“Legend (Legend #1)” by Marie Lu
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Source: Library
Summary from Goodeads:
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 may 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 a 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.
- The dual narrators really worked for me.
- I really appreciated that the story switched after each chapter. I didn’t have to wonder when I would get back to the other.
- In a lot of ways the story was predictable: June is smarter and much more capable than everyone else (except of course Day), straight-laced June would question the almighty government when things start not adding up, of course the government is making the poor people sick in an effort to kill them off, June’s brother knew what was going on so they had to kill him.
- Despite the predictableness of the story, I got caught up in the story and wanted to know more.
- Not enough background for the dystopian element to totally work for me. I guess the US is divided in half now? Why? What’s the difference between the two groups?
The bottom line? Engaging read.
The Cheap Reader 
I think I prefer when dual narrator books switch every chapter too. Sometimes I suppose it makes sense to give one character the spotlight, but I hate when authors leave you in suspense about one character by devoting more chapters to the other.
I hate that suspense!
I wonder if the backstory for the dystopia gets explained in the sequels? It bugs me a lot, when reading dystopian fiction that’s plainly set in our world, if the author doesn’t explain how the world got there from here.
They might explain the backstory in the later books. To me, that’s a shaky route to go down. I need some explanations in my books otherwise I won’t continue with the series. I’m sure many of the series that I’ve abandoned have more explanations in the later books but I’ll never know about it.