Do you remember the book, Legend? The champion that won March Book Madness by literally only one vote? You might be raging that one of your favorite books which also competed didn’t win, though you might’ve not even read Legend before. Let me give you a quick review of Legend, and you can judge whether or not it deserved to win. 

Legend is a book by Marie Lu and is an amazing adventure-packed trilogy. It is a science fiction and a dystopian young adult novel with bits of romance and mystery. It is told in first-person and switches between the view of the two main characters, Day and June. 

Day, the most wanted criminal in Los Angeles, is from the slums of the Republic Lake Sector. In Legend, when children become the age of 10, they are put to the test in something called the Trial, to determine the children’s future in society. Day scores too low and is sent to die, but miraculously lives and escapes, and now lives a life of robbery and undercover. Even his family doesn’t know he is alive. Many people view Day in a negative way, but his motives aren’t as wicked as they seem. 

June Iparis is born into an elite family from the Ruby Sector of the Republic, and scores 1500 points (100%) on the Trial. Many know her as a prodigy because her perfect score on the Trial was one of a kind throughout history. Though, not everything was perfect for the 15-year-old girl, as her parents mysteriously died and she was left to live with her only brother, Metias Iparis, a superior Republic officer. 

All the while, there is a dangerous plague spreading around. Day watches as his family’s door is marked, signifying that they have the plague. Day knew he had to help, and went to the hospital to try and steal the plague cure. Though, also at that time, Metias was sent to the hospital to guard the delivery of a mutated virus. Day couldn’t find the plague cure, and the only thing he could get his hands on was the plague medicine. So close to escaping, he was stopped by Metias, but Metias fails to capture Day. Later when Metias is found dead, everyone’s prime suspect is Day. June swears that she will hunt Day down; she will trick and deceive him, and also lie, cheat, and steal to find him. She made one promise, and that promise was that Day’s life was going to be hers. 

Day and June, one fighting for his family’s survival, the other seeking to avenge her brother. Both went through many different experiences, both from completely opposite worlds. Read Legend and find out how they play a role in each other’s life, and the secrets their country has been hiding for many years.