Champion by Marie Lu

champion_coverMarie Lu has created a stunning and satisfying conclusion to the story begun in Legend.  If you haven’t yet read Legend and Prodigy, you may want to stop reading this review now and go find yourself a copy of the first two books.  Champion (G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2013) picks up where Prodigy left off.

Day and June have returned to the Republic to throw their support behind Anden, the new Elector, but they have gone their separate ways.  Day is reunited with his little brother Eden, who is still blind from the Republic’s former experiments.  Day is fighting to stay alive.  June serves as Princeps-Elect, but hates the politics of the Senate.

It takes another crisis to bring them back together.  The Colonies attack and invade the Republic because of a deadly plague outbreak.  This one has no known cure and the only one who might hold the answer is Eden.  Even though the people of the Republic hail Day as a hero now, neither he nor their government trust each other enough to work together.  June might be able to bridge the gap, but is she willing to hurt Day even more than she already has?

Even though Day weakens throughout the story, he is still capable of running up walls and kicking butt when needed.  He is also a thorn in Anden’s side, constantly reminding Anden to remember the common people–in emergency evacuations, housing, and medical treatment.  Oh yeah, he still makes June swoon.  June may not be cut out for politics, but she is still at the top of her class and is itching for an opportunity to go out on the streets again.

Just like the first two books, this one is impossible to put down once you start reading.  The alternating voices of Day and June give two very different perspectives on this dystopian world that seems way too close to our own–especially the Colonies.  I can’t wait to see what Marie Lu comes up with next.

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