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Legend
- By Marie Lu
- Genre: Science Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Stylish dystopian thriller in a not-so-future Los Angeles.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this slick dystopian thriller has echoes of The Hunger Games and Orwell's 1984 but focuses more on star-crossed infatuation than the excesses of the totalitarian state.
What's the story?
Day and June are teenagers on opposite sides of a dystopian regime in what was once Los Angeles. Day is the ultimate outlaw, stealing money and medical supplies for his family and others. June is being groomed for leadership within the ruling party. After June's beloved older brother is killed, all clues point toward Day, and she vows revenge at any cost. Neither Day nor Joy is prepared for what will happen when their paths eventually cross.
Is it any good?
Anothern dystopian science-fiction adventure featuring talented kids on the run, LEGEND has a crisp set-up and a stylish execution. The bad guys are a little too on-the-nose, and the good guys triumph a little too easily, at least in the short term. What the novel lacks in intellectual complexity it makes up in emotional resonance and narrative drive. If Lu isn't yet at the top rank of this growing genre, she has the potential to attract an enthusiastic readership.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how governments can mislead their citizens. How does the Republic control the flow of information to both insiders and outsiders?
A plague has afflicted Day's family and their neighborhoods. Do medical crises ever affect governmental policy in real life? What diseases might cause a government to issue quarantines?
Enemies of the state are publicly executed in the Republic. What are your opinions about the death penalty as practiced today? Does it deter crime? Are innocent people ever executed?
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Refreshing Read
This was a pretty good book. It was very entertaining and captivating, seeing I finished it in one day. It was incredibly fast paced and action packed, but at the same time, it was very easy to follow what was happening. Legend wasn't exactly what I had expected it to be, a thrilling dystopia about a girl who scoured the country for this one boy who is the prime suspect in her brother's murder. I had expected the two main characters to battle it out constantly and eventually find a burning passion for each other in an unexpected turn of events. I had expected one of the characters, June perhaps, to have a terrible hate for herself when she discovered her true feelings for Day. In Legend, I found some of what I had hoped, but mostly I found a generic average post-dystopian plot. I was a little disappointed, and thought the story line could have been a little more climatic and engaging, but I was still satisfied. This book reminded me of Uglies by Scott Westerfield, except faster paced and more interesting.
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| Author: | Marie Lu |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Publisher: | Putnam Juvenile |
| Publication date: | November 29, 2011 |
| Number of pages: | 336 |
| Hardcover price: | $17.99 |
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