8.4 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Series Legend series Pages 305 pp. | 4.2/5 Goodreads Language English Publication date November 29, 2011 Originally published 29 November 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book Followed by Prodigy: The Graphic Novel Genres Utopian and dystopian fiction, Young adult fiction, Science Fiction Publishers G. P. Putnam's Sons, Penguin Books Nominations Goodreads Choice Awards Best Debut Goodreads Author Similar Marie Lu books, Young adult fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Legend is a 2011 dystopian young adult novel written by American author Marie Lu. It is the first book in the Legend trilogy, followed by Prodigy and Champion.
Contents
Plot
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 2054. The country is led by the Elector Primo, who has rigged elections to rule for several decades, with the capital at 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 Los Angeles, Daniel "Day" Altan Wing, a rebellious 15-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 15-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.
Day's brothers John Suren and Eden are imprisoned and experimented on, respectively, while Day is sentenced to death. Though still upset at Day's apparent involvement, June begins to suspect a larger conspiracy in the Republic when she uncovers clues left by her brother. She is also dismayed at Thomas' insistence to always follow order even when it means more suffering for the poor. Eventually, June discovers the truth behind the plague which infects Eden and the others from the poor sectors: the Republic has used the poor as guinea pigs to test biological weapons for their war against the Colonies. In addition, she finds out that the Republic kills children who fail the Trial to prevent overpopulation, as well as the fact that Day scored perfectly in his trial, yet was experimented on due to his rebelliousness, then deemed a failure and left to die. June's parents and Metias had also known this information, but they were killed; the former through a staged car accident, and the latter by Thomas.
Turning her back against the Republic, June attempts to rescue Day during his execution date. She enlists the help of Kaede, the girl whom she fought in the Skiz fight earlier, who is revealed to be a member of the Patriots, a renegade group apparently supported by the Colonies whose members now include Tess. Though she manages to save Day, Eden is unable to be located and John sacrifices himself to cover June and Day's escape. Left on their own, June and Day head towards Las Vegas to ask for the Patriots' assistance in rescuing Eden, who has been transferred to the war zone.
Characters
Background
Lu has said that she was inspired by the movie Les Miserables, and sought to recreate the conflict between Valjean and Javert in a teenage version.
Reception
Susan Carpenter, writing in the Los Angeles Times calls Legend "a taut and exciting romp for all readers with enough inventive details to keep things from becoming cliché", while The New York Times' Ridley Pearson called it "[a] fine example of commercial fiction with razor-sharp plotting, depth of character and emotional arc."
Film adaptation
Legend's film rights have been sold to CBS Films, with Twilight producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen to produce. On January 29th, 2013, MTV reported that Jonathan Levine, director of 50/50 dropped out of the film. Godfrey stated, "We have a fantastic script, and we had Jonathan Levine who directed Warm Bodies, but because he had just done a YA book, he’s kinda like, 'I’ve got to do something different.' So we’re in the process of putting a director on Legend. Whoever gets that is going to be excited because the world-building for that is a blast." Producers are in the process of attaching a new director to the film. As of January 2013, newcomers Andrew Barrer and Gabe Ferrari have completed the script.
It is still unclear whether the film will be released in 2019 or 2020.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel adaptation of Legend was published on April 25, 2015 by Penguin Group (USA) LLC. An adaptation of the second novel, Prodigy, is slated to be published on April 26, 2016. A third and final adaptation of Champion will be released on April 25, 2017. The adaptations are written by Leigh Dragoon and illustrated by Caravan Studio.