Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy by Marie Lu

Steph’s Rating: 5 stars
Dani's Rating: 5 stars

Overall Rating: 5 stars

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Putnam Books

Publication Date: January 29th, 2013

Pages: 374

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

Steph’s Review:

*Spoilers for Legend. Do not read if you haven’t read the first book yet.*

Holy. Crap. Pure gold here. Prodigy was an AMAZING follow up to Legend, and it really exceeded my expectations for it. Legend was great, and Prodigy quite frankly just blew my mind away. There are so many surprises, twists, and traitors revealed that come so unexpectedly, and I found myself gaping at the pages all the way until the very last words. Marie Lu has become an expert storyteller, and I cannot put into words how much I loved Prodigy.

June and Day are on their way to Las Vegas to join the Patriots uprising association. They are fugitives within the Republic, and are constantly being hunted. With Day escaping his death sentence, and the Republic having to cover it up by killing Day’s brother John instead, well, you can say they are pretty darn pissed. The Republic will do whatever it can to quietly eliminate Day from the shadows. They absolutely cannot have classified secrets out that will cause mayhem in the entire nation.

That being said, the best thing for June and Day to do is get protection. How? Joining the Patriots, in return they obviously participate in the Patriots plots. You thought there was action in Legend? Yeah there was some, but you haven’t seen anything yet. Prodigy is filled with trepidation and action to the core. Sometimes when books get slow, my eyes will glaze over and I’ll just start skimming paragraphs. In Prodigy, I just couldn’t catch enough. I focused in on every single word because I did not want to miss a single thought. Prodigy keeps you on your toes and your mind at the brink!

In this installment, Marie opens up the world she created much more, both to the reader and to her characters. The whole plot essentially thickens and becomes more complex. As a reader, we know that half of the U.S. is not the entire world. In this, we get to see for the first time June and Day’s exposure to what is going on everywhere else; that places they never even knew about existed. That Russia, a country the Republic told them was erased, still existed. Prodigy just shows more and more of the Republic’s brainwashing and evilness, a 100% dystopic setting. June and Day are even going to get a nice meet-and-greet with the Colonies, which by the way was totally not what I expected it to be (just another twist to look forward to!). I knew right off the bat there there was something suspicious off about the Patriot society, but Marie’s delivery will just leave you jaw-dropped. So many of the questions that were swirling around in my head were answered, but Prodigy gave way to a whole new set of them.

I think I’ve already talked about how much I love the characters in my Legend review, but in Prodigy I have come to love the characters even more. I didn’t think that was even possible until I finished reading. Oh Day, how you make me laugh, worry, sob, swoon and fan myself. I cannot get enough of him. His relationship with June is a little tense in this book, but I was okay with that because I really didn’t expect a full-blown relationship only after Legend. There are lots of double agents in this book, and you can never truly see the truth about people with the naked eye. Smaller characters in Legend become part of the main scene in Prodigy, and Marie Lu will make you love each and every one of them!

I was a sobbing hot mess by the time I finished this book. Well, I actually finished it while I was on a bus and it was entirely inappropriate to just start crying my eyes out in public, so I had to wait until I got home to start the bawling fest. My mother thought there was something wrong with me. Day, my Day. And June! Oh god I just needed so many tissues after Marie dropped the bomb about Day. And the worst thing? She ended it. Right there. MEGA Code Red Cliffhanger Alert everyone! That is pretty common but still, it hurt and it still aches. You know that the Legend world is on the brink of change and revolution, and I must find out the fate of the Republic, and of June and Day. Champion (Book 3) is scheduled for 2014 and I honestly don’t know how I can survive until then. I’ve read over the Prodigy ending countless times, and everytime my feelings are exactly the same and tears form in my eyes. Truly, this tale by Marie Lu is becoming a masterfully told legend. You must read this series, especially if you’re a fan of dystopia!

Dani's Commentary:
Marie Lu has done it again. Legend impressed me, but Prodigy is a whole other story. She knew when to pack in lots of action and life-threatening situations and when to have slow, sweet, emotional, and even sad scenes. She really taps into the emotions, June and Day have for each other. Unfortunately, suspicions about June are planted into Day's head and he wonders if June truly loves him. June often wonders if she is doing the right thing. Both struggle with their grief for their deceased family members. 
Truly a captivating page turner to Marie Lu's dystopia series. In a year or two, she may emerge as the new YA queen of Dystopia! ;)

Thanks so much to the ladies of Winter Haven Books for a copy of Prodigy!