Legend by Marie Lu

The basics

Title: Legend

Author:

Series: Legend #1

- Legend (November 2011)
- Prodigy (January 2013)
- Champion (November 2013)

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Goodreads Summary:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Read a full summary of Legend by Marie Lu below. If you can’t remember what happened in Legend and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.

In short

You’ve got the wealthy Republic– government conspiracy– think murder setups, disease spread through the water system, and individual meal rations determined by the powers that be.  June was born into this and trained for the military.  It is all she knows and believes it to be right.  Then you have the Colonies (aka slums).  These people have it hard and are basically the guinea pigs of society.  Survival of the fittest.  Day is a rebel activist in this group– most wanted by the Republic.  After the murder of her brother, June hunts down the guy (Day) she thinks was responsible.  They fall for each other and June abandons the Republic.

What happened in Legend?

  • June’s parents died when she was younger.  Her brother Metias basically raised her.  One night while he is on duty, Day (most wanted criminal) sneaks into the hospital to steal drugs to help his sick brother dying of the plague.  He is caught by June’s brother, but stabs him in the shoulder and escapes.  Metias ends up dying.
  • Thomas, a close family friend tries to comfort June.  He has the hots for her.
  • June is a prodigy– got a perfect score on her military exam.  She is shocked to learn that the Commander gave her the mission of hunting down her brother’s killer.
  • She goes undercover in the Slums to seek out Day.  She meets a hot boy with street smarts along with his friend Tess.  She obviously falls for him without knowing it is Day.  He is clueless about her as well.  Some kissing happens in the alley.  The crap will hit the fan.
  • She discovers that he is Day when she sees him reach for his missing pendant, the item that was found at her brother’s crime scene.  She then sets him up.  He attempts to save his family, but walks right into the trap.  The soldiers kill his mother and take his brothers into captivity.  He is stunned that June betrayed him.
  • June is placed in charge of interrogating him.  She slowly learns that the Republic is effed up and begins to side with Day.  She discovers that Day is a prodigy as well.  She also realizes he didn’t try to kill her brother– the stab wound that killed him was in the chest, not the shoulder where Day stabbed him.  Someone else killed Matias.
  • June and Day grow closer over their next several encounters.  June starts to trust Day and begins questioning the Republic altogether.
  • She locates some secret journals and a website Metias had been keeping.  He knew the Republic was up to no good and that something might happen to him.  Thomas killed Matias!!
  • She helps Day escape and they leave the Republic.  In the chaos, Day’s brother John sacrifices himself for Day.

How did Legend end?

June locates a girl from the slums that she met while trying to find Day.  She is a Patriot– a group of people in the Colonies trying to rise against the Republic.  She makes a deal with the Patriots and manages to plan an escape the day of Day’s trial.  The plan almost works entirely, but they run into some trouble and John ends up pretending to be Day so that Day can escape.  The Republic buys it and kill him.  June and Day get the hell outta Dodge.

Any weird terminology?

Republic:  The wealthy government & military in charge.
Colonies:  The poor people in society living in the slums.
Patriots:  Group of people working to rise up against the Republic.

This is a full plot summary of what happened in Legend by Marie Lu. Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!

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Comments:

  • Fauzan says:

    THANK. YOU.

  • Jessi (Geo) says:

    1) Thank you!! 2) Lmao, I’m sensing some sarcasm in there, I get the feeling you didn’t like the book? ;p

  • Sarah P says:

    Thanks for the refresher! I just started Champion and was confused about some things lol

  • Lina G says:

    Ohhhh sweet! I had forgotten about most of this plot and got it mixed up with Article 5 ! *off to read Prodigy*

  • AB Elizabeth says:

    God bless you.

  • This is a cool blog. I read this book back in August 2014 when I was on vacation with my family. I wanted a refresher before picking up Prodigy. Great outline!

  • Thanks for this! Got ready to start Prodigy just now and needed a refresher. Always appreciate these quick, concise summaries, they are lifesavers! 🙂

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