Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu

Title: Prodigy
Series: Legend #2
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: January 29th 2013
Pages: Hardcover, 374 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

No real spoilers but be weary!  See Nicole's review of Legend here!

The story picks up right where Legend ended. June and Day are in Vegas and have no choice but to seek help and join the Patriots. In exchange for medical assistance and the safe return of Day’s brother, both, June and Day must fulfill their new mission. June is given a mission to penetrate the Republic through the new Elector, an old friend, Aden. Meanwhile, Day’s job is to rally the people and become a figurehead for the Patriots. Their combined end goal: Assassinate the new Elector.

June, bitter from her brother’s death, goes along with the mission until Aden tells her his new radical plan for change. Aden is not his father; he seems to want good change. With growing doubt in the patriots, June must decide if she is really fighting for the right side.

Prodigy did not disappoint, I went in with high expectations and the story did not let me done. The alternating POVs is fantastic, I love hearing what both Day and June are thinking. Prodigy hits the ground running, Lu wastes no time starting the action. There is a lot more war strategy, fighting scenes, and political scenes compared to Legend. The relationship between Day and June grows but never overshadows the other elements of the story; the relationship is full of love and trust but still has some unease.

Lu continues to do an excellent job of building both Day and June as well as the other secondary characters. I did not think I was going to like Aden, but I am definitely rooting for his success. I do NOT like Tess, but I feel like she was perfectly developed, a childhood friend who wants to be seen as something more. While there are other characters that have feelings for Day and June, I do not think there was much of a love triangle which I was happy about.  The relationships in the story, both friendship and love, are so believable, making it easy to connect to the characters.

I am not going to lie, the ending broke my heart. But the more I think about it, I have to applaud Lu, the ending had a bit of everything. There was a good amount of resolve yet there was still sadness and some cliff hanger-like parts. This was me:

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I wish I had a refresher on Legend before I started. Having read Legend almost a year ago, some of the small details were a little fuzzy. The only other small issue I had was the chapters about the Colonies, while I am glad I got to learn more about them, I still felt a bit confused and wanted more details on their lifestyle and roles.

Overall, Prodigy was a 5 star book, it was a solid second book and I am impatiently awaiting the next one. Prodigy was full of action with a blend of dystopia,love and a hint of heartbreak. The excitement and suspense carried through the whole story while including more details about the Republic’s history.  Even the plot twists surprised me!