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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Book Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy by Marie Lu
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication date: January 2013
Pages: 384
Source: ARC won in Lenore's Dystopian August
For: Fun
Series: Legend, Book 2

*Spoilers are inevitable for the first book, Legend*
June and Day have barely escaped LA and when they finally make it to Las Vegas, they must join with the patriots in order to survive. But the patriots have their own plans for them, plans that unfold when the electorate dies and his son, Anden, takes over. They must assassinate Anden in order to escape from the Republic and to get Day's brother back. But June isn't sure she can follow through with the plan after all.

Things I Liked:
This one had just as much cinematic action to keep me glued to the pages as Legend.  I loved watching Day and June try to figure out what is best for them and also for other people.  When I finished, pretty much the phrase that sums up how I felt was "I didn't see THAT coming!" and it was true throughout most of the book.  I really never figured anything out before it happened (though, there were obvious clues) and I was surprised each time something new was revealed.  Lu is a master of weaving the tale and keeping her secrets.  The ending was painful in the extreme and I was a tiny bit annoyed at the card she played, but I'm invested enough to see what happens in the next installment.


Things I Didn't Like:
As I mentioned, what happens at the very end almost seemed contrived to me, to keep the tension going into the next book.  But it didn't ruin the book for me.  Also, with so much going on sometimes I didn't feel connected to the characters.  But, I enjoyed watching June and Day try to figure out just what it was they felt for each other and why.  Interesting and entertaining from beginning to end.


Read-alikes:
Start with Legend by Marie Lu

The set up reminds me of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Starters by Lissa Price
Divergent series by Veronica Roth

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
a few here and there

mrg-factor: X
a bit steamy

v-factor: ->->->
plenty of action and fighting

Overall rating: ****

What future world from a book do you find the most realistic?  The most terrifying?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

8 comments :

  1. I agree. Great review. That ending really has me wondering. I do connect with Day and June -- they are some of my favorite characters.

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    Replies
    1. I know, I'll be interested to see where the series goes next.

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  2. I've yet to read the first book yet. I came close once. I'm interested to see if I'll find it add exciting and add unpredictable as you.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'm not sure if you would find it as interesting as me - the first book definitely kept me entertained throughout, so it is worth a shot.

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  3. I remember loving Legend, but I don't think I remember enough of the details. I might need to do a re-read or scan of Legend first. Glad you enjoyed it. Can't wait to read it!
    Clean Teen Fiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A refresher might be helpful, but it had been a long time for me too and I did pretty well. Hope you enjoy it when you get to read it.

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  4. I also just brought home Legend from the library! And now I've just found out she is going to be at B and N in a week! Sheesh! Will I EVER be able to keep up? No.

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    Replies
    1. That's exciting! Hopefully you'll get to meet her (if you can squeeze in all those crazy book signings).

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