Prodigy

Monicap

O.M.G. This book. I—it was—no words.

I’ll admit, I was a little lost in the beginning. I really should have reread Legend before reading this one, because I read Legend months ago, and I DON’T REALLY REMEMBER HOW IT ENDED. And you know, that’s all I need. I mean, even though I usually do reread books in their entirety whenever the next book in the series comes out, all I really NEED to do is reread the last chapter of the previous book, but I like rereading the entire thing, so sue me, okay?

A couple chapters in, I didn’t REMEMBER the end of Legend, per se, but I figured out what was happening and got into the flow of it. 

So, last night, my family was watching something, some news station and then a movie, I think. And I was sitting there on the couch, well into the second half of the the book, and there were these squeaking noises emerging from me as I begged June and Day not to break up.
And, for once, they listened to me and didn’t! (view spoiler)[Or, at least, not at that point. They did break up on the last page, but I was cool with that. The reasons were different and they made sense. (hide spoiler)]

You know what? I can’t explain this book. You need to go read it, is what you need to do. Especially if you wanna know what happens.

chloe rae

Really enjoying this series! Honestly, the only problem I have is that these characters are supposed to be 15. I understand that they’re very intelligent and mature for their age but they just do NOT feel that young. Also, I think the timeline feels a little off. I feel like more time should have passed during all of this. 
HOWEVER, this story and plot is so fun and I’m having a blast reading this. Really pumped for the last book!

Tatiana

Prodigy: 4/5

Marie Lu is truly a fantastic writer. The way she crafts June and Day into seemingly real people if incredible. Her ability to story tell, world build, and develop characters so you love them is incomprehensible. Marie Lu purposefully kept secrets from the reader in Legend, only to reveal them in Prodigy. Her writing is outstanding and remarkable. 

Prodigy is the second book in the Legend series where June and Day seek help from the Patriots to find Day's younger brother and spark revolution in the Republic. 

This book is filled with twists, action, heartbreak *hiccup*, and betrayal. Although these books are shorter than many YA dystopian novels or YA fantasy, I think Marie Lu uses the length to her advantage. There is no filler and the book moves incredibly fast which I love.

I don't want to spoil anything.. but the ending....... I am hurting.

Anyway, go read these books!!

nina 

Beatrix Haase

Gah this was amazing. So very powerful and sweet. I enjoyed every minute of it.

xoxo,
Bebe

Jamieson

“All it takes is one generation to brainwash a population and convince them that reality doesn't exist.” 


Coming into this sequel I had high expectations. I know Marie Lu can write a good sequel and I was very excited for this one.

In many ways, Prodigy is a step up from Legend. The stakes are higher, the books more fast paced and I think there is much more emphasis on consequence. In Legend things seemed pretty straight forward, in Prodigy, reality is twisted in a way that both me and the characters do not know who to trust. It is alot more psychologically challenging, and this probably should of had me liking it alot more then I did 

I mean, this series has some GREAT ASPECTS: mixed race main characters, lgbt+ rep (not much but something), good supporting cast, well written strong female lead and a compassionate family orientated male lead which is actually kind of unusual, critical of many areas of society such as capitalism, propaganda and marketing. Actually goes outside of the dystopian setting to explain and explore what happened to the rest of the world, and focusses on exposing the ways in which dictators have traditionally gained power through military backing.

There's just one thing stopping me like this. It's like trump came into this book and constructed a wall which would bar me from entering over to the side of blissful entertainment and that wall is built with from bricks made of Day Wing's and June Iparis' relationship. Actually, all romantic interactions are part of this wall. 

ROMANTIC THINGS THAT MADE ME CRY (in anger, not bc its cute) 
• First of all. Day + June is dumb. Sure it cOULD happen but I feel some things need to be discussed. I didn't like that the beginning of the book brushed over so much shit. Abuse/death/ect. Even when it was eventually addressed, it wasn't enough for me and it was too little too late. I am hoping book 3 remedies this more but I just find their relationship weird. There should be more animosity between them, and the brushing over the incidents in book 1 where June physically abused Day is not cool 

• The love square WAS NOT COOL. Don't give me that what the fuck y'all know we don't want that

• June + Arden is fucking weird. She's 15 and he's 20 like wtf. 

• Day + Tess is weird for some reason (I'm not 100% sure but isn't she like 9?) 

• It just felt like all the relationships came out of nowhere. There wasn't enough build up or slow burn, it just felt like characters were thrown together but "he was a boy, she was a girl"

• the lgbt+ rep is iffy (plus, #buryyourgays anyone) I like that it was there, but it's also kind of annoying when authors do that thing when they just throw in a little rep offhandedly, it's lazy. Anyway, idk how I feel about it. Not the worst rep ever but still :/// 


  

(by: niktropolis

BUT ANYWAY: I'm going to keep going on now. I've heard the end of this series is crushing though. I don't know, I think this is a brilliant series plot wise, while book 1 was a lil predictable and maybe not the most original ever, I do think this book really improved on the first in so many ways. The worldbuilding was much better and Prodigy had a thematic complexity Legend just didn't. The touching upon of the capitalist Colonies, with their heavy economic based militance, as well as the effect Global warming and technology has had upon the world were really interesting. I liked that Africa was a large player in this future world, as well as the concept of Antartica developing it's own national identity. 

I noticed Australia wasn't mentioned when Day listed the continents on the world map soo ?? does this mean we dead. It happens to Australia ALL THE TIME in dystopian. Why are authors always killing us :( 

I haven't mentioned characters but I will say I think both Day and June went through some good, important development and I am enjoying their characters very much. June's slow entanglement of her own thought from republic thought was a good character arc, and I also liked Day coming to terms with the role he may need to play in politics in order to stabilise the world they know. I think both Day and June are good MC's. June is an outstanding strong female character, especially since her strength is not solely defined by her fighting prowess, but also in her abiloty to control and manage a situation, to make difficult choices and to carry on in dire situations. 
Day is an unusual male character and I think he defies many male hero stereotypes which i am really loving. HIs character arc relies upon a reliance and love of family and friends, he's entirely relationship orientated and I like that he's not a physically domineering character. His strength is much more lowkey and sneaky and I like that much of his power as a character comes from his symbolic quality, from the words he's used and from his passive-resistance. 
 

~~~~~~

I don't knoooow, there is alot to learn but I just wish the relationships weren't so exhausting and honestly, problematic in parts. Still a good book and series though. 

Actual 3.5*

Cristina Iglesias

If I liked the first book the second one is even better, I for real couldn't stop reading this one. 

My favourite part of this book is how the author made you think and think and repeat which side was right and which one is wrong. Even if the legend series is dystopian, you can clearly imagine it as something that could happen, or is happening, in real life, which is amazing because it makes you wonder if the side you're on is as amazing as you thought and the one you're not supposed to trust, might not be as bad as it seems. While you're reading the book, you get the feeling of should I trust them or not, and throughout all the book you keep changing your thoughts about it. 

Other thing I adored of this book was the character development we get to see on June, and how her heart keeps telling her to trust and be loyal to the Republic while her mind reminds her why she shouldn't. I liked the detail that she didn't suddenly lose all her mindset of 15 years, but she also had in mind all the wrong things the Republic and the Elector has done to her and the rest of the country. 

Third thing I liked about this book was the "new" character, Anden, the new Elector, I honestly love the character, I was a bit wary at first for obvious reasons, but there's something about him that puts me in awe, I want to read more of him. 

The only thing I disliked was something between June and Anden, which again is mostly for June's age and not for anything else, I would've loved if June and Day were 17/18. This and also the ending, the ending made me sad, upset and confused I wanted to throw away my phone and never read again :) either way can't wait to read more of them, although I've already been warned to prepare myself mentally so I'm guessing more painful moments are coming.

tina

second read: december 31, 2019
lost it at page 367

first read: sometime in 2014

It's been a huge amount of time since I read Legend and I've been trying to find time to finally continue following the adventures of one of my favorite dystopian tandems, June and Day!

The atmosphere surrounding Prodigy is more electrified than Legend, probably because things are finally on the move. The tandem has received contact from the Patriots and are part of an assasination attempt to kill the newly elected Elector Primo. I love this because the pacing is definitely more charged. The Patriots are going in for the kill at the Republic's weakest moment. The stakes are set higher, and after the harried vibe I got from Legend, I was definitely more excited to get a better glimpse of the Republic around them, and the Colonies as well! I am super interested in the Colonies and beyond so I can get a clear sense of what exactly has happened to the world they live in. 

On a romantic note, I believe June and Day are great together, I really really do! But the thing is, I don't see how they can love each other in such a short time and under such strenuous circumstances. They have been together for no longer than a few weeks, before that, they have been the worst of enemies from two different worlds, and their actions have contributed to the death of the others family. That was my original problem since the first book. Sure, I can expect them to slowly overcome their differences and start being friends, as illustrated by my favorite pairings ever in the The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. And what's more, they seem to be very suspicious of each other despite the commitments they've made, and they really had'nt overcome their vast differences yet. I don't see any understanding between the two yet. I have a theory that they're just very strongly infatuated with each other, especially in close proximity. But I noticed that whenever they were apart, it was easy for them to refute their commitments and consider being with other people, or being apart, and I hate that. But still, I love them for each other. I just wish they got to know each other a little bit more, or talk about their issues too get a deeper understanding of the other. 

I took a star off because of a little worn cliches used here, little things that were pretty predictable, like Tess crushing on Day, or Razor being especially at the end part (view spoiler)[where June get's a proposal from the new, young, powerful and attractive Elector Primo, and surprise! Day wants her to say yes because he has a secret disease in his lungs that will eventually kill him soon. (hide spoiler)] which annoyed me a bit.

But other than those, Prodigy was perfect! Can't wait for the last installment.

Amy Thomson

** spoiler alert **
            This book has blown my mind.
I loved it, completely! I seriously cannot describe to you, whoever is reading this, just how much I loved this book. From reading the first book, Legend, I thought it was prepared again for the fast paced action complimenting the slow romance with the jam-packed mystery. I was not. I started reading this (a pdf of the first chapter online) and I just had to buy it. I read it in no time, turning page after page on the edge of my seat, watching the characters and their relationships evolve. With each character they had something I deeply loved; June - her cleverness and incredible abilities. Day - his loyalty to his family and his determination. I even saw something in Thomas and him trying desperately to do what's right, failing but trying non-the-less. And yet with this love for each character Marie Lu managed to make to want to smack them too; June just say you love Day if you don't you will regret it! Day, please, just trust June whether you like it or not she knows what she's doing. And Tess? Just leave them to it, they're in love. 
I admit I was hooked at the end of Legend and yet I thought I had this book sussed; that they'd work against the Republic, become people the public look to, that there romance will continue to get better with millions of 'I love you's and kisses. I. Was. Wrong. Again. By the first few chapters I was almost ripping the pages out! 
One issue I had with the characters in Legend (Day and June) was how similar they were, that the thing that separated their point of view was the font change. Luckily, this changed in Prodigy. Each of the two became different, I could even see that one seemed to be more 'girly' written than the other, they also started doing various things like June picking up on the smallest details and Day saying 'yeah?' a lot. 
Also, one thing I loved about this book was the fact the storyline wasn't all love, love, love, love, love. I had everything, the romance just kept me going when the action was heavy, it kept me rooting for the characters. (view spoiler)[ Baxter likes Tess, Tess loves Day, Day loves June, June loves Day, Anden loves June.  (hide spoiler)] And as much as I loved this it was not the complete core of the book. 
However, Marie Lu, I have such a bone to pick with you. You have left me completely and utterly heart broken. I read the last few characters through the tears (no really, I did). I read it into the early hours of the morning so I was unable to scream at the top of my lungs "DAY! NO!" but believe me I wanted to. Marie Lu, you cannot do that to us FanGirls, it's too harsh. Oh, even talking about it now makes me heart ache. I think that maybe you hate us, (view spoiler)[you've given me Day and his wonderful hair and Day with June, and June's love for Day (even if she won't say it I WILL) and then BAMM you just take it away.  (hide spoiler)] THANKS! 
This book, if you're anything like myself, will leave you feeling so empty. I've told my girls to bring chocolate, ice cream and alcohol in an attempt to cure my pain.

check out my blog; http://amylousbookreviews.blogspot.co...

Zoe feeke

Isabela H 

Legend is the book you read when you want a quick peek into a new dystopian world for just a moment. Prodigy is the book you read when you're sucked into that world and want to suffer in the best way possible.

Kirsten Simkiss

This book was passable. If you liked the first book, you’ll likely like this second volume because it seems to be more of the same most of the time. It doesn’t really improve on any of my complaints about the first book either.

The voices of Day and June are still super similar. In order to alleviate this problem, the chapters are literally color coded so you can tell who is who. By which I mean that all of Day’s perspective is literally printed in bright blue ink. I’m pretty sure that June’s was either very dark brown or red - it was hard to tell if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me too since Day’s chapters a such a bright blue color. It was kind of a pretentious design choice, honestly.

As you may know if you’ve read any of my other reviews, I am not at all about the whole instant love interest things. It might be cute in Disney movies, but in a book I often question how it’s even realistic. Heck, at the beginning of the book, Day tells June that he loves her. At this point, he’s known her all of a month, but it’s LOVE!!! I just don’t buy it. Romantic chemistry, sure, but not love.

The plot was boringly predictable. I mean, there’s not exactly a lot of foreshadowing because you don’t actually need it. In these books, a gut instinct from either of the two main characters seems to be a condemnation of their alignment with the main characters: friends or enemies.

Another shortcoming of this book is the fact that they make Tess out to be some kind of jealous bitch who turns on her friend. Which is total bullshit. She’s probably the smartest character in the book, perfect trial scores or not. This book does a great job of alienating or killing all of the important side characters and frankly I’m not about it.

All in all, definitely three stars from me. I wouldn’t recommend reading this book unless you’ve read the first one.

Mercy K

** spoiler alert **
           2017. this ending. this ending had me in tears. love-hate relationship with this book like why day whyyyyy im crying for june but for real what an ending and whats worse is that this is a re read and i dont remember any of this happening last time i read it and that makes it even more devastating and im crying thanks to day what a wonderful summer read great okay

2022. idk why i remember not liking this book. re read and loved it. hate june though like why does she always have to be right. wouldve cried at the end but i was on a plane lol

Gisela Ayala 

Before starting this review, I have to say I'm sad so my sadness might affect my judgment! I'll get to why I'm sad in a moment...

Prodigy was a lot better. Did not suffer from second book syndrome like some books in series do. Usually second books are setting up for what will happen instead of having its own plot too. But Prodigy was very intense, at least for me. The whole time I was reading I was very nervous for what was about to happen and how it was going to be pulled off. 

June is seen as an outlaw now, since she turned her back on the Republic, and Day is seen as a vigilante hero to the people. This fact plays a lot into the book when they are thrust into the hands of the Patriots with no other choice but to what needs to be done. 

I liked June's inner conflict in Prodigy. She struggles a lot with how to fix the system if it is broken. Do we tear it down from the ground up? Or do rebel from inside the government and fix what is broken? These questions, I'm sure, people are even asking themselves now in our day about our current situation. June showed more emotion in this book, even though she is still the mechanical, logical thinker that she was brought up to be, she goes with gut feelings too and at times logic does not make sense.

Day on the other hand is angry and upset and jealous? Growing up poor and hungry is the basis of how he makes his decisions, and of course when it comes to family and the people he cares about. He brings up a lot that June does not understand because she grew up privileged, and that is perhaps clouding her judgment. Either way he also struggles with the same thoughts as June does.

Now, this book was great and the ending was great, but not what I expected it to be. I'm definitely upset over somethings that were revealed about the characters and how they reacted. But I guess we have to see how it will be played out in the third book. Sigh... my heart.

Nicole Dykeman

I don't remember absolutely loving Legend. This sequel, on the other hand, had me hooked. I thought the plot for this one was much more captivating.

isabella

Marisa Petri

1.5

Honestly I don't get the hype. The characters fall in love in 2 seconds, very unlikely things just keep happening, the dialogues and the personalities of EVERY CHAR are dull, they could honestly replace each other, no one has much to distinguish themselves truly. The only ok thing is the main plot who to me was terribly predictable for this second book of the series. I really struggled to read it until the end, especially because the characters are extremely boring and unrelatable.

Julie Janis

This was such an amazing, action-packed sequel! The conflict had me on the edge of my seat and the struggles that June and Day faced were spot on! I honestly kind of expected the struggles they would go through happen but it was still nice to read. I like how this book tested their trust for each other and I thought it was handled really well! I loved uncovering the mysteries and secrets kept by the Republic and Patriots. After reading that ending, I'm super anxious to find out what will happen in the last book!

marilynn

Livia

*sigh* that last chapter is painful (in a good way), and me screaming to day to just tell her could be heard from miles
Stupid, stupid love square (?)
The main plot is kinda predictable but i still enjoy it
That last words on the book though, dramatic and beautiful

sarah 

Maria Banning

Wow...really 2nd to last chapter really pissed me off!!! Still a great story though!

Marloes

Feeling with this series goes up and down.

This second book: 
Great world-building (!). Nice twists. Cliché relationships. Lots of action.

Prodigy

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