Prodigy: The perfect dystopian novel

    In my last blog post, I reviewed the third book of the Legend trilogy, and I've recently been rereading the series backward. In this blog, I'm going to go over the plot of this book and the book before to explain why Prodigy is the perfect dystopian novel. 

     Legend shows a dystopian future where the United States has become the Republic. The story follows two protagonists, June, a military prodigy, and Day, a wanted criminal. On one fateful night, June's brother is killed, and Day becomes the prime suspect. June is assigned to capture Day, but she uncovers government secrets and corruption as she investigates. The story unfolds by switching between the two characters, who soon discover that their real enemy is the Republic and become partners and soon lovers, in crime.

  

    In the sequel Prodigy, Day, now a public hero, and June join forces with the Patriot rebels, who seek to overthrow the oppressive government of the Republic and bring about a more just society. As the story progresses, Day struggles with guilt and responsibility for his family, while June wrestles with her loyalty to the Republic and her growing feelings for Day. However, after failing to assassinate the elector (leader of the republic) and being captured June and Day realize that the Patriots have their own agenda, separate from their goal of overthrowing the Republic. Razor, the leader of the Patriots, reveals that he plans to use Day and June as pawns in his bid for power, casting doubt on their trust in the rebel cause. As Day's health gets worse, he talks with the elector and decides to side with him as he believes the elector has good morals and ideas for improving the corrupted republic (caused by the senators). Day finally decides to broadcast himself to the entire republic revealing his wishes for everyone to side with the elector. The elector (in love with June), asks her to be the second-in-command. As she is debating, Day tells her that she should accept the position and that they should break up because of their history (he's actually about to die from his injuries and doesn't want June to know). The story ends with a new second-in-command of the Republic and Day being reunited with his brother Eden.

    The reason I think that Prodigy is the perfect dystopian novel is very simple. Prodigy has an interesting plot, along with action, plot twists, romance, a well-developed futuristic setting, and it's well-polished. The novel has the main characters almost always stuck in a battle and struggling to catch a break. Somehow, the novel also develops the plot and its characters through these battles. Whenever the main characters do catch a break from their battles, the novel vividly depicts their restlessness and the state of their somewhat awkward relationship. 

    If you ever want to start a new dystopian series, Legend is the way to go.