Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu ★★★☆☆
Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
If Legend was 3.5 stars rounded up, I think Prodigy would have to be 3.5 stars rounded down. But still 3.5, don't get me wrong.
There was so much about this book that I really liked. Revolutions! Covert operations! Shades of moral grey! More conspiracies! But the pacing was just not doing it for me. The book never really gripped me until the last 80 pages or so. But because it was so late in the book the whole climax felt a little rushed.
That said this was a book that I did enjoy overall. I marathoned this book all weekend and am really glad I had it on hand to pick up right after I finished Legend. As I mentioned in the Legend review, it was so clear that this was a series. Prodigy almost literally picks up right where Legend left off. If you haven't started this series yet, I'd recommend picking up at least these first two books as a set and reading them back-to-back. It helped the overall flow for me.
But with the way Prodigy ends, I'm not entirely sure what exactly we're going to be left doing in Champion? Sure, the ending is open and ambiguous. And there is one final little twist thrown in right at the very end--but that almost seems like an afterthought? And I'm not entirely convinced that the plot of Champion is going to be centred around it?
Another dislike... or maybe you could call it a squick... Some of the "relationships" that pop up in this book (and are in Legend as well) are just really not doing it for me. Day and June are not even 16. Tess is 13, and while I could buy her thing for Day being written off as puppy love, it's sort of presented as almost a legitimate option in the narrative for a bit? And that's just. No. I can't. The same with June and Thomas. Thomas is implied to be Metias' age, right? He's at least 18 but is probably close to a decade older. He's not really a viable option, but the narrative doesn't play the age thing off as all that creepy. Nope. No. Just don't.
Even Anden's thing for June sort of squicks me a bit. Not as much for whatever reason, but she's fifteen.
That said, a lot of that could be fixed with aging some of these characters up. Have June and Day be 18. I'm not sure exactly why they're 15. It's not really that crucial to the plot? Regardless.
One final thing I need to mention, but this time as a total plus. (Highlight for spoilers)
THE COLONIES. Oh my gosh. The digs at capitalism. AH. It was just so good. I had to pause a few times and slap my hand over my mouth. I cannot even explain. It was just so wonderful. Such a good twist!
Overall, still enjoyable, but it's sort of not really meeting all my expectations? I have to wait a bit for Champion now because I'm third on a hold list at the public library. I'll be happy to have read this series, but it's not really shaping up to be a favourite. Which is slightly disappointing.
