Friday, November 22, 2013

Champion by Marie Lu Review



"The explosive finale to Marie Lu’s New York Times bestselling LEGEND trilogy—perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT!

He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion? 

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion."

This is the perfect book to read if you are trying to recover from Allegiant.  

Champion is the last book of a long journey with June and Day. June is the Prodigy because she's the one who gets perfect everything. Trust? Not so much. She's smart, intelligent, and totally entertaining. And she takes the front stage of Champion. 

There's a quote that I heard in a movie I watched while I was reading Champion. "I'll like to see you go out as a champion." What if Day went out as a Champion? I mean, went out, like Tris Prior, as a champion. In that way, I mean death. Like Day died. 

Prodigy, the second book in the trilogy, leaves off with a stunning ending. Day turns out to have brain tumor in his head, for those you who can't figure out the location of a brain. Day doesn't take the spotlight. He's more of a silent character who ends up not remembering anything because of the little problem in his head. His brother, more like his helper because Day is getting worse and worse throughout the novel especially when the Colonies start attacking the Republic, takes a much bigger role. 

Champion's storyline gets crazy. And when I say crazy, it means there's bombs, death (not as much as Allegiant), and crazy people everywhere. Did I mention that friendship will form, people betrayed, and thoughts/allegiance questioned? 

I love all of Marie Lu's novels, especially Prodigy. But I feel like Champion is a little down, little worse than Prodigy. There's not enough excitement. The very same excitement she put in the first two books. 

The ending. That's the most beautiful part of the entire book. It's not anything too unhappy like Allegiant. But my friend once said that the ending was "similar to Allegiant." I asked her why and she said that one of the main character (in this case, Day) meets his/her mother. Although Tris' mother willingly lets her daughter follow her to the afterlife, Day's mother is totally different. And I won't say how she is different than Tris' mother. 

(I wish Champion had a part where June tells the their story, starting from Legend. She should start like this: "My mother thinks I'm dead." AKA the first sentence from Legend in Day's POV. Or maybe she should had said this: "I'm sitting in my Dean Secretary's office again." That is the first sentence from Legend in her POV). 

It's so sad to see a trilogy end. But it's nice to know what a sweet ending this is. 

Rating: Four out of Five

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