Legend will take you on an adventure you will never forget

Legend by Marie Lu
305 pages

Legend is a fast-paced action novel set in Los Angeles in 2039 and narrated through two characters’ points of view. The west side of the state is called the Republic and the east side is called the Colonies. The whole Republic is trained to enter their military to advance the country’s weapons, nukes, vehicles to make their state as superior as possible. The Colonies are meanwhile being taken over by the Republic. However, the citizens of the Republic don’t know the Colonies exist because the government has been keeping it a secret operation. One of the main characters is Day. He is a 15-year-old boy who is the most-wanted criminal in the colonies. Then there’s June who is a 15-year-old girl who is finishing her last year in military college. The two find each other in an action-filled adventure with many twists along the story to discover untold secrets from the government.

Day is smart and observant and explains almost every situation he gets himself into in great detail. He does it in a way where it hooks you into the book and provides this feeling like you are actually there with him. For example, in a part of the book there is a scene where Day has to steal medicine from a laboratory for his family. During his scouting he notices soldiers carrying boxes labeled “medicinal supplies” into the lab, then looks around for any place where he can vault onto and jump on the building. He also catches a glimpse of the pistols they’re carrying on their utility belts. He waits until the soldiers spread around the perimeter of the hospital and makes a break to the hospital entrance faking that he’s hurt and needs medical assistance. All done using perfect timing in the shadows. I honestly felt like I was beside him in that moment. This book gives a feeling like no other where you have a perfect picture of what’s going on. Day seems like the character to never give up and, for the most wanted criminal in the country, that’s a great mindset to have.

June is extremely tough and, like Day, is very intelligent but she is much less adventurous than Day–that is, until her brother Metias unexpectedly dies. The two have no reason to encounter each other until Day becomes a suspect in the murder. When June hears the horrible news she goes straight to the crime scene, sees the body and is devastated. She goes through this phase where she is extremely determined to find the killer like it’s an objective in her mind where failure is not an option. To me, this is interesting because when your close family member dies your personality is not normally changed in a positive way. The military training may have something to do with this behavior.

Even though this is a fictional novel it still has many great ideas that could help our society in real life. Because the book is set in the future there are many new technologies that are being used, such as the military’s guns, which sends a fingerprint scan to the government and your exact location whenever you pull the trigger. This would be a perfect way to reduce murder and gun violence in our day.

I really enjoyed this book because its setting is constantly changing so you never get bored when your reading. It really emerses you into this adrenaline-pumping experience in a way I have not seen before. The story is also clear and easy to understand, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced and action-filled read.