Prodigy

Prodigy

By Marie Lu

Putnam, 2013. 384 pgs. Teen fiction (I read the ARC)

Summary:

Day and June have escaped from the Republic soldiers and make their way to join the Patriots; although they aren't entirely certain that they want to work with the Patriots, they figure joining them is the only way to get Day the medical attention that he needs and to try to get his little brother out of the hands to the Republic. After declaring their allegiance to the Patriots, they're told what their new assignments are: June is to return to the Republic and win the trust of the new Elector, Anden, by telling him of a plot against his life, all the while leading him into the true plot, where Day will assassinate him. As they settle into their responsibilities, both Day and June wonder if they're doing right thing, if assassination is really the right answer, and if they can trust anyone--including each other.

Review:

This sequel to Legend should have fans of the series frustrated, in that GOOD way that means the author has gotten you all emotionally invested in a book and taken characters (and by extension, readers), to somewhere they needed to go, even if it's painful. There's going to be a LOT of yelling, frustration, exclamations of disbelief, etc. as readers suffer through the last couple of chapters of this book and realize that they're going to have to wait a long time for any sort of resolution. That's not a bad thing, though--other than the fact that it's quite possible that the ending is going to leave readers crying or having panic attacks. 

There were a couple things I didn't necessarily like about book: for starters, Day and June's relationship. It seemed liked there's supposed to be this magnetic, hot attraction...but it felt forced sometimes. The emotion just seemed to be lacking sometimes. I was actually somewhat more intrigued by the developing love triangles (yes, plural--both Day and June have someone else who is interested in them, and who they could possibly develop feelings for) than the relationship between Day and June, for a lot of the book. Not all of it...but a lot of it. Also, perhaps a small note, and something that could probably be easily corrected in the final edition, but there seemed to be an over usage of parenthesis. Now, obviously, I'm a fan of them myself, but I have to say if the reader starts noticing how often you're using parenthesis, you're probably using them too often. What's the big deal, you ask? Well, I think it made the writing awkward; it seemed weak. A few parenthesis here and there is fine, but when you have several in a row, that can be a warning sign, and in this case, I think was indicative of Lu not always knowing how to incorporate descriptive details and internal dialogue into the rest of the sentence or paragraph. Unfortunately, that can jolt the reader out of the flow of the book, and I hope there's some revision to address that problem before the actual publication of the book.

Anyway, parenthesis aside, it's still an engaging book, with a good plot twists and a believably bad government. We get a look a really interesting new character (the new elector), and I'm excited to see what happens in the third book.

4 stars. A little bit of language and some making out.