Legend

Legend by Marie Lu

If it's done right, Legend is going to be a thrilling flick!

The movie rights to 27-year-old Marie Lu’s debut novel were sold to CBS Films last year. This YA dystopian novel has all the appeal of The Hunger Games—a swift-moving plot, attractive and clever lead characters, and rebellion against the powers-that-be in a twisted, futuristic society. The setting is Los Angeles in 2130 A.D., and the United States as we know it has been obliterated by floods. The country is now the Republic of America, and it’s at war with the colonies—a nondescript land east of L.A.

Day is a daring, gorgeous teenage street rat fighting to save his family from the city’s mysterious plague. June is a brilliant, privileged, beautiful girl with government and military ties. She is soon assigned to hunt and capture Day, and her deep hatred of him is justified. The story is told from Day’s and June’s alternating points-of-view, and Lu’s writing is crisp and concise. I was intrigued by Lu’s back jacket bio, which says that she was inspired to write Legend after watching Les Misérables “and wondering how the relationship between a famous criminal and a prodigious detective might translate into a more modern story.”

My only regret upon finishing Legend (which was a quick read) was the lack of a cliffhanger. We know that the story continues, but uh! I wanted to have one of those groan-in-frustration, throw-the-book-against-the-wall-because-I-was-dying-to-know-what-happens-next moments at the end. But, it’s still quite good. :) The book is part one of a planned trilogy, and the second book, Prodigy, comes out in January 2013.