Marie Lu’s Legend is a dystopian young adult series which travels through a post-apocalyptic America, starring two teens rebelling against society. The series takes place after the division of the United States into The Republic of America, which is heavily militarized, and The Colonies of America, which is divided and run by four major corporations. Each book contains altering chapters written from the perspectives of June Iparis, the Republic’s fifteen-year-old elite prodigy, and Day, the Republic’s most wanted criminal. The two remain anonymous to each other until June’s brother, Metias, falls victim to a brutal murder with Day as the prime suspect. In what is described as an ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day searches for a way to save his family while June seeks revenge for her brother’s death. Meanwhile, the two learn more about each other and begin to uncover ugly secrets of what every Republic citizen calls their prestigious homeland. 
Legend consists of three books: Legend, Prodigy, Champion, as well as a sequel called Rebel. It was announced in November 2021 that Legend will be adapted into a TV series, and Marie Lu will be developing and writing the series in collaboration with Lindsay Sturman (writer for Supergirl, Nightflyers, & Teen Wolf), though no updates have been made since. The Legend series has even released its own graphic novel versions of each book.
I read the first book, Legend, over a year ago and really enjoyed its unique dystopian world. In the beginning, I was captivated by learning about the new Geography and history of America (there’s even a map included in each novel), and slowly realized such a dystopian world is fully possible for us. Having a divided America, one completely military based and the other run by an extreme capitalistic structure, shows two terrifying extremes that could possibly be our future.
Half of the land on Earth is submerged by water due to global warming, the Arctic doesn’t even exist. Recently in our world, there’s been more research and evidence indicating that much of our land will be submerged, just like Legend, in the near future.
A big conflict in the novel includes a manufactured plague, initially meant to be used as a weapon, which ends up accidentally spreading uncontrollably throughout the Republic. Reading this after the COVID-19 pandemic and seeing its effects on our country makes me wonder if we would ever be able to survive such a plague from Legend.
Another thing I loved about this series was how it was written from the two altering perspectives of Day and June. This was the first time I’ve ever encountered a novel with such a feature, and it made understanding both characters easier and deepened my connection to the story. At times when Day and June had conflicting opinions, I was able to see why and how they acted a certain way. There was this theme of differences between the rich and poor, which was executed well through the minds of the two protagonists.
This series isn’t romance based. I find that many other young adult novels which have interesting plots end up being dominated by romance and never blossom to their full potential. I enjoy themes of romance from time to time, though I dislike when romance becomes the overarching idea of a novel that is marketed as dystopian or fantasy fiction. This isn’t the case with Legend, although some characters fall in love with each other rather quickly, which I wasn’t a big fan of, it isn’t the main focus in any of the books.
June Iparis makes a great heroine. She’s incredibly strong, smart, the youngest individual to achieve a perfect score on her trials, a series of military tests used to evaluate every child in the Republic, and still has a wide range of emotions. I think having June be such a strong and influential woman, instead of her being any standard member of the military, makes the series that much better. This ensures that the dynamic between her and Day is balanced, definitely not another knight in shining armor trope.
One recurring theme I found annoying in both Legend and Prodigy was the slow start that seemed to drag on, delaying the gripping action and intensity of which the novels are known for. It was initially slightly difficult to get into both novels, but towards the end, it was filled to the brim with action and I couldn’t put either books down. So, if you can handle a slightly rough start, it’s worth it, as the end will leave you feeling rewarded.
In conclusion, I enjoyed reading Legend and Prodigy, and can’t wait to get my hands on Champion to see what Day and June end up accomplishing. If you like dystopian novels, fantasy, or are looking for a unique young adult read, I would definitely recommend giving Legend a try.
