Legend by Marie Lu

Goodreads Description: "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.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills."

My Review: I know, I know---kind of like the vampire/paranormal romance craze, there's now a dystopian craze going on, brought about by Suzanne Collins. And I understand that most of these dystopian authors are selling out because their books are very similar and they KNOW they'll sell. But even though the paranormal romance craze REALLY bothered me, I'm going to be honest: the dystopian one doesn't. Why? These books are AWESOME, and I don't care if these authors just want to cash in. That doesn't change the fact that the books are still awesome---which Legend totally is. Lu really DESCRIBED her characters and made me feel like I truly knew them. Both of them had pretty great personalities as well. On the whole, I liked Day better than June---but June was pretty cool. As far as dystopians go, the world wasn't explained as well as I'd have liked it, but maybe that's coming up in the next book. The plot also kind of confused me; I felt like the REAL plot came out only in the last 50 pages of the book. But on the whole, the action and adventure were interesting and well-paced, the characters were great (even the secondary ones, like Metias and Tess), and on the whole, this book is VERY enjoyable. I'd say fans of the Hunger Games trilogy, Enclave by Ann Aguirre, and Divergent by Veronica Roth would really love this book.

Cover: Nornally, I'd say this cover isn't much. It's cool-looking, and that's the most I can say---it's not pretty or intriguing. But it DOES fit the feel of the story so well that I'm going to have to say this is a pretty nice cover. It TOTALLY matches the feel of the book.

Overall Grade: A-