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Champion: Legend, Book 3

Name: Champion: Legend, Book 3
Item: Champion: Legend, Book 3
Rating: 4
Author: Michael Berry

Book review by

Michael Berry, Common Sense Media

Champion: Legend, Book 3 Book Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 12+

(i)

Action-packed sci-fi series reaches rousing conclusion.

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Kids say

age 12+

Based on 16 reviews

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Educational Value

Realism isn't Champion's strong suit, but the book does raise interesting questions about what makes a good leader and how governments can manipulate and betray their citizens.

Positive Messages

Champion shows how a tyrannical, totalitarian state might be overthrown and develop into a society that cares for its citizens. The path isn't easy, but the characters demonstrate why it's worthwhile.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Despite the tragedies they endured in Legend and Prodigy, Day and June keep up their struggles to turn the Republic away from its totalitarian past. Brave and resilient, they put the needs of others before their own.

Violence

Set during wartime, Champion contains violence, but it's not particularly graphic in its presentation. Both major and minor characters are shot in battle scenes. A supporting character is sickened by a weaponized virus.

Sex

The 17-year-old main characters spend an evening making love, but there's almost no description of the physical act. Rather, such passages concentrate on the characters' emotions.

Language

Characters in Champion use the made-up word "goddy" as a mild expletive. More mundane curses, such as "hell" and "damn," are used infrequently, and there's an instance or two of "bulls--t."

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Day sometimes smokes a medicinal "cigarette." Two 17-year-old characters share a meal that includes wine.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Champion is the concluding volume in Marie Lu's Legend trilogy, following Legend and Prodigy, and it brings the various story lines to their satisfying resolutions. Set during wartime, the novel features violence, including gun- and knife fights and the spread of a weaponized plague virus, but the details are not dwelt upon. Aside from one discreet scene in which the protagonists share a night of lovemaking, there's little sexual content. There's a tiny amount of drug and cigarette use.

User Reviews

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Teen, 13 years old Written byhiphoph December 12, 2013

age 12+

Great Ending- More Questionable Than Last

The book was very well written, pulled you into the story, and - at least I think- had an amazing ending. Now, onto what to look out for! Like a lot of serie... Continue reading

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Teen, 14 years old Written byCeana December 30, 2013

age 13+

wonderful yet heart wrenching

although there are some really down parts of this books, the ending is so amazing and sad that you have to pause to wipe your tears. I actually cried at the end... Continue reading

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What's the story?

As CHAMPION opens, it seems as if the Republic, for which Day and June have individually sacrificed so much, might enjoy some peace and stability under its reformed government. However, with a peace treaty imminent, an outbreak of plague threatens to undo everything they've struggled for. The Colonies prepare to attack the Republic's border cities, and Day and June must decide to whom their true loyalty belongs, even if it means losing everything they love.

Is it any good?

Although Champion has plenty of action scenes, the conflict is a bit more interior than it was in the trilogy's preceding volumes. That's a good thing, as it prevents the story from recycling plot points and allows the relationship between June and Day to develop in complexity. Author Marie Lu does a fine job of pulling together the disparate elements of the narrative, creating a climax and denouement that feel both conclusive and well earned.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about why dystopian novels are so popular. How do you think the Legend trilogy compares with other dystopian series?
If you had a life-threatening illness, would it be better to hide the truth from your loved ones?
What are the ethics of governments using bioweapons, such as plague viruses? Should they be unilaterally banned?