“Los Angeles, California, Republic of America
He is Day, The boy who walks in the light.
She is June, The girl who seeks her brother’s killer.
On the run and undercover, they meet by chance. Irresistably drawn together, neither knows the other’s past.
But Day murdered June’s brother, And she has sworn to avenge his death…”
The Legend series by Marie Lu – Legend, Prodigy and Champion is author Marie Lu’s first foray into storytelling. What a debut! I splashed out and bought myself the hardcover boxed set because I had a feeling I was going to love it. The series follows Day, a homeless rebel, and June, star pupil at a military academy. The both live in the Republic, which was once the United States of America, who is currently battling against the Colonies which want to take over the land and attempt to rebuild the United States once more. The alternating chapters from the two protagonists really gives you a good feel for the disparity between them, Day hailing from the slums and June sleeping in a luxury high rise each night.
Day and June cross paths under less than ideal circumstances but go on an extraordinary journey together throughout the trilogy. What really resonated with me about this series is that the romance between the two characters is a minor occurance, and Marie Lu is much more concerned with supplying you with action, adventure and intrigue. The ending of the third book put my emotions through such a rollercoaster that by the end I didn’t even know if I was crying tears of happiness or sadness! I feel that Marie Lu is such a skillful writer, particuarly in the third novel, and she has constructed this world so well that it is easy to let yourself get lost in the story. I would definitely recommend this series to fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The 5th Wave.
If you read the Legend series and you find yourself wanting more from this fantastic author, never fear! Her next book The Young Elites is released on October 7, unfortunately not following Day and June but featuring an exciting new cast of characters.
