Prodigy by Marie Lu

Title: Prodigy
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Legend #2
Release Date: January 29th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

It seems as though Prodigy couldn't work it's magic on me. I heard such great things about this book and how the sequel was even better than Legend but I don't agree. Prodigy just wasn't as good as Legend.

It took me so long to actually get down to finishing this. It's not because the book was slow paced or anything, I think it was mostly out of fear for what would happen in the end and the dreaded love square.

This book doesn't exactly suffer from the middle book syndrome but nothing happens, or it seems like that to me anyway. In the first book it was about June finding out the secrets of the Republic and so many other things, while Prodigy is focused on their doubts and an assassination attempt on the new elector. 

Day remains my favorite character (Metias is actually my favorite in but alas he is dead and turns out he was gay. Well that's just my crappy luck), I didn't think I could love him more in this book but I did. I really felt for him. Day can be irrational but he doesn't completely lose his sense of rationality. Some people will be bugged by Day's hate for the republic and how he doesn't even consider the fact that the new elector can be a good guy, but I understand. The elector represents the republic and the republic took everything from him, it wouldn't make sense if he DIDN'T hate the Elector. I also like how Day isn't shown as a tough guy. He has nightmares, he is afraid of things, he thinks about himself (and people he cares about) before he thinks about everything else, he resents someone he loves because she was treated better than her. It's these little things that just make him so much more relatable. He is the symbol for rebellion yet he isn't this big hot shot trying to save the world, that doesn't mean that he doesn't care and won't do what he can to help, but his goal at this point is to save his brother and run off with Tess and June to the colonies where they can be safe. What I don't like is the what the author did at the end of the book!!!! (Had to say that)

June, I respect her as a character but I don't particularly like her. I think what Thomas said to her, it's basically what I would tell her too. 

"With all due respect, the world does not revolve around you"

I feel like she is too loyal to the republic. Yes it has been inbred to her ever since she was born, but they took everything from her, she should feel some resentment. She doesn't question Anden at all and buys everything he has to say. When Day questions him, she gets annoyed at Day for looking at things in such a black and white manner. She thinks about how things would affect her. For example she is worried they would hurt Day to get to her... but I don't see her thinking about what would happen if they DID use Day, like what would happen to his brother, etc. She does come off as a bit self-centered that way.

The funny thing is that while most people actually liked Anden, I really didn't, and not even because he was part of the love square situation. I know the author was trying to show him as the good guy but he comes off as slightly manipulative to me (and extremely annoying). I don't know, maybe it's because it's hard to believe that he can be so good. With the kind of father he had, how can he be so good? I am not saying it's wrong for him to be good but some of the things he just says really bug me. There was this one point where he is talking about how he doesn't like what the Republic has become and I almost burst out laughing. He is only 20, how would he know what it was like before? 

He can think all about saving the world but it doesn't mean he will. On top of that, I was just annoyed in general with the fact that no one (except Day but then he changes his mind so not really) really considered the fact that what the Republic needs is a democracy and not a dictatorship and that too lead by an over enthusiastic elector. You cannot make everything right again by changing all the rules completely, it isn't that simple. 

I liked Tess for most of the book until she is trying to force things on Day, if she really loved him, she would stop and think about him first instead of how his being with June screws her chances of being with him. Day is not stupid. He is actually older than you Tess, I am sure he can make judge for himself and not be manipulated. He is pretty smart you know, there was a reason he survived all these years.

The love square really bothered me at first but then I realized why the author put one in. It wasn't to add more drama or anything but I think it was there to show how if things were different, June and Day would never have met each other and fallen in love. It can also be viewed as an obstacle but the obstacle isn't the love square itself but the fact that they have these other options. 

I hope the next book comes out this year (like the goodreads pub date indicates) because I cannot wait for the final book in the trilogy and I am excited (and extremely afraid) to see how things will turn out.