Format: Available for hardcover, paperback, ebook
Series: book 1 of 3 for Legend Trilogy
Rated: 13+ for some graphic scenes
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
The book is about a 16 year-old girl named June who is a prodigy amongst the Republic because she scored perfectly on her Trial. She gets assigned to a case to find the criminal, Day, after her brother, Metias, is killed by him.
Day is a thorn in the Republic’s side. He creates havoc and chaos for them, but his main goal is to keep his family safe, but when his youngest brother, Eden, gets the plague, he will stop at nothing to get him the cure.
June goes under cover into the slumps to try and find Day and has luck would have it, he finds her at a Skitz (fighting game). He helps protect her, but neither reveal who they are. It’s not until after they share a passionate kiss that June realizes he’s Day.
Her desire to avenge her brother forces her to turn him in, but the turn of events that happen after she does, force her to re-think what the Republic stands for. She starts questioning not only her own beliefs, but whether or not Day actually did kill her brother.
The further that June investigates her brother’s death, the more she sees that there is, the more she sees that the place she has come to know and love is not the place she thought it was. June must now decide whether to stand up and fight for what’s right, or follow blindly like her fellow Republicans.
The two main characters of June and Day were developed and gave us a good start to the type of people that they are. It is the first book of the trilogy so I would expect to learn more levels for the characters but I did get a good feeling for the two of them so far.
Day is a tragic hero who has had a rough life so far especially against the Republic. He cares and loves his family and wants nothing but to protect them.
June always felt different then her peers because she thinks and acts differently then them. She loves her brother very much and his relationship with her shapes the type of her person she is. It’s their relationship that makes her question everything she was taught and make her brave to stand up for what’s right.
It’s a good start to the series and did set up the rest of the series fairly well. The book didn’t have a big cliffhanger as a lot of books have been doing now, but it does have a direction. I think that’s more important when setting up a series.
The author has said that she was inspired to write this story after watching Les Miserables and while there are similarities, it wasn’t over obvious.
Overall feeling: it was a very enjoyable book and it did set up the rest of the series well. I don’t feel it’s as powerful a rebellion as The Hunger Games nor a lot of action like in Divergent, but it does have drama and that makes any book interesting.
Rating: B
Recommendations: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins; Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
