Day, in particular, is on the receiving end of a lot of physical punishment. June participates in a public fighting match and injures her opponent. June and Day are attracted to each other from their first meeting. Eventually, they come to trust each other enough to exchange a passionate kiss that both remember long afterward. Due to the hairpin turns of the plot, there are unable to repeat the experience until the end of the novel. June and Day employ a very light sprinkling of "hell" and "damn," but only in the most intense exchanges. There is one scene set in a fight establishment where alcohol is served.
Neither Day nor June partake. Parents need to know that Legend by Marie Lu is a slick dystopian thriller has echoes of The Hunger Games and Orwell's but focuses more on star-crossed infatuation than the excesses of the totalitarian state. It's the first of a trilogy. Add your rating See all 6 parent reviews. Add your rating See all 51 kid reviews.
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. 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.
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? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. See how we rate. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase.
Thank you for your support. Our ratings are based on child development best practices. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality and learning potential. Learn how we rate. For Your Family Log in Sign me up. Is it OK for kids to read books outside their reading levels? Column 4 Our impact report: How Tech Is Changing Childhood. Want personalized picks that fit your family? Set preferences to see our top age-appropriate picks for your kids. Stylish dystopian thriller in a not-so-future Los Angeles.
Marie Lu Science Fiction Sign in or join to save for later. Popular with kids Parents recommend. Another thing I didn't like - because I couldn't believe in it - was all the huge leaping to conveniently accurate conclusions. The protagonists would look at an unbelievably small piece of evidence and manage to solve an entire mystery out of it. I wasn't convinced, I don't care how smart you are, you would not have gone from A to B like that. Though this isn't going to make it onto any of my "favourites" lists, I'd recommend this book to a lot of people. Those who keep loving trashy dystopias with a forbidden romance story, those who liked any of those books I listed in the second paragraph.
Those who look for light entertainment rather than deep meaning or fantastic writing in their books. I conclude that Legend is not that bad, it'll probably be a hit with anyone who isn't getting tired of reading poorly constructed dystopia after poorly constructed dystopia. This review is not very positive, but the books get better and better! View all 8 comments. Mar 28, Rachel E. Carter rated it really liked it Shelves: What I truly enjoyed: And it fits the militaristic atmosphere perfectly.
I'm not usually a fan of child side characters and tend to find them a burden, but this one wormed her way into my heart with her interactions with Day. Try as I might, this trope contributed to minus one star. That was a bit too far-fetched for me to ever get over it. Now let me clarify: I'm a big believer in tension -like for me that is what makes a romance so great in the YA books I read- and when there isn't a lot I just don't become as invested in the love story.
Still, I plan on reading this whole series because this was a great debut. Mary Lu has talent and I would like to see where it goes. Did I like this more than Young Elites? Plot-wise yes, it was a lot faster and while YE had better action this one kept me bored less of the time ; romance-wise, no, Enzo is my bae. View all 17 comments. Okay, hypothetical scenario time. No one listens to you! Please, just roll with my craziness. How, in my mind at least, does it fare in the arena? Without a doubt, at Okay, hypothetical scenario time.
Without a doubt, at the siren Legend comes sprinting off the plate at full speed and confidence. However, lurking menacingly in the shadows are the Chaos Walking trilogy and Shipbreaker. These books are comparatively seasoned, superior fighters, and use stealth to their advantage. And ultimately, Legend is no match for the facepunch of awesome that is Monsters of Men.
To start with, the good: Legend is a fast-paced, action-based novel that makes for quick, immersive reading. The main characters themselves, teens Day and June, have good on-page chemistry and their dynamic is interesting, serving to complement, rather than hijack the plot. Likewise, I enjoyed many of the secondary characters Metias, Tessa, Kaede. So far, so good. And now, the not so much: In fact, this was probably my largest problem with Legend — the ideas are good, the concepts interesting — but I wanted more. This is a slim book that barely scratches the surface of the world Lu is presenting.
The climax of the story requires a fair amount of suspension of belief, if not throwing it out the window altogether. While the events are easy to get caught up in, they are a little too convenient to be credible. At the end of the day, Legend is an entertaining book. View all 46 comments. I've been putting this one off forever because I thought I was pretty much over dystopian YA. But friends won't stop raving about this trilogy still and The story has the typical dystopian society with an evil dictator, military control, and gifted teens who get sorted in life by a test.
The girl discovers the side she's working for has a hidden agenda and that the rebels might actually be the ones to help But it was so well done that it still felt completely unique! I'm super glad I gave this one a chance because the sequels are set up to be amazinggggg. View all 16 comments. This book was a re-read for me so that I could finally finish out the trilogy. I pretty much feel the same way I did back in I enjoyed the book and the characters.
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I love Day so much and I love Tess and June. I love that even though Day and June were enemies at first because of what June thought happened to her brother, they came together and found out the truth. It seems like there are some jerks running around lying. BUT, they always are right? The Republic and The Colonies are at war, t This book was a re-read for me so that I could finally finish out the trilogy.
The Republic and The Colonies are at war, they are always at war. Can't anyone just get along? And there is a plague that is killing people. Supposedly they are giving people a cure and if you make it you do and if you don't you don't. June and Day find out some revelations behind that too and ewwww. Anyway, I really hope to love the next two books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I better love the next two books because I'm losing the battle of trilogies lately. I didn't think I would like it but I was so wrong. The characters of June, Day and Tess were awesome! I'm going to try to write this without any spoilers!
So, there are the rich people and the poor people and there is a plague going around, but it seems to only be in the poor parts of town. Day is a sort of Robin Hood, steal from the rich and give to the poor. He's awesome and I love him! He took Tess on as a sort of sister when he found her some time ago all alone on the streets.
He's a really good guy. When he finds out his families house is marked for the plague he feels he has to break into the hospital and steal the cure.
They only let the rich people in, the jerks. He is almost caught and in his escape he injures a soldier named Metia in the shoulder. This turns out to be the brother of June, who is automatically brought in as a soldier of sorts to hunt down and bring Day to justice. They end up meeting in a weird way and when she finds out he is Day, she has him caught. So, all of these things happen that are not what they seem forcing Day and June to come together as a team.
This does not bother them at all as they have fallen for each other. It is a very good storyline with some messed up people doing some messed up things, but isn't that always the cause with people in government: I look forward to the rest of the trilogy! View all 19 comments. Marie just announced it - you can see it here! I'm honestly not the biggest fan of dystopian as a genre, but oh my, Marie Lu nailed the characters. My biggest complaint though is that they definitely act way older than I'm not sure why Marie Lu didn't just make them 17 or which would be much more believable.
Sooo I pretty much just changed their ages in my head and I recommend everyone else do the same. I know they age a big during the series but regardless, that age range just doesn't fit. So all in all, don't go into this expecting some super elaborate world or anything, but it doesn't need it. The story is super fun, and as long as you find yourself connecting to Day and June- you'll definitely enjoy the series just based on them and their interaction. View all 24 comments.
Aug 16, Mizuki rated it it was ok Shelves: I read Legend because I'd heard good things about it, but after reading half of this book, I found I'm not happy with the story, not at all. Do I want to see a female author writing a worthy bestseller? Do I want to see an Asian getting a head start with her first novel? Still I can't pretend Legend is a good book, I just can't. The following gif shows my feeling toward this book: Okay, I can handle teenagers being stupid and clueless about how the world works, but I can't handle 15 years old teenagers who are supposed to be geniuses to act like a pair of hopeless idiots for an entire book.
I am not a huge fan of dystopian novels but I especially dislike authors coming up with dystopian worlds which make no sense at all with governments doing evil things and killing off children for no good reason other than to show off how evil and fucked up said government is. After finished reading the whole story, I read from the Acknowledgement at the back of the book that the author, Marie Lu started writing the story of Legend when she was 14 years old.
Ah, now I can understand why as a whole this book feels so very damn juvenile even for a Young Adult novel. I am so done with all this eye-rolling stupidity, I am not going to read any more book by Marie Lu. Should I make a list to note down all the problems we have to face when encountering this piece of works? At the ripe old age of 15, this boy has survived alone on the streets for five long years and he is the most wanted criminal in the country.
Oh, so in this futuristic America, you become the most wanted criminal not by being a terrorist, a bank robber with firearm, a hacker or a serial killer, but by stealing, pushing pranks at the government and 'making them look bad'. Give me a break. And I don't believe for a second that Day can be a super smart tough kid who had endured the hardship of surviving on the mean streets for five long years, his actions and choices have never showed me enough wit and wisdom for him to survive that long.
Plus he never mentions anything about going hungry, having to beg for food and money, being beat up or running into street gang in his past experience, how realistic. A 15 years old star student of the military and also the one and only teen in the entire country to get a perfect score at her Trail when she was 10 years old. Not only June is supposed to be super smart, she also has as much emotion as a robot, who can stay perfectly calm and showing barely any grief when she was informed, out of the blue, her older brother is dead and his corpse is on display right in front of her.
Okay, it's nice to have a YA heroine who doesn't cry and moan at the slightest of things, but how can a girl act so emotionless at the wake of her brother's death? And she is also cool when seeing a spy gets tortured half to death? Not to mention, these two super smart teenagers fail to see through the villains' wicked plan when I can see it coming from a mile away. I only know the country is at war with another enemy country and every kid has to go through a Trail when they reach 10 years old and those who fail the Trail would be secretly sentenced to death; plus the existence of the good-old United States is hidden by the evil government, it's mentioned that there were a series of natural disasters in the past, these are more or less all the world building I've ever gotten.
Curious why the evil government would waste all those healthy-but-not-smart-enough kids by NOT training them up to be soldiers or labors when said government is at war with another nation, which means they would have needed all the manpower they can get their hands on instead of killing healthy and able 10 years old. Not to mention, in this futuristic world, police can randomly beat children up for disobedience and they can take money and food from the poor people; but why would the citizens allow it?
How does the government justify such things? How does said government remain in power when they are treating the poor people like dirt? Ah yes, in this futuristic world, they can't afford to put CCTVs around hospitals and police stations, but somehow they manage to have the freaking Internet. The point is, when Day breaks into a hospital, there is no CCTV to record his break-in, but by the end of the story, all of a sudden there are CCTVs around for the bad guys to check upon?
Why are CCTVs suddenly there? Just because the author said so? Not only that, after the soldiers shot an plague-infected woman, they never bother to pick up the body, they just leave the corpse by the doorstep, and no one cares about an infected corpse being left out in the open neither. Are these people for real? Are they Too Stupid To Live or something? I am shocked that none of them has ever thought about burning the infected woman's body, or even burning the entire house down! We are told Day and June are smart but their actions and choices have always showed me otherwise, we are told Day is supposed to be a cult hero among the poor citizens but the author never bothers to show me any affection toward Day from any of the citizen I had encountered in the book, no one seems to adore Day aside from Tess and Day's own family.
I am told there's a war going on but I see no evidence of how the war may affect the daily life of the general public. I feel like the author is taking us all for fools. To me, Legend is one of the perfect examples of why authors should not be allowed to publish a dystopian novel before they pass some tests on science, sociology, psychology and history. Review for book 2: View all 84 comments. Legend by Marie Lu Holyyyyy, omg, where do i start.. This book was absolutely incredible! From the time i read the first page, i knew it was going to be great, but never as amazing as it truly was.
From page 1 to page , i was completely enthralled and could not get enough of it! Marie Lu is an incredible writer, I absolutely lovedddd the two perspective writing! The characters were incredible, the world was so incredibly vivid that i literally feel like i just watched a movie and didn't read a bo Legend by Marie Lu Holyyyyy, omg, where do i start.. The characters were incredible, the world was so incredibly vivid that i literally feel like i just watched a movie and didn't read a book, even though i got all of the emotional aspects as well.
This book just reminds me of christmas and cooking for christmas, because thats what I was doing when I rarely wasn't reading this book. Please, do yourself a favour and go read this book.
Legend, Book 1
It is now one of my all time favourites, and I cannot wait to continue the series!!: View all 9 comments. Nov 24, Ninoska Goris rated it it was amazing Shelves: Sin embargo, habitan en mundos opuestos: June and Day, two citizens of the Republic, are the same age and live in the same city. However, they live in opposite worlds: June is a privileged girl, destined to occupy a place in the elite of the country because of her prodigy status and Day lives in hiding and is dedicated to sabotaging the maneuvers of a government that considers corrupt and killer.
The paths of June and Day intersect when Metias June's brother is killed, and Day becomes the prime suspect in the crime. View all 4 comments. May 31, Ari rated it really liked it Shelves: Legend is one of those. I had high hopes and I am glad to say that my expectations have been met. I was really eager to meet Day. Even though in the last half of the book he was more or less absent, I got to care more for him and to understand him better compared to June.
He was an interesting character — he was smart; he had some great physical abilities that kept him alive in the past 5 years; he had a great family he cared about and his love for them was heartbreaking, his desperation so strong. He was the victim of so many turnarounds and I felt a need so raw to protect him, I wanted to take his pain away, feeling a deep sympathy and sorrow for him.
Also, I liked his friendship with Tess and how he cared about her, how they needed and helped each other. Also her tragedy belonged mostly to the past. She lost her brother and I felt sorry about it because I really liked Metias, as little as I got to know him. What I liked about her is that she kept true to her beliefs until the moment she had some good reasons to not trust any longer the world she was living in.
More than that I appreciated her devotion — when she has something in her mind there was nothing in this world that could stop her. She always has a plan and, no matter what, she finds a way to achieve it. What I liked about this book is the action and turnarounds. I liked how I thought I had it all figured out one moment and then something went terribly wrong.
Still, I felt there was something missing. The book is quite short so at the end there was this need for me to find more about the world they lived in. This might change in the next installment so I am not complaining too much. Also the relation between Day and June felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. I expected a bit more chemistry. I want to see Day and June together, fighting this world… What can I say, my expectations are high again!
This review can also be found at ReadingAfterMidnight. Just wait for the day after tomorrow, just wait for the day that will become Legend. View all 30 comments. May 05, Steph Sinclair rated it liked it Recommends it for: Those who enjoy fast paced dystopian novels. I'm a dystopian book fanatic.
I collect them like the Cookie Monster collects his cookies. And I wasn't entirely disappointed because Legend features a strong, kick-ass heroine, a disturbing future world, multi-cultural characters, and tons of action. Legend tells the story of a two remarkable year-olds, Day and June, living on West cost of the United States now known as The Republic. This book instantly I'm a dystopian book fanatic.
This book instantly reminded me of Aladdin because Day is from a very poor area of The Republic and steals from the rich to help out his family and community. June on the other hand, has grown up in one of the wealthiest areas and has everything she could ask for and a secure future. Their paths suddenly cross after June's brother is murdered during a hospital break-in attempt by Day. The Republic's military uses June's thirst for revenge and has her track Day and bring him to justice. However, June soon finds out her safe world has not been what it appeared to be at all. I loved all the characters in Legend.
- La verità in gioco (Universale economica. Saggi) (Italian Edition)?
- Soft Skills for Emerging Student Leaders Part Two.
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- Legend (Legend, #1) by Marie Lu?
- Un professeur sentimental: Carnet de notes (Essais) (French Edition).
I felt they were well developed and very likable. Even June's brother, Metais, who dies very early in the story, was likable. Both protagonists were strong and resourceful, though, at times, a little too resourceful. I enjoyed the alternate POVs allowing the reader to get a chance to really understand the backgrounds of both characters. But there were times when I got a little irritated with June for not being able to see the bigger picture of the evils of the Republic. She just seemed entirely too loyal for her to be portrayed as a rule breaker in the beginning. Contrastingly, I really liked Day, who struggles to provide for his family throughout the novel.
There were a few scenes that managed to pull at my heartstrings. However, I did have a few issues with the world building. We are led to believe the rest of the US are considered the Rebels and a few natural disasters destroyed most of the East coast. There isn't any real mention of what the outside world is doing either. I know it may seem like I'm nitpicking, but hear me out. If the US were to suffer that bad of a natural disaster, resulting in the crumbling of our government and the extinction of the dollar bill, this would have a huge negative effect on the world's economy.
You cannot expect me to believe the rest of the world is chillin' while the US is under a civil war. Where is the United Nations? What side of the war are our ally countries on? For this book to be so focused on military and civil war, I expected to have these answers. Sadly, I did not and for that this book felt a little incomplete. I also had trouble with Day and June being so Yes, let's use that term. Day breaking into a hospital guarded by armed and trained gun men with just a disguise and two knives?
When the soldiers open fire on him only one bullet manages to graze him? Whoever trained these soldiers needs to send them straight back to the boot camp they came from. This is one of those situations where you have to just let all sense of logic float out the window if you are to remotely enjoy the novel. And for June to be so smart I'm not sure how she never guessed the Republic's true intentions from the start. Even when the evidence was sitting there screaming, "Look at me! It was very obvious. Or more importantly, why did people think this was okay that they didn't?
No one wondered why the Republic wouldn't want to protect all its citizens? It's because they are the reason behind it all! C'mon, all together now: I say semi because it wasn't like they met and they were instantly proclaiming their love for one another. It was more of I just didn't believe their romance had enough time to become anything, let alone love. I would have preferred if the romance was left out completely in this book and instead introduced in the second.
You know, because usually you become friends before lovers. Despite those issues I was still able to enjoy the book and I'm looking forward to the sequel. My only hope is that the world building is tightened up a bit and possibly a map is thrown in. More reviews and more at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.
View all 26 comments. Jan 04, Mohammed Arabey rated it liked it. Welcome to The Dystopian Republic of America.. The Republic has certain sectors suffer a Plague..
Legend, Book 1 Book Review
The "Elector Primo" of the Republic is the president for his life, his successor is mostly his son.. This typical Dictatorial Republic System is already a Dystopian.. So, as I started.. Welcome to The Republic of America.. Welcome to ' Legend '. A nice idea The author Marie Lu , shows a typical corruption of the Republic Military government system, just like in some legendary novels from to The Hunger Games. Or even in real life..
Parents say
There's some elements you can find similarity in some countries even in Egypt, some Arab and African countries, Even China.. Fighting the Republic, not for a side, just for Attack a hospital and an officer to get a cure for the plague his little brother suffering..
Meets a girl in a fighting club.. Her brother get killed in an assault. Start working for The Republic in her young age.. Goes in a mission to hunt the boy she knows he killed her brother And between the two narrators ,Day and June , The story goes in the republic of America.. It was the main reason why I got the trilogy the first place , the narrator is both male and female..
BUT Sadly it was after all -for me- just okay.. But even the description of the characters in the novel also felt like the "manga drawing" pictures -long hair for the boy, some hint of Asian eyes But the main problem for me which made me see it just as "2. All those books you can just stop after reading book one with a somehow complete story.. But it's not that much the case of here..
I'm okay with a cliffhanger ending ,But I prefer book one would at least gives me a more powerful start.. May be my rating is harsh a bit "2. I was almost giving this book 2 stars in Goodreads, But for now I'll just give it If anything, it could be deemed fantasy-lite, with two main characters who were basically the same person. So for that, dilly dilly. Jun 08, Christine Riccio rated it it was amazing. It is the first book in the Legend trilogy, followed by Prodigy and Champion. The book is set in the Republic of America, a police state located in the Western United States who has waged war against its eastern neighbor, the Colonies of America, since its creation in The country is led by the Elector Primo, who has rigged elections to rule for several decades, with the capit Legend Legend 1 , , Marie Lu Legend is a dystopian young adult novel written by American author Marie Lu.
The country is led by the Elector Primo, who has rigged elections to rule for several decades, with the capital in Denver. Other than a huge gap between the rich and the poor, the country also mandates its citizens to partake in a Trial once they turn 10 years old to deem their fitness for the army; if they fail, the public is told they are sent to work in labor camps.
In reality, they are experimented on and executed. In Los Angeles, Daniel "Day" Altan Wing, a rebellious year-old deemed as the most-wanted criminal in the country for having escaped the 'labor camps' and done subversive actions, stages a failed attempt to steal a medicine from the Central Hospital for his younger brother, Eden Baatar, who is infected by a plague released by the government to create biological weapons that has caused their neighborhood's quarantine.
However, he ends up becoming accused of the death of Captain Metias Iparis. Metias' younger sister, June "Junebug", a year-old prodigy and the only person to score perfectly in the Trial, seeks to find Day in revenge. Posing as a street urchin, she is saved from a wild Skiz fight by Day and his friend, Tess.
Initially unaware, she falls in love with him, but when she discovers his identity, she informs the army to capture him and his family; when he rebels, Thomas Bryant, a friend of Metias and June, is ordered by Commander Jameson to murder his mother, Grace. I low key knew that I would like this book from the beginning and it didn't disappoint. In a world were the rich and the poor are devided by more than just money, Day is a boy who survives on the streets.
He is wanted by the government and he is their no1 criminal even tho he never killed anyone. That is until one day he throws a knife at a soldier and that soldier turns up dead. Now his little sister June wants revenge. She made it her mission to be the one to find Day and make him pay for his I low key knew that I would like this book from the beginning and it didn't disappoint.
She made it her mission to be the one to find Day and make him pay for his crimes. I don't care what anyone says,I just love dystopian books and I will continue reading them even if everyone else says that they're outdated. The paranoid part of me belives that all of them are situations that can happen one day and Marie Lu made a really good job on feeding my paranoia. This book had me hooked from the beginning and I'm sure that if I didn't get interrupted all the time, I could have finished it in just one day.
It was a fairly short book but I didn't felt like something was missing. I really liked the writing. It was easy flowing and I ended up halfway through the book without even realizing it. I loved the characters and it was one of the rare times in which I enjoyed both POV's without growning when they switched. However I had to take a star taken for it's lack of "Worldbuilding".
We didn't got enough information on what happens in this world other than some mentions from our protagonists. Just to sort out who will be good to make soldiers and who will be lab rats? Where is the point in that? View all 7 comments. Having a familiar taste in her writing, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. The only problem is, since this is Marie's first actual novel, I noticed changes made in her writing.
But that's a good thing, meaning her writing has improved and I was able to see how. So overall, there really wasn't disappointment. Instead, I tried my best to start this novel and finish it in one sitting but sadly, I didn't since I had to go someplace. But besides that, getting back to reading it, I didn't and couldn't stop. Since the first sentence " My mother thinks I'm dead.
I found it quite surprising since I wasn't a big fan of Marie's novel, The Young Elites, I thought I wouldn't be thrilled by this one, being the first book for the series. Getting on with the review, the book follows two 15 year-olds and again, I read another book with alternating point of views - Day and June.
Let me be honest, I've really never liked alternating povs. Maybe because all 3 novels are fast-paced and easy to get intrigued by them. I mean, with all 3, I took my time reading them, being not only attached to them but actually being interested in finding out what would happen next. In Shiver I wanted to find out what would happen if Sam really did turn into a wolf again and what would happen to Grace and their relationship. In Legend I wanted to find out how June would find out the truth about her brother's death and discover everything hidden behind other secrets, and how Day would make and save up money for his little brother's illness.
Our main character, June, is a prodigy who got a perfect score of her Trial, only ending up getting a better shot for wealth, education and success with whatever path her life is leading her to. Having a brother who is a soldier for the Republic, only being murdered at a hospital, June promises herself and her brother that she will find this murderer, track him down, and kill him. But as she finds out this murderer is Day, LA's most wanted but not most dangerous criminal, she ends up finding the actual truth behind both, her brother's death and her parents.
And as both talk to each other like they've known each other longer than 1 week, they discover the truth behind the Republic and the reason for the plague, the illness spreading around children.
Set in a dystopian genre, Legend is definitely a recommendation for fans of action-packed books.