Prodigy

Title: Prodigy (Legend Trilogy)Author: Marie LuRating: 4.5 StarsMy ReviewLet me begin by saying that I loved this book and that I love this series. I am pretty much over-the-moon for this story and I thank Ms. Lu for giving us the gift of a well-crafted tale. You may wonder, with that introduction, why I've rated this story at 4.5 Stars rather than 5? The answer to that question is the ultimate "theme" to this review. If I'd had to rate the first 200 pages of this story, I might even have given it a 3 or 3.5 at times, whereas the last 150 were off the charts for me. Let me elucidate:I recently read a blog post discussing book rating systems that suggested that a truly good book would elicit a lot of 2s and 3s and 5s, rather than a slew of 4s. The idea being that a book that is either a YES or a NO for readers is definitely better than a book that is a PRETTY ENJOYABLE for most. It's an interesting theory. I find that the second book in my trilogy, Seeds of War, has elicited a lot of 3s ("Kind of a bridge book") and 5s ("Best book ever!!!"), whereas my first, Eden's Root, got a lot of 4s. I see the blogger's point. If what you want is to be evocative, then you needn't fear the "nays" because the "yays" will be so overwhelming.What's fascinating about PRODIGY is that it's got both, IMHO. It's a bridge book in the first 2/3 and a fast-paced, high-intensity thrill ride in the last 1/3. (BTW, best way if you can bc you leave the reader panting once again.) I want to be clear that I rate the first 2/3 as I do because I felt it was "bridge book" (I get judged the same way and it's tough...but impressions are impressions.), NOT because of Ms. Lu's writing, which I love.In the first half of the book June and Day are often separated and there is a lot of uncertainty about who is working for whom and who can be trusted. Also, there is the groundwork for a love triangle that is...interesting. Believable, I guess, when you consider June's analytical nature. I'm not insanely pro or con when it comes to love triangles. What was a bit frustrating in the beginning of Prodigy was that Lu put a lot of different love triangle scenarios together. I wanted them to settle out and some do...But in the last 1/3 of the book, it gets absolutely AMAZING!!! There were twists and turns and unexpected outcomes, and I loved the way that she showed the trust that Day and June have in one another, followed swiftly by arguments and recriminations that HAD to take place. These two have been through so much and have, whether intentional or no, caused each other so much pain. How strong a love must they have in order for that to survive.Side Note - Before I get started on the detailed reivew, I have two side notes. One - Legend showed Day's POV in BOLD. I liked this because I could come back to it in my Kindle app and immediately know who was speaking, allowing me to pick up where I left off. They didn't do his in Prodigy. Two - the covers. I like the single symbol thing. It works, it makes sense. But I think it's kind of tied to the Twilight approach and I personally like covers that give me wild and beautiful visuals of the type that are found within the book. The backdrop of the Colonies with a struggling June and Day, perhaps?. Just my preference.LOVEDWorld-building - I actually am very impressed with Lu's world-building. She fills in a ton of blanks in this story and you KNOW I loves me answers! (BTW, this is one aspect that makes it a bridge book so, you know, people, what do you want? Some backstory is necessary.) Her supposition of the corporate state taken to its ultimate conclusion, along with the fall of the northern giants of the first world and the subsequent rise of the developing world...all very believable and interesting. As soon as she widened that lens for me, the REPUBLIC snapped into clarity and I saw: North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba... That reference was critical for me to understand the REPUBLIC from both the inside and outside.The Colonies! - I love portrayals of corporate-driven futures. Not only do I find them believable, I find them chillingly entertaining. As a sci-fi buff, the changes of the modern world have begun to resemble the stories I've loved since childhood and I can't help feeling eager for the ride that is to come, however chaotic it may be. I hope I live long enough to see a lot of it. The Colonies were no exception in my corporate-wasteland "wheelhouse." Bright and sparkly and overstimulating, everything costs money, including services that we now take for granted will be funded by taxes like police protection. What if everything were privatized? Where would that leave the poor?In offering this alternative DYStopia to the Republic, Lu is both realistic and thoughtful. Sure the Republic is wrong, but are the Colonies right? How can we find a middle ground? And why are the poor the single most consistent facet of human existence no matter the time, place, or circumstance? If you can write a story that simultaneously makes me sit on the edge of my seat like a 12 year old waiting for the protagonists to kiss AND think about the direction of human society's development...you're my kind of writer.Day - It's funny, many reviews of Lu's little novella, Life before Legend, seemed to dwell on how much they liked June and how they wished Lu had given them more of June. Well, I can never get too full for more servings of Day, personally. I would love a book entirely about him from his birth to the start of Legend. I LOVE this boy. LOVE him. To be fair, he's a blonde with blue eyes and I'm a leetle partial to that type. Also lean and athletic (not hulking), smart and compassionate, brave and terrified. *Sigh* I just love him, yeah? (Every time he says, "yeah" it gives me goosebumps. It's truly a great little piece of him.) Even in the sections of this book that were a little slower, I loved every second of Day.June - Equal opportunity love. I love June. Usually I love my female MCs more than the male MCs, but in this case I do love June just a tiny bit less than Day, but then, she's not the more sympathetic character. She's been raised and groomed by an evil regime. All of her symbols and heroes have been nothing but paper tigers, but it's hard for her to undo all that programming in a snap, even when she knows the truth. It makes her a little harder to love. But it makes her really easy to RESPECT. Make no mistake, June is bad-motherf----- a-.She counts the passage of time in the background of her mind at all times, she scans the details of environments, people, and situations like the Terminator, and she chooses to fight illness without medication just to challenge her immune system. (Actually, to a degree, I agree with this myself.) And on top of it all, she's gorgeous. Lu's portrayal of June rings true. Someone having to wrestle with those kind of changes would not necessarily transform all at once. Instead June changes little by little. It's so fortunate that we can be inside her mind or we wouldn't know that she wants to tell Day that she loves him, but she can't. You wouldn't know that she has no language for her feelings, only for details and work - professional interactions. That's why she loves Day so much. Because, as Lu points out, he wears his heart on his sleeve.Adding Depth to Thomas - In my review of Legend, one of my only "knocks" was that it seemed like the villains had so little depth. There was no explanation for the severity of their cruelty and depravity. I'm ok with the occasional completely psychotic villain with no soul, but usually I prefer that these characters have some meat to them, just like the heroes. In Prodigy, Lu gives you more depth to Thomas. He's still really disgusting and reprehensible, but you *get* him better. An unexpected twist, too. I liked it. I still think the other villains need a little body, but I trust Lu. If you give her time, she'll give you what you wanted.Didn't LoveNormally I list things I didn't love, but I think I covered that in saying that the beginning was slow and "bridge-y." I still think that part of the story was necessary. I liked the first 2/3 a lot, it was just the kind of thing that I could put down and come back to...as opposed to the last 1/3, which had me reading in every spare second that I could find. Otherwise, there was NOTHING I didn't like.Ok...well, that's not entirely true.SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!! DON"T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN"T READ THE BOOK. GO READ IT!!!Sigh. *Scuffs foot and stares into the sun, burning away the tears.* I am going to trust Lu with the unexpected twist at the end of Prodigy. I am. I AM. But it's hard. If she goes in the direction with Day that she suggests, it will make her incredibly brave, but it will break my heart. If she leads me down the path and then somehow gives me the end I think I want, that would be awesome. Somehow, I think she may do something in between. I'll be looking forward to it with bated breath. Don't keep us waiting, Ms. Lu. Unless of course, it's going to be as worth the wait as Prodigy.

If a group of rebels is to ever overthrow a corrupt government, they must have a better option waiting to fill the void. In Marie Lu's Legend, Day and June became the poster children for the revolution against the Republic. In Prodigy, they become the heart of the people who demand something better from their government.The Republic has always been run by the Elector with an iron fist. June was his prodigy, and now that she has joined a common street thug, Day, whose Robin Hood-esque antics have always made him the Republic's nuisance, she is on the wrong side of the Elector. Then the Elector dies. When his son, Anden is tapped as the new Elector, he becomes a target for the Patriots, the rebel group fighting to overthrow the Republic. June and Day barely escape the rest of the Republic that is hunting them, but they finally find themselves in the hands of the Patriots. They are wary of the Patriots intentions, but Day needs medical attention and June will do anything to save him. The Patriots fix Day, but under one condition. June and Day are to assassinate the new Elector.As a former insider in the Republic, June is planted as an inside woman. With an elaborate plan to bring her back into the Elector's fold in order to distract him with a fake assassination plan while the true plan runs its course, June becomes the heart of the Patriot's plan. But something isn't right. From the moment she speaks to Anden, she becomes aware he is nothing like his father. She cant explain why exactly she trusts him as much as she does, but something tells her there is something very wrong with the plan to assassinate this man. She has realized it, but will Day? Especially when part of her cover is to play on Anden's obvious affections for her?Wow! This series could not possibly have more twists, turns, and surprises if it tried! I loved Legend, but it is amazing how Prodigy took the series in a whole new direction while still staying true to the amazing story Lu created in the first place. It truly was a fantastic follow-up to a great first book, and you won't be disappointed because there is absolutely no sophomore slump happening here! One of the best parts of this book is how connected Day and June are. Even when he has no reason to believe her about the fishiness of the assassination plan, his trust in her shines through. He won't let anyone tell him to trust or not to trust June. She is the one person whom he doesn't doubt. And June feels the same way. A lesser couple would have doubted one another, but these two really have an amazing connection that I can't get enough of!The world building is also a huge strength of this series. We see more of the former United States in this novel, and I was glad to get more about the history of the Republic and the Colonies than I did in the first book. There is so much alternate history wrapped up in this story of rebels and patriots that even if you didn't have the fabulous connection between June and Day, you would still love this story. I find myself wanting Lu to write a whole history book separate of the June and Day story so I can learn more and more about this world. And that, my friends, is a true testament to an amazing world an author has created! I really enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and I am looking forward to the final leg of the journey. But if they ending of this story has anything to do with it, I can tell it is going to be a doozy! Can't wait!