Yup, you read the title right. Since 2014, I have been consistently rereading the Legend series by Marie Lu every year.
This YA series came into my hands for the first time during a school project. When I was in Peru, my teacher told us to read a book by a female writer. From the list, this book caught my attention and after reading the synopsis, I just had to buy it.
Don’t believe me? Read it for yourself:
“What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. 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 brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.”
After reading this synopsis, my fourteen-year-old self could not control her excitement. A game of cat and mouse in which the female protagonist is the one with the upper hand? No damsel in distress? Shut up and take my money already, please!
Even after reading the series multiple times, my excitement still hasn’t died and that’s why I find myself re-reading it every single year. Here’s a thorough analysis of why Legend by Marie Lu is a well-worthy read:
Note: I’ll try to be very careful and not give out too much information, but beware of some spoilers to come!
BADASS FEMALE PROTAGONIST
When I say that June Iparis is a badass female character, I mean it. She is a young prodigy. She is the only known person in the Republic to have scored 1500 points on her Trial. She skipped so many years that she got accepted into college at 12 and graduated from it at 15. She’s at the top of her class and also the best at getting in trouble. She skips class to climb skyscrapers, hacks into the republic database, goes with her older brother to capture criminals… there’s nothing she can’t do.
FAMILY-DRIVEN MALE PROTAGONIST
Our legend, Day, is the most wanted 15-year-old criminal. However, unlike other YA series where the guy is a bad guy for no reason, Day does not hurt anyone; he just wants to keep his poor family alive. Although he’s not the worst criminal (he’s more like a modern-day Robin Hood), he does make the Republic look bad. And so, he sacrifices his family life, making them believe that he is dead, in order to continue supporting them.
REVERSED POWER DYNAMICS
A common thing in YA many years ago was to have a very pronounced power imbalance between the female and male characters. The male would often be a king, prince, supernatural creature, leader of a rebel group, etc. In this series, June is the one with the power. She is the prodigy of the Republic, the youngest woman to enter the military, and the one who sends Day to prison… and then the one who saves him from his death sentence. You go, girl!
ALTERNATIVE POINTS-OF-VIEW
Reading Day’s and June’s thoughts are very refreshing and interesting. The author makes sure to portray the personalities of the characters. June is a person driven by logic, and her chapters provide all the little details (including how many seconds have passed between conversations, the dimensions, and materials of the room, etc.) needed to understand the intricacies of the story.
Day is a more emotional person and his chapters convey the relationships and bonds between other characters (plus a more realistic view of the guy falling in love before the girl). The reader always has two ways of analyzing the same situation. However, we also see the characters grow as they learn more about each other’s lives, and even the writing style changes to reflect it.
ACTION AND DIALOGUE ON POINT
Sometimes when I read YA, I am frustrated by the amount of detail used to explain the world of the characters and how this often overwhelms the dialogue. Marie Lu, however, with a background as a game developer, has mastered the balance between dialogue, action, and detail. “Show, don’t tell” can be very difficult on paper. However, the books flow so well that even though the characters frequently move from one place to another, the readers are not confused or bothered.
ALL FOUR BOOKS ARE EQUALLY GOOD
One of the main reasons I reread this series is because I am never disappointed with the progression of the story. When I read The Hunger Games, I was disappointed that the last book felt so long and different from the premise. With this series, I don’t have this problem. Marie Lu weaves the story together so well that things from the first and second books are even more influential in the third and fourth books. Everything is significant to the story and makes it progress throughout the entire series.
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
What fascinates me most about this series is that Day and June are both alike and distinct at the same time. They’re both (*spoiler alert*) Republic prodigies. But since Day was born poor, instead of being praised like June, he was subjected to experiments and then mistakenly declared dead. Both are very influential for the people of the Republic; one influences the government, and the other the citizens. And both rebel against their government, one from the inside and one from the outside.
MEANINGFUL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
As I mentioned earlier, June was born rich, and with her perfect score, she gained even more power. However, after meeting Day, her prideful personality and her ego change as she realizes that her privileges come at the expense of others. We see her go from being a know-it-all who acts cool and logical to a compassionate girl who uses her power to do the right thing.
Day, being born poor, never trusted any organization (the government, the patriots, etc.). He only cared about his people and thought that he would be the only one who could protect them. After meeting June, who is loyal to the republic, he learns that trust is powerful. Even if he does not like it, he should trust Anden, (*spoiler alert*) the next Elector Primo, to rule the country, rather than despise him for being rich.
The book teaches the reader that people should not be judged by their social rank. Nevertheless, the book also criticizes how people are systematically treated based on their social status by credibly illustrating the social disparities between citizens.
Overall, Marie Lu’s Legend series has many reasons why I return to it once a year. Her refreshing plot, the characters’ personalities, the author’s prose, and her direct critique of this dystopian society (which lines up extremely similar to our own, wink wink) are astonishing!
I highly recommend this series. However, I must mention that based on recent events (the pandemic), it is good to remember that this was first published in 2011. Yes, the book talks about the Republic developing viruses for the war against the Colonies. However, this story is not based on our society, but rather on a dystopia.