Nearly five years ago, I finally read Legend by Marie Lu. The series was already quite old at the time, but I’m still so behind on YA novels so hadn’t read it yet. The timing couldn’t be more ironic as it was at the high of the Covid-19 pandemic and we were about to enter yet another lockdown. However, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed this first book in the trilogy. It only took me until now to pick up Prodigy and continue this series. Did it still live up to my earlier reading experience and my expectations? Be aware for spoilers for the previous book in this review.

About the book

Prodigy by Marie Lu
Series: Legend #2
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers on January 29, 2013
Pages: 371
ISBN: 9780399256769
Genres: Dystopian, Young adult
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The highly anticipated second book in Marie Lu’s New York Times bestseller, LEGEND–perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT 
June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request–June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.
It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long. 
But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood–what if the Patriots are wrong?

My review

Expectations

It has been a fairly long time since I read Legend and whereas I really wanted to read Prodigy, I just never picked it up. I wasn’t prioritizing it and therefore I didn’t have many expectations. I just wanted to finally knock it off my TBR. I however did expect to find an easier read in terms of writing style and such after some books that were quite a challenge and disappointment to me. My expectations were mostly met.

Characters

Legend was told alternately from both our main characters’ POV and this was likewise for this next book. We follow both June and Day which is quite necessary for the story. They have to go their separate ways at some point, but I can’t say too much about this because of spoilers. Maybe it’s my reading experience or maybe this is indeed lacking, but in my opinion both characters aren’t elaborated too well. We get to know them, and Lu also provides insight in their feelings, but it all feels like it’s staying quite at surface level. This is not strange for a plot driven book, but somehow, I miss it. I was unable to feel any connection to both June and Day and admittedly, I already forgot them. They both have so many inner struggles and their loyalties get tested a lot, but I just didn’t feel it. There was no urgency for me in terms of their growth and this was a real pity.

Writing

Lu has a writing style which is indulging and easy to follow. Even though it has bene years since I read the previous book in the series, it was easy for me to remember what happened and therefore I could fly through the book. This story is heavy on POV switching, but all for good reason. It is clear when such a switch occurs as this is done by a set structure. Compared to other books, this writing style is quite generic though, but it fits the target audience which is the young adult reader. Mind that this book has been over a decade old, so that there were different standards and readers were easily satisfied. Nowadays, this is a different story it seems.

Setting

The setting of the book is a bit scary. Could we ever have imagined a decade ago how the current political climate in the USA would be? Between then and now, we had Covid, and the world is on fire in general. This dystopian setting the author crafted partially became reality and somehow that hits a bit different. Even though it’s in an attenuated form. Upon publication, it was unimaginable that a world like this could ever exist, but now it’s totally different. I could easily picture the world June and Day are living in and I hope this won’t become reality one day. This might be the biggest trigger for readers to avoid this series altogether, but I find this setting and atmosphere oppressive and elaborated well.

Plot

Unfortunately, the plot was, together with the characters, the weakest element of this book for me. It moves slowly and I wasn’t too excited overall. Despite the setting being so oppressive, the plot wasn’t too intriguing. It’s quite fast-paced, somthing that speaks to the target audience, even back then. It’s action-packed, combined with some inner monologue. However, since this is a trilogy, this boo definitely feels like a second book that’s squeezed in between a series starter and something that could only be an explosive finale. I wasn’t fully intrigued by it, but I understand the importance of this second book as this is the kickstarter for certain events that hopefully will be explored more in depth in Champion, the third book in the series.

Final thoughts

Even though Prodigy has some less strong elements compared to Legend, I still enjoyed my time spent on this book. Accordingly other trilogies, this book really suffers from second book syndrome. Although the plot is fast-paced and quite action-packed, it’s not too intriguing as it moves forward slowly in terms of development. I understand the importance of certain events as they might be the kickstarter for the third book. Moreover, the characters are lacking growth as well. The strongest point for me was the setting, this dystopian setting has been written really well and feels quite scary when looking at the current state of the world. This series definitely stands the test of time, but it feels less intriguing to me compared to some of its peers.