Prodigy by Marie Lu

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Prodigy by Marie Lu


I am not one for spoilers so if you haven’t read the first book, Legend, from this series then I wouldn’t recommend reading further. Now onward to this review of Prodigy.


                Day and June have escaped from Los Angeles and are on the run to Las Vegas. There they are hoping to make contact with the Patriots, the secret organization fighting against the Republic. They successfully make contact with the Patriots and Razor, the Patriot leader. The Patriots have agreed to help but for a price: Day and June must help the Patriots assassinate the new Elector Primo, Anden. The old elector, Anden’s father, is dead and now is a prime time to strike if they want a revolution, if they want the Colonies to win, if they want to overthrow the Republic. June and Day agree to do their part if it ensures their safety. June is “captured” as part of the plan and Day begins working with the Patriots, shedding light on the fact that he is indeed alive even though all of the Republic propaganda claims he is dead. June makes her way into the confidence of Anden, by revealing his assassination plot, which is really a decoy planted for the Patriots. As she begins to listen to Anden and observe his relationship with the Senators, she realizes that all is not as it seems. Anden is not like his father and wants to make a change. He is unhappy with the Republic as it stands and needs help if he wants to completely revolutionize the way the government is run. Now June doesn’t know who to trust. Does she continue with the real assassination attempt? Does she try to save Anden’s life? Will she or Day survive either choice?
                Prodigy was an exciting follow up to Legend. It starts off right where Legend picks up, placing readers in the middle of Day and June’s journey. The tension is high, as well as the anxiety. Day and June’s dependency on each other is evident. Both characters are simply trying to survive and it takes a huge amount of courage, strength and trust. The action and suspense started to kick in as soon as contact was made with the Patriots. The questions also started coming as well. The pace picked up and almost as soon as the wheels started rolling, the two characters were separated, each on missions to the same goal. They both faced challenges, had to judge questionable characters and deal with uncomfortable, unsettling and somewhat hostile environments.

                I enjoyed Prodigy. There were moments that I found predictable but it was full of action and suspense. It definitely stepped up a notch in comparison to Legend. The characters were more developed and faced with different challenges that they managed to not be overwhelmed by. More information was provided regarding how the Republic and Colonies came to be which I found extremely interesting. I’m left, after reading this novel, unsure of where else she could bring these characters, which is somewhat exciting. If you enjoyed Legend I would definitely recommend reading this novel. I am giving this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was definitely an improvement from the first book but it’s still missing that something, that’s making me love it! On to the next one. 

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