A Prodigy Review by Shlok Choudhary

 

        "Prodigy" is the second novel in the Legend trilogy series and in my opinion, is the best. "Prodigy" was written by Marie Lu and published on January 8th, 2013, just a little over a year after "Legend" was published. Unlike "Legend," "Prodigy" is not based in Los Angeles, but instead is majorly based in Las Vegas. One of the most major events that occur in this book is that the Elector Primo, the Republic's president, dies and his son, Anden takes his place.

        Similar to "Legend," "Prodigy" continues the character-by-character chapter between June and Day. I don't think that this style of writing is particularly the best because there is information said in one character's section and then moves on, but then is brought back to later in the next character. This is a bit annoying because I would be reading something completely random and then when the other character's chapter came, it would go back to an old idea.

        The book starts off with Day and June riding in a railcar heading towards Las Vegas in the hope of receiving help from the Patriots. Within the early stages of the book, there is not much action except for rationing food to make sure they have enough. June and Day are going to the Patriots for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they are the top wanted people for the Republic, which is why they left Los Angeles. Secondly, Day's leg is in horrible condition from running away from the Republic forces, and their only chance of getting it fixed is forging a deal with the Patriots. Thirdly, Day needs the Patriots' help to rescue his younger brother from the Republic. Finally, while this is not a reason that Day wanted to form an alliance with the Patriots, he wanted to know if Tess was doing okay as she had joined the Patriots earlier. The Patriots end up agreeing to work with June and Day, but only if they pledge their allegiance to the Patriots, which they do.

        The majority of the book describes the Patriots' plan to execute Anden, the new Elector Primo, to overturn the Republic and take control. This plan involves having June be implemented and informing Anden of a fake assassination plan, but wherever she is telling him to go and do is really the set-up for the real assassination. This assassination does not go to plan though, when Day and June learn that the Patriots leader, Razor, is actually a double agent and was told to kill Anden by government leaders. Instead, Day and June try to save Anden and Day uses his popularity to convince the people of Las Vegas to follow Anden. Eventually, they overcome this struggle and Day is reunited with his younger brother, Eden.

        Overall, "Prodigy" was a very well-written book and had a very interesting plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of excitement in a book. Lu did a great job of describing all of the scenes and characters in so much detail that it almost feels real. I would rate this book a 9.5/10, but the only thing holding me back from a 10/10 is the chapter composition style.