Title: Legend
Series: Legend, #1
Author: Marie Lu
Published: 11/29/11
Edition: paperback
Pages: 305
My Rating: 5 / 5
Goodreads page
This review is spoiler-free.
Synopsis
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.
(This synopsis is from Goodreads.)
Thoughts
I decided to reread this because of my renewed interest in the series. It’s been a couple years since I last picked up the Legend series, and meeting Marie Lu led me to rereading it.
I have to admit, it felt good rereading Legend. This time I picked up things I never picked up the first time I read it.
One thing I realized is how young June and Day are. They’re both fifteen years old. Excuse me while I cringe at the thought of kids younger than me making out intensely. The first time I read it, I thought nothing of it because I was younger and thought that kissing is what the “older kids” did. Now that I am slightly older, I beg to differ.
Also, I saw the resemblance that June had with Sherlock. They both assess situations analytically before acting. They’re both scary smart and good at fighting. She’s like the child version of Sherlock with emotions.
I sped through the story. It was quick, action-packed, and had a mystery element to it.
Characters
June Iparis
She’s 15 years-old. FIFTEEN. And they’re making her do the things that even grown adults can’t stomach.
Day
Anyone else think that Day isn’t human? I secretly think he’s an alien.
Tess
She’s the friend you want when you’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
Metias Iparis
He’s the older brother that everyone wished they had.
Thomas
Screw you, Thomas, no one likes you. Show some emotion, gosh dangit.
Commander Jameson
I’m not sure who I hate more, Thomas or this [insert choice of words here].
Conclusion
I love this book and it felt great to reread it. I give this book 5 / 5 BBC Sherlock heads.
Until next time….
The Awkward Book Blogger 
I absolutely adored the Legend trilogy back when I read it a few years ago. I hardly ever re-read books as I have so many new ones I want to get around to, but I think that I would really enjoy re-reading Legend as I loved it so so much the first time round. I guess that now I’m older I would also find it a little strange with how young they are, but saying that, when I did read it I always imagined them a lot older, because of how they acted and thought, I remember thinking they seemed much older for their age
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Same here! I always thought they were at least 18 years old when I first read Legend. They seemed very mature for their age.
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I had the same story as you! I just reread them after years and the first thing I noticed is that they were fifteen. When i was younger reading about fifteen year olds fighting the government and shooting people seemed perfectly plausible but now I am like…uh what? And the fact that both of them started their “careers” at age 10? I chose to just imagine them as 17 or 18 just to make it more plausible in my mind.
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Same here. I had to make them older in my mind because it felt weird to think of young teens shooting people and being okay with that.
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Yes and they just acted so mature and were so independent.
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