Prodigy (Lu novel)

Plot

After the events of Legend, June Iparis and Daniel "Day" Altan Wing arrive at Las Vegas in search for the Patriots. Through Kaede, they meet with Tess and Andrew "Razor" DeSoto, a Republic Commander doubling as the leader of the Patriots. Razor offers Day a prosthetic leg and protection in exchange for assassinating the new Elector Primo, Anden Stavropoulos, who has recently succeeded his deceased father. To execute the task, June will need an audience with Anden at Denver to falsify the time and place of the assassination and convince him to seek "protection" at the actual place of assassination.

Accepting the offer, June lets herself get captured by a Republic task group led by Thomas Bryant. She learns that he and her brother, Metias, were in love with each other. June successfully makes an appointment with Anden, but she becomes reluctant to execute the plan when she realizes that the reformist Anden has little in common with the conservative Senate and wants to change the Republic for the better. She decides to abandon the plot and signals to Day via a security camera about her decision. Meanwhile, Day boards a Republic airship towards the warfront city of Lamar, where one of the Patriots' bases is located. Day learns about the current situation of the international world–the fact that the Republic is considered a pariah state–and further hons his skills to become a Runner, the Patriots' diversion team. He is confessed by Tess, who warns him not to trust June. One night, while creating a diversion at a local train station, Day meets a boy experimented to be a biological war weapon like Eden and wasn't able to free him.

On the day of assassination, June fails to avert the sequence of the plan, but Day makes up for this by rescuing Anden from the bombers, having finally decided to trust June. Day hides inside the tunnels with June through Kaede's knowledge. He lashes out at June for her sudden decision, though he ultimately mellows out and is taught self-defense arts from her. Seeing that June is infected by the Republic's virus, Day carries her further across the sewers until they cross the border and arrives at a city of the Colonies, which turns out to be a corporate state ruled by several major companies.

Seeking refuge at a hospital, Day meets with Kaede and is informed that the botched assassination attempt was deliberate; the Patriots has been deceived by Razor, who in truth works for several Republic Senators to assassinate Anden, whom they deem to be revolutionary; should Anden lose the faith of the masses, Razor will ascend to the Elector Primo position. She also points out that the Republic and the Colonies are two sides of the same coin, as the Colonies, through their strict corporatism, punishes the poor and rewards the rich even more than the Republic does. Day, June, and Kaede flee as Colonial soldiers pursue them; heading across the war zone straight towards Denver in a jet, though Kaede is killed in the process. Day successfully reaches the City Hall and pledges his support for Anden. Thanks to this, Anden gains the trust of the masses and manages to command the Army to capture Razor, the traitorous Senators, and most of their supporters.

While he is reunited with the now-blind Eden, Day is diagnosed with a terminal illness due to the Republic's experimentation on him five years prior. Meanwhile, June is offered by Anden a training program for the position of Senator Princeps–the head of the Senate. She meets with Day after his release from the hospital, only to find out that Day, not wanting his illness to hinder June's future, plans to distance himself from her. He quickly leaves the apartment, but not before giving the agonized June a parting kiss.

Characters

Critical reception

The novel has been warmly received by critics. In The Los Angeles Times, Sara Scribner wrote, "Marie Lu has beaten the curse with 'Prodigy,' the second book in the 'Legend' series...Unlike 'The Hunger Games,' which delivers its adrenaline rush by giving kids bows and arrows, this series' power is derived through its layered atmospheres and the way its characters reflect and fight their worlds — and one another. With 'Prodigy,' Lu proves that a Book Two needn't play second fiddle, providing intrigue and deep pleasure all its own." The trade publication Publishers Weekly gave Prodigy a starred review. "June and Day were once divided by ignorance and circumstance; now they are held apart by principle and choice. The portrayal of their dilemma is taut and insightful, and while the story line resembles a high plateau of tension rather than a conventional arc, there are enough unfolding questions to propel the narrative to its aching ending." Kirkus Reviews also gave the novel a favorable review, writing that "The pathos of Day and June's erstwhile romance shines through without detracting from the tension of their rebellion; both riveting action and entertaining characterization keep their quest engaging." Legend also went to number two on The New York Times Best Seller list, underneath The Fault in Our Stars.