Book Review: Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu

Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu
Release Date: 29th November 2012

Publisher: Baker and Taylor
Format: Paperback 
Pages: 308
Rating: 4.0/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2013 OTS, 2013 ODY and 2013 BSR

Summary from Goodreads:

"What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbours. 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."

Review:

To be honest, I thought I'd like this a lot more than I did. I don't know what it was - maybe I had set my expectations too high because of all the hype - but I just wasn't wowed by this. But, I think this has done just enough to get me interested in reading book 2...at some point in time. 

Legend conforms to everything that's the rage at the moment - set in a dystopian future, we follow a boy and a girl from two vastly different upbringings on their quest for the truth. As the blurb says, Day is the country's most wanted criminal, June is the country's biggest success story. Each are searching for answers, and for both, one wrong move would mean certain death. Legend has the premise, and it even pulls it off - this is a well done book with a great, fast moving plot, with plenty of twists and turns.

And the characters are great too. Day and June are just the right mix of fight and vulnerability. Tess and John seem like lovely people, although my feelings for either of them weren't particularly strong. Thomas intrigued me - he's a ruthless soldier, following his orders no matter what they may be, but his pursuit of June reminds us that he is human. And Commander Jameson is brilliant - the complete opposite of June, her antithesis. If June had followed her orders exactly and never stopped to think, she could have ended up just like Commander Jameson, and boy, are we glad that she didn't.

Maybe I'm just a bit over the dystopian genre at the moment, because I just can't seem to pinpoint anything in particular that I disliked. I liked everything, but just not enough. It's probable that I will read Prodigy, but maybe I'll take a look at some reviews first.