Author: Marie Lu
Age Group: Young Adult
Release Date: 30th January 2013
Publishers: Penguin Teen Australia
Available from: Amazon
The Book Depository
Source: Penguin TEEN Aus
June and Day arrive
in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son
Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a
group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage
to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the
new Elector.
It’s their chance to
change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.
But as June realizes
this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead.
What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and
vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?
___________
It's not often that you read the second book in a series and have it be better than it's predecessor, but Prodigy is just that. I absolutely loved Legend and was so excited when Penguin Teen sent me Prodigy. It continues on from Legend, with Day and June on a train bound for Los Angeles to find the Patriots. While they are searching for the rebel group, the old Elector Primo dies and his young son Anden takes his place. The Partiots believe Anden to be exactly like his father and recruit Day and June to help assassinate him.
June's job is to get close to him and inform him of the Patriots plan. Of course she is giving him false information, she has to make him believe that an assassination is planned in one place when it's actually going to occur in another. As June spends more and more time with Anden she begins to question the Patriots plan. She's discovering that he may not be like his father; Anden has big plans to reshape The Republic into something better, but he needs the support of the people and the only way he is going to be able to convince the people that he isn't a tyrant is to have June and more importantly Day, back him. June's loyalty is really put to the test; she discovers more about herself and what she truly believes in. She is loyal to The Republic and it's people but realises there has to be a way to save them from destruction.
Anden is a great addition to the story; you're lead to believe he's just like his father, but throughout the book we are given an insight into his character. I was never sure if how he was portraying himself to June was just a facade or his actual personality. Lu keeps you guessing and it added a new dimension to the whole story line.
Meanwhile Day is helping The Patriots in anyway he can, and is determined for the Elector Primo to die, so they can pull down the corrupt government of The Republic and rebuild it.The Patriots monitor June all the time and while he is watching a feed from an interaction she has with Anden, he catches a glimpse of a signal they made up. He doesn't understand why she would send him the signal or what it means. Could she have discovered something or was she letting him know that she had returned to The Republic and wouldn't go a head with it? Day is always fighting for what he believes in and it was interesting to see him question whether or not destroying The Republic is what is needed for the people, or if Anden could be what they need to build it into something greater.
I really enjoyed seeing more of June and Day's characters in Legend. Sometimes in books like this, character development is only a small part of a novel with the action and story line taking center stage. Lu manages to combine all these elements to give us one incredible read. Her world building is outstanding, and it's so easy to get swept up into the story and the tale of deception, romance and intrigue. Prodigy is a heart-pounding, adrenaline fueled read.
5/5
Great review! I wasn't wowed by the first book and yet I was absolutely won over with this sequel. Bring on book 3!!
ReplyDelete