For a moment things seem fine, but the fragile peace between the Republic of America and the Colonies of America doesn’t last long after a new plague erupts and causes panic in both countries, because to avoid war from the Colonies, the Republic need to hand over a cure. A cure which the Republic do not have. It’s soon realized that there’s only one person who can help keep the peace between the nations and it is this realization that brings June and Day back together again. But can June ask the person she loves to give up the one thing he’s been fighting for all along?
When I finished Prodigy I was a bit uncertain if I was going to read the final book. It had nothing to do with the story or the writing, Marie Lu is amazing, but rather the fact that Day was sick. I wasn’t sure if I could read a book about him being sick and possibly dying in the end, but eventually decided that I wanted to know how it all ended anyway. I’m now really glad that I kept reading.
Champion is, in every way, the ultimate ending of this trilogy. It has everything that already existed in the previous two stories and more. Politics, battles, romantic entanglements, sacrifices and, above all, hope. Despite what June and Day have lost they still keep going and no matter what they’re facing, they still keep going. They are two very strong main characters that lift the entire story. Somehow they’re so alike yet so different but they still fit perfectly together. They work as a team to protect their country and their loved ones and their strength seeps out through the pages and into the reader.
There was never a dull moment in Champion and when I got to the breaking point there was just no way to put the book down. I just kept reading until the end and then I stared out in the air for a while and thought “Is that it? There’s nothing more now?”. It was a very sad moment, actually, to realize that the story was over now. It didn’t end in a bad way, not at all, but it still made me feel empty. Finishing a trilogy is different from finishing a novel; you’ve been with the characters for longer and it hurts when you part with them. But for some reason, it hurt more now than I can remember it ever doing when I’ve finished previous trilogies.
There is nothing with Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy that isn’t brilliant. It’s not a love-story with a country falling apart, it’s a country falling apart with a love-story on the side. Along the way are glimpses of June and Day, but the overall focus is on the Republic and how to keep the country floating. It’s action-packed to the brim and never a dull moment to be seen. I like this story very, very much and I hope that a lot of people out there will give it a chance, because I can promise, you won’t be disappointed.
About eight months after Day and June’s good-bye in Denver, Champion begins. Day is in San Francisco where he gets treatment for his illness and June is working as a Princeps-Elect in Denver, next to the new Elector, Anden. For a moment things seem fine, but the fragile peace between the Republic of America and the Colonies of America doesn’t last long after a new plague erupts and causes panic in both countries, because to avoid war from the Colonies, the Republic need to hand over a cure. A cure which the Republic do not have. It’s soon realized that there’s only one person who can help keep the peace between the nations and it is this realization that brings June and Day back together again. But can June ask the person she loves to give up the one thing he’s been fighting for all along?
When I finished Prodigy I was a bit uncertain if I was going to read the final book. It had nothing to do with the story or the writing, Marie Lu is amazing, but rather the fact that Day was sick. I wasn’t sure if I could read a book about him being sick and possibly dying in the end, but eventually decided that I wanted to know how it all ended anyway. I’m now really glad that I kept reading.
Champion is, in every way, the ultimate ending of this trilogy. It has everything that already existed in the previous two stories and more. Politics, battles, romantic entanglements, sacrifices and, above all, hope. Despite what June and Day have lost they still keep going and no matter what they’re facing, they still keep going. They are two very strong main characters that lift the entire story. Somehow they’re so alike yet so different but they still fit perfectly together. They work as a team to protect their country and their loved ones and their strength seeps out through the pages and into the reader.
There was never a dull moment in Champion and when I got to the breaking point there was just no way to put the book down. I just kept reading until the end and then I stared out in the air for a while and thought “Is that it? There’s nothing more now?”. It was a very sad moment, actually, to realize that the story was over now. It didn’t end in a bad way, not at all, but it still made me feel empty. Finishing a trilogy is different from finishing a novel; you’ve been with the characters for longer and it hurts when you part with them. But for some reason, it hurt more now than I can remember it ever doing when I’ve finished previous trilogies.
There is nothing with Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy that isn’t brilliant. It’s not a love-story with a country falling apart, it’s a country falling apart with a love-story on the side. Along the way are glimpses of June and Day, but the overall focus is on the Republic and how to keep the country floating. It’s action-packed to the brim and never a dull moment to be seen. I like this story very, very much and I hope that a lot of people out there will give it a chance, because I can promise, you won’t be disappointed.