Legend by Marie Lu

Bibliographic Information:

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Speak

ISBN: 9780142422076

Format: Print Prose Book

Genre: Dystopian

Awards: Various nominations such as The Lincoln Award 2014, Truman Readers Award 2014, California Young Readers 2013

Reading/Interest Level: 12+

Plot Summary:

June, a military prodigy burn into an elite family, has been raised to respect, trust, and protect the security of the Republic. After her brothers tragic murder, she has been recruited to track down the republic's number one most wanted criminal, Day.

Day raised in the slums of the republic has spent his young life trying to escape the clutches of the Republic and the touch of a spreading pandemic. He has been making waves in the republic, however these actions are not as violent as the Republic shares.

As June and Day chase one another they uncover some secrets the Republic has been keeping from the public as well as their inner circle. Will they be able to escape the fog of hatred to see reality of

the environment they live in.

Author Background:

Marie Lu is a #1 New York Times Best Selling Author who graduated from the University of Southern California. She began working with video games and an artist for Disney Interactive Studios and now is a full-time writer. Watch out for more works by Marie Lu like The Stars & Smoke Series and her adult debut novel Red City.

Critical Evaluation:

I remember when this book became super popular, when I first got into reading. I have finally picked it up and in a way it brought back feelings of my youth. I found this book to be fast paced and full of character and grit! This book speaks of class, on family, duty, and truth. All things that we need to consider especially in times like these.

As a YA novel this book had a perfect balance of themes to encourage teens to consider their place in their community and their world. It encourages them to question intentions of government and to become participants of their future. This first work in a trilogy has many twist and turns, in deep character development and leaves room for new challenges to overcome and surprises to uncover. I think that this is an amazing book to encourage teens to engage in reading a multiple part story, it is short and fast enough to keep readers engage and gives just enough to leave them wanting more. I especially loved the dual perspective with different fonts and voices read by the audio book.

Creative Use for Library Programming:

I used this book as my final book club pick for the school year. Similar to my other books I featured in my school library's book club I separated it into 4 parts and formed reading prompts/questions to consider as students read. I use Google Classroom for my book club as it is easy for students to use, they are used to it, and they are able to interact with one another safely.

The first activity I used for Legend was asking students to draw or create a wanted poster for Day. At the beginning of the book the Republic posts multiple wanted posters around for Day, however they do not know what he looks like so each poster looks different. Based on the information the readers had at the first check point, they imagined what he looks like.

The second check point I featured a Spotify playlist that Anastasia created to set the scene of the world of Legend.

My third activity was for students to create their own silver pendant that they can engrave. In the book Day has a silver pendant that is significant to him in many different ways. I got a cheap hand engraver and some silver dog tags. I instructed students to draw what they wanted on the tag wether it was something significant or fun and then engrave it after. The final result was super fun and engaging! There was a ton of interest throughout the school for this activity.

The final activity I created to incorporate this book into the library was a riddle. At the end of the book June discovers a secret code within her late brothers journal. I used a similar method June used to decode the hidden message. I wrote a paragraph about the plot to engage those who haven't participated in the book club. If students successfully decoded the secret message I gave them an airhead. Candy and snacks can encourage most students into participating.

Speed Round Book Talk:

Day is the most wanted criminal in the Republic. June is the Republic's military prodigy. When June is told that Day murdered her brother, the hunt begins.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:

While this book has not been banned or challenged. In todays current climate I see this book receiving scrutiny. This book includes nothing adults typically flag as inappropriate other than some minor violence. However, the major themes of political turmoil, disruption, and questioning may cause some traction in certain circles.

Reason for Inclusion:

I am including this book into my library and included it in my book club because it is a critical piece in the YA dystopian take over that encouraged a ferocity in young readers. I have noticed that within my community, teens have not connected with storytelling. My selection objective for my first year of my book club was to capture readers with books that have a history of capturing readers. Another reason I wanted to highlight Legend is because our library and readers in general have access to three different ways of consuming this work, prose, graphic novel, and audio book.

Check Out:

Here is some amazing fan art by @iparwing on Instagram.

References:

Anastasia. (2022). legend-marie lu. Spotify. [Playlist]. Accessed June 2025

Goodreads. (n.d.). Legend. Accessed June 2025 from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15753977-legend

@iparwing. (2021). Legend turns 10 today!!!! Many of you know this series is near and dear to. Instagram. [Post]. Accessed June 2025 from https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3sWEXliQT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Jackson, T. (n.d.). Bio. Marie Lu. Accessed June 2025 from https://marielu.com/bio

Lu, M. (2011). Legend. Speak.

Penguin Random House. (n.d.). Marie Lu [Photo]. Accessed June 2025 from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/223095/marie-lu/