Claudia Corneyea- Contributing Writer
Legend is a dystopian novel about a futuristic America where the United States is split into two governments after a major flood: the Republic and the Colonies. The country is also dealing with a massive plague outbreak. As the plague is moving quickly through the poor districts of L.A. the reader experiences it through the perspective of two characters.
June, a student at Drake University, lives with her brother, Metias, in the richest district in L.A. Day lives in the slums and is a criminal wanted by the Republican government. He goes to the hospital to steal the vaccination for the plague the same night Metias is on a mission there.
Day makes a huge scene and the police are called. As he runs away he meets up with Metias and stabs him to get away. When June is told that her brother has been killed by Day, her first mission is to hunt him down. This story explores both Day’s and June’s experiences separately. It is fascinating to see how the two react to the same things.
This novel has everything a young adult dystopia is expected to have: an avenging heroine, a loving bad boy and a corrupt government that brings them together.
June is portrayed as an uptight, rich badass. She is a serious soldier, seeing no room for mistakes and always plays by the book.
Day is portrayed as a mysterious, handsome vigilante with a secret. He has a huge heart and cares about the people he helps. The characters to watch out for while reading are Thomas, Metias’ best friend who loves June, and Commander Jameson.
Legend has its lulls, but if you get through them you will be happy you finished it. Written as a trilogy, the second book is Prodigy and the third is Champion.
In the next book we meet the Emperor and rebellious group the Patriots. Day and June go to the Colonies and find that they are all about capitalism. Everything is advertised and if the poor cannot pay they “disappear.”
The third book is about the government of the Republican and how they try to use people as trends to distract the population from the real problems. The ending of this series will make your heart race. It honestly has the best ending I have ever read.
All in all, I give the series an 8 out of 10. Legend is the base for the series, but the lulls are hard to get through, so I would give it a 7 out of 10. Prodigy is the best out of the series— it has the most action and a “WTF” factor, so I would give it an 8 out of 10. Champion is the worst one, but the ending makes it worth the read—6 out of 10.
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