March Book Club: Legend by Marie Lu

Imagine a world where your country has been at war for as long as you can remember. The elected ruler has been in power for decades, fighting off “the Colonies”, and every day, you face the threat of poverty, starvation and plague. That is the world Marie Lu created in her novel Legend, the first in a trilogy. Legend opens with Day, a fugitive of the Republic who has been attempting to undermine the government for years. His mother thinks he is dead, but he watches over his family, which includes an older and younger brother, bringing them supplies and making sure they are doing okay. One day, when checking in on his family, he learns that his youngest brother has been infected with the plague. He knows he needs to get his hands on the cure, and the only way to do that is to break into a hospital and steal medicine.

On the other side of town, where the wealthiest of the Republic live, we meet June, a prodigy and the only person in the Republic to have ever scored a perfect 1500 on her Trial. June knows her future is bright, and she can’t help but look down on the poorest of the Republic, who have never managed to make anything of themselves. But all that changes when she learns that her brother was murdered while investigating a theft at a hospital; the accused is Day. Now, June will use her prodigious intelligence to track down the person who murdered her brother. The only problem with that plan is that Day didn’t do it.

As June closes in on Day, she sees a different side of the villain than the person she imagined she would find. Will she turn him in? Can Day save his family? And can they both get to the bottom of what is wrong with the Republic?

Legend is a very unique dystopian novel with some interesting characters and a very mysterious government. Even at the end of the book, we don’t fully understand how the Republic works. It leaves the reader wanting more, which is a great quality for the first in a series. What did you think of Legend?

We are once again dealing with a split narrative. As the novel begins, Day and June are on opposites sides; they are also from such different backgrounds that the reader gets varied views on the Republic, depending on the narrator. June has never wanted for anything, and when the novel begins, she feels contempt for the rebels and for the poorest of the Republic. She believes in the oath she swears to the Elector Primo each morning. Day, on the other hand, has made a life of undermining the Republic, stealing from them and embarrassing them whenever he can. He sees injustice all around him and knows that even when the poorest work hard, they are barely able to afford enough food.  Even though they come from two different places, when they first meet, they are immediately drawn to each other. June doesn’t yet know the mysterious boy she meets is the rebel she has been hunting, and Day doesn’t know June is a Republic spy. Even after they know the truth, they can’t erase the connection they feel. June doesn’t know why, but she finds Day’s words cause her to question things she never has before. And Day puts his trust in her even after everything that happened before his arrest. Why do you think their short time together helped forge such a strong connection? Did you think it was realistic that they would trust each other when they hadn’t known each other for very long?

The Republic is a mysterious government, and as this is the first book in the series, the reader doesn’t have all the answers about why things work the way they do. We know that all children are forced to take the Trials, and your score determines what you will do for the rest of your life. Day is under the impression that he failed his Trial, but when June begins investigating him, she discovers that he also scored a perfect 1500, the only other person to have done so. June was given lots of advantages because of her score, while Day was told he failed and treated very badly. Why do you think the Republic told Day he had failed his Trial when he achieved a perfect score?

June’s investigation into Day leads her to her brother, Metias. Day adamantly denies having killed Metias, and June is inclined to believe him, so she starts reading her brother’s journals, which is how she discovers that Metias has set up a secret website for her. Through the website, she learns that the Republic murdered her parents, and she is fairly certain they killed her brother, as well. As readers, we see how poorly Day and his family are treated, and we know that the Republic is bad. This, however, is one June’s first experiences with the tyranny of her government. Did knowing that the Republic murdered June’s parents make that government seem worse? Do you agree with Matias’ statement that June she should work to change the Republic from inside?

Legend is the first in a trilogy. Will you read the other titles in the series? What do you want more of in the sequels?

As usual, you can share your thoughts on this book or answer any of the questions in the comments section.