Marie Lu

"Now, are you happy? Have you finally achieved all you set out to do? What will you do next, little assassin, with no one left to see you?"

yooooo............. Adelina is actually low-key terrifying, LMAOOOOOO. this girl deserves an award for being one of the most unhinged FMC on these streets.

listen, I love a fun morally grey character or a villain origin story, but this series is a f*cking TREAT. I have not read many books where the original story is following the villain from childhood to adult-ish (late teen-hood?) in the way that The Young Elites trilogy is.

Adelina gets more and more monstrous as the story goes on. it simultaneously has me wanting to cover my eyes, shake her to get some sense back into her, and cheer her on—LMAO.

the romantic subplot took a backseat (really, got thrown into the trunk) for this book, and while I did miss it, I did not entirely mind it not being there.

also, totally random thought (and slightly spoiler-y) but if I could compare to A Court of Wings and Ruin (Sarah J. Maas) for a moment: I am so happy that Marie Lu made us wait, build up tension, and put work in before bringing Enzo back to life. I always felt like Rhysand’s death and resurrection wasn’t very impactful, because it all happened in like 10 pages. I loved that we had to FEEL Enzo’s loss, witness the consequences of his death, see what people would act like without him, how the world shifted without him, THENNNNNN find a way to bring him back and go through the efforts of actually bringing him back.

plot: ★★★★☆
the plot could genuinely be summarized as, “girl becomes completely unhinged, makes it everyone else’s problem”.

writing/prose: ★★★★★
the writing is very fun. again, I still love the little segments at the top of each chapter. I feel like a broken record saying this, but reading from a villain POV is soooo fun.

pacing: ★★★★☆
like the first book, the pacing is pretty fast. most chapters have events happening, or big time scheming happening. I will say I was not very interested in Queen Maeve’s chapters. that was probably the only time reading felt slower to me.

romance: ★★☆☆☆
I was a little desperate for some romance in this book, not gonna lie. I literally went from begging Adelina to love Enzo, to Magiano, to Teren (LMAO, don’t look at me—they had huge enemies-to-lovers potential) like I just wanted SOMETHING sooo bad. so yes. it was lacking a little bit in this book, but I’m not that mad about it. it was still there, just not as much of a primary focus. Adelina too busy murdering everyone to have a boyfriend anyway.

characters: ★★★★★
the way I was rooting for Adelina, but also yelling at her like, “JUST BE NICE TO MAGIANO PLEEEAAASSSSEEEE STOP MAKING MY BOY SAD!!!!!!!!” like—girl. please.

but anyway, I am obsessed with having a main character that is just like... a straight up villain. Adelina is SO fun to read, even when I’m like “girl chill out”, another part of me is like “girl ruin them all”.

Magiano grew on me WAY faster than I expected him to. honestly, I did not expect to like him at all. I thought he was a little annoying when we first met him, but the more he tried to care for Adelina and tried to get her to let her in, the more I was like “MAGIANOOOOOOOOO”.

Violetta was also annoying me a little bit, like if you don’t join this murder spree rn...

also idk, I keep expecting Teren to become a bigger role in everything, but he’s just kinda always... there...

over-all: ★★★★★
I’m loving this series so far. idk what drugs Marie Lu is putting in here, but I’m not complaining. pop off, Adelina, rage forever.… (plus d'informations)

First sentence: My mother thinks I'm dead. Obviously I'm not dead, but it's safer for her to think so. At least twice a month, I see my Wanted poster flashed on the JumboTrons scattered throughout downtown Los Angeles. It looks out of place up there. Most of the pictures on the screens are of happy things: smiling children standing under a bright blue sky, tourists posting before the Golden Gate Ruins, Republic commercials in neon colors. There's also anti-Colonies propaganda. "The colonies want our land," the ads declare. "They want what they don't have. Don't let them conquer your homes! Support the cause!"

Premise/plot: Legend is YA dystopia. The novel has two narrators: a guy named Day (Daniel) and a girl named June. Both underwent the "trials" at age 10. June received a perfect, perfect score earning her not only the right to higher education (high school and college) but the right to the best education possible, the kind of education that will prepare her for serving the Republic. Day, well, he didn't pass his trials. And like all other low-scoring 10 year olds, he was sent away to labor camp. Once a 10 year old is sent to labor camp, they're never ever heard from again.

When the novel opens, both teens are about 15. Day is a wanted criminal, an outlaw. He doesn't legally exist in the Republic database, in the Republic records. The authorities don't even know what he looks like--what race or ethnicity he may be. So their wanted posters change quite often allowing for every possibility. (It's the occasional finger print on the crime scene that links Day to particular crimes.) Day is in Los Angeles spying on his family. His older brother, John, is the only one in the neighborhood who still knows he's alive. And it is to John he delivers gifts--food, clothes, medicine, money, etc. Day becomes worried when his family's home is marked with a red X--a symbol that someone within the home has the plague. This is very bad news indeed.

June, on the other hand, is at the top of her class. Though she's just fifteen, she's almost finished with her training, her education. June is anxious to start working for the Republic, to start serving in the military, to start tracking down criminals like Day. Her wish comes true--but not in the way she expected. She wanted to start working with her older brother, Metias. Instead, she takes his place after he is murdered. And it appears that Day is the one responsible for his stabbing. Metias was trying to stop Day from escaping from the hospital after a break in. (Day was hoping to find plague cures for his family.) June is on a mission, and it is personal. She'll track down Day and bring him to justice no matter what.

My thoughts: The chapters alternate in narrators, and for once I think this is a great idea. Usually, I'm not a big fan of this in novels, but in this case, it not only works, it works well! I was able to care about Day and June--almost from the start!

Legend is action-packed. It's an intense read. But an enjoyable one! I'd definitely recommend it!!!

I first read this one in June of 2011. I reread it in August of 2024.… (plus d'informations)

I wondered if this book would be one of those dystopian novels that ends really tragically, or only moderately so. The final chapters brought more suspense than the rest, but throughout the story the reader is brought on a journey where we imagine an alternate, and quite unpleasant America. While it lives up to its dystopian genre, there are whisps of humanity, love and loyalty throughout this story. Young readers are likely to relate to the struggle for purpose and identity. It is a dark, but not too dark story for young readers, in my opinion.… (plus d'informations)