⚠️Spoiler ⚠️
Romance and Power Scattered Through Legend
The central characters of Legend, June and Day, have their worlds collide when Mattias, June’s brother, is tragically murdered. The book is loaded up with many unforeseeable twists and turns, when a possible romance forms between Day and June. When Day is put up for execution, for the murder of Captain Mattias, his brother sacrifices himself so that Day can escape with June, leaving Day with no-one left, just like June. Another layer of the plot unfolds when Thomas, June’s other lover murders Day’s family as well, after they were found with a new strain of the plague.
When Mattias was found dead, there was supposedly a spot where Day threw his knife, in his shoulder, but there was a second hole in Mattias’ heart, leading June to believe that maybe Day wasn’t the one who murdered her brother, but maybe it was Thomas. With the plague wiping out the poorer sectors of the Republic, it is a question if the republic is injecting the plague into the “weaker people” according to who scores well in the trial. This could possibly be so the Republic can wipe out the Colonies, in which this theory is backed up a second time when June’s mother and father are killed in a car crash as soon as her father figures out the reason for the plague.
June and Day’s perspective is switched throughout the book, alternating throughout the chapters which makes you want to keep reading to find out what happened to each of them. The alternation creates just another atmosphere when their worlds do collide. When Thomas finds out how Day and June had a romantic interest for each other, a power imbalance comes into play. After Mattias died, Thomas took over his job, meaning when Day was detained, he could use his hand up and make Day’s life worse right before his execution. Day taunts Thomas about June on page 219 in the book Legend, “‘...You want her bad, yeah? Is that something you’re trying to earn your way up to, trot? Hate to burst your bubble, but I didn’t force her into anything.’ A deep scarlet rage flashes across his face,” as well as “Thomas grabs my neck. His hands are shaking,” which was also found on page 219. Thomas, Day, and June’s possible love triangle leads power to be abused, which is a frequently found thread in the book. This power exploitation makes the reader want to continue reading to find out if the power is eventually balanced out.
After June finds out of the possibility of Thomas killing her brother, she takes a deep dive through her brother's belongings. This leads her to find that her parents were killed for finding out the purpose of the plague and how it killed innocent civilians. As well as how Mattias would have the goal to be taken off of his patrol after he realized the same reason as well. When June learns all of this information she fears what Thomas will do, which is supported on page 280 of Legend, which says, “Commander Jameson chose not to tell me about this. If Thomas already knew last night, that means she told him yesterday evening, at the latest, before sending him home, …Does Thomas know something he’s keeping from me?”. This gap of trust that develops between Thomas and June enables the suspicion that both of them are hiding something. Mistrust is found heavily throughout the book, and this is another great example of it. This thread allows the readers to side with characters and root for them.
June's romance interests allow the book to be tied together, which then allows for connections to be formed. I appreciated these connections in the sense of the two different point of views, as I was able to see the larger picture of the book. The power that the Republic has over their citizens is another section of the plot which helped the book develop in my mind. To me I saw it as the characters having a predetermined life, which then allows us to have a set mindset in a way, while reading the book. This set mindset is then expanded upon when the characters develop personally and break through their set plans. Both of these points connect to the romance and power threads as it sets their positions for those points.
With many other threads throughout the book, there are so many emotions to adapt and feel. While reading the book, I was unsure of how much I truly liked it, but looking back at it now I realize how much I appreciate the way it was written. The romance, betrayal, action, and power that is thrown throughout the book so precisely makes it a reader's dream. The characters are introduced so well, and the book builds on itself so smoothly. I would rate this book a 4.5/5 and would recommend it to most readers, as the main genre is Dystopian. The grasp this book holds on readers is incredible, and I would definitely read it again.
-Annika
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I read this book and I love the way you summarized and analyzed it. You even summarized it well enough to bring back some details that I forgot. I also like how your analyzation really goes into detail about the relationships between characters.
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