Legend

Bibliographic Information
Title: Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Type of Media: text
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: November 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0399256752
Genre: SciFi
Reading Level: Lexile 710
Interest Age: 12+







Plot Summary
It is 2130 AD and what use to be the United States is now split into the Republic and the Colonies who are perpetually at war with each other. Day is a 15-year old boy born into a poor family on the streets of the Republic where he has learned to fend for himself and has become the most wanted criminal within the Republic and has become a legend to the people. June is a 15-year old girl who was born into an elite family, her parents died a few years ago, and now it is just her and her brother Matius who works for the government as an officer a career that June wishes to follow him in. When Matius is suddenly murdered, Day is believed to be the killer. June sets off to revenge her family while Day is struggling to survive. Yet, as the water thickens and both characters learn more about what is happening within their country, the line between right and wrong no longer seems clear. What will become of these two characters who are destined to cross paths?

Critical Evaluation
Legend is beautifully written from the perspective of both Day and June. This duel narration helps to fill out the story as both characters are on the go, one searching for the other. Lu does an incredibly job getting into  the minds of the 15 year old characters. Their thoughts, actions, and language are all believable although extreme due to the world they live within. The development of the characters through the experiences that have as well as information they learn is that of an epic story.
Lu is definitely strong in the aspect of world building as well as character development. She easily paints a picture of a country that is far distance from what we know but close enough to place the locations in your mind and map it all out. It is incredibly interesting to look at America through the lens of a different government.

Reader's Annotation
This is the type of book that will keep you up all night long dying to know what is going to happen but desperately not wanting it to end.

Author Biography
Marie Lu is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Legend, Prodigy, and Champion, as well as The Young Elites. She graduated from the University of Southern California and jumped into the video game industry, working for Disney Interactive Studios as a Flash artist. Now a full-time writer, she spends her spare time reading, drawing, playing Assassin's Creed, and getting stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles, California (see above: traffic), with one husband, one Chihuahua mix, and two Pembroke Welsh corgis.

Marie Lu. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Lu/e/B004SRQ1WC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Book Talk Ideas

• Future of America
• What makes right or wrong

Possible Challenges

• Violence

Defense File

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Know the awards, if any, the book has earned

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Reason for InclusionThis is a thrilling dystopia set in a futuristic America with lots of adventure and a little bit of romance. It makes it to number #1 on my all time favorite dystopian list. It is also a winner of the Young Reader's Choice Award as well as the Truman Readers Award.