Day's Strategy

Surrender

On the second day of the ceasefire, Eden is admitted to the hospital for testing. After the testing is done, Day gets a call about June, saying that she's been attacked by Commander Jameson, who is feeding the Colonies information about the military strengths and weaknesses of Los Angeles. Knowing the need to buy time, Day convinces Anden and June to pretend to surrender - who in turn convince the Senate. After the Senate meeting, Anden tells June he gave up Dakota, the Republic's largest territory, in exchange for military support (and treatment for Day) from Antarctica.

At the same time, Day plans to use the people to help fight against the Colonies and puts out a message across LA using spray paint - "LISTEN FOR ME." When he gets back, the lab technicians tell him that Eden cannot provide a cure for the plague, because the virus is a mutated version of the one Eden was infected with.

Anden officially announces the Republic's surrender when enemy airships begin to approach LA in anticipation of the end of the three-day ceasefire. During the announcement, June heads to the hospital to check on the cure progress. When the lab tech explains why the cure isn't working, and where it originated, June realizes that the infection she caught (in Prodigy) might be the same disease as the plague.

"I draw the one thing I know everyone will recognize as coming from me-a red streak painted onto an outline of a face." (Lu 175)

Day knows that people trust him and what is more recognizable than the red streak that made him famous in Legend. People will know it is him and that way, he gains more power. His plan is going well so far and the people will follow him anywhere. Day might use the people of the Republic of America to achieve his goals in his plan.

"I'm not sure we'll ever create a cure." (Lu 192)

Day's situation here is relatable because his feeling of helplessness is greater than most. His only family is sick and there is no cure for him. We can relate to that moment because we have all been through a moment when we can't do anything and we just have to move on. Even though Day's situation is a little more intense, since Eden is his only family, we can all have a sense of what he's going through. I can especially relate because once my cousin git sick and she couldn't be cured so I was left in a state that I couldn't help anyone. 

CONCLUSION

Day has a strategy that can work if executed correctly but is also suffering because of Eden. The Republic of America is at a great war and Day might have a way to give them an advantage in battle. But the discoveries I have encountered (June's disease might be the same as the plague and Eden will never be cured) have changed the tables a bit. The question remains, what is more important to Day, winning the war or helping his brother?

A Massive Headache

Champions Do Cry

After Day has a severe headache (caused by his disease), he reveals to June that he has months to live. However, while they are talking, Denver gets attacked by the Colonies. After making it to a bunker reserved for the wealthy, they discover that Tess and several other Patriots are being held there. Day gets the authority to lead them on a mission to sabotage the Colonies, and they destroy a nearby Colonies airbase. Meanwhile, June and Anden head to Ross City, Antarctica in hopes of finding allies. The only offer Anden receives, however, is to give up some of the Republic's land in exchange for military support.

After another severe headache that was triggered by an explosion, Day is contacted by the Chancellor of the Colonies. He is blackmailed, and if he doesn't tell the people to revolt against the Republic, June and Eden may die. The Chancellor gives Day a three-day ceasefire. Right after the call ends, Tess is put into quarantine because she has become infected by the plague running rampant in the Colonies.

On the first night of the ceasefire, June and Day are reunited. 

In the middle of the night, Day wakes up from a nightmare. He leaves June's apartment to visit his old home in the Lake sector, not knowing that June followed him. There, he remembers

what happened to his family. Then he breaks down in tears, because he doesn't want to feel the pain of losing his family, which June had been involved in.

"I'd rather step away than be reminded every day that I only have a few months left to be with you" (Lu 101)

After a brief discussion with June about the Princeps-Elect position, Day thinks to himself that he would rather be parted from June than be reminded of the little time he has left with her. Day loves June and would spend every day of his life with her, but since his time remaining is so little, he would rather not be with her and cause her pain.  What would June do if they switched places?

"No matter what happens in the future, no matter where our path takes us, this moment will be ours" (Lu 133)

When Day and June finally reunite on the night of the first ceasefire, they tell each other how much they love one another. June states that she doesn't care about what happens in the future, what happens to them or anyone. She only cares about that moment, where everything else is irrelevant and is not as important as them. This is very deep and touching, especially through everything June and Day have gone through. 

CONCLUSION

Day is having frequent nightmares now and he is in a lot of pain. The attacks and bombings are making it worse for him and he doesn't to spread that pain to others, especially June. The past chapters have made me reflect on what I would do if I was Day. It also made me relate to Day and his problem with June. He only has a few months, and he doesn't want to waste them.

The End of the Prodigy

The New Republic

    The story continues when Kaede flies the jet through a train tunnel in the great Armor wall and the trio crash in Denver, though Kaede does not survive the gunfire that follows. It is obvious that something is amok, and they realize that the Elector is losing control while the Senate sits back and lets the Republic fall as the public revolt.    Day climbs to the top of the Capitol building (the same building Anden is in) and wins over the Republic by telling them he supports the new Elector.
    In the aftermath, most of the Senate is arrested, and the military is shaken by the removal and arrest of many high-ranking officials. Day is reunited with his younger brother Eden, but he is also informed by a doctor that the experiments done by the Republic when he was younger have left him with an illness that will imminently kill him.
     June is asked by the Elector to become his Princeps, the leader of the Senate and his second in command. She wishes to deny as she would never see Day, but Day informs her that she should take the position, and that a relationship between them would be impossible, leaving out the truth that he is dying. June is confused and upset, but Day doesn't want her to have to deal with the pain of his death. He kisses an agonized June before he leaves.

"I don't want to see the Republic collapse. I want to see it change."(Lu 346)

Day admits that he has changed his mind and supports June's decision of change. I think Day will love June no matter what, no matter what separates them. Even though they part ways, I think they will find a way back to each other. 

"He is beauty, inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light." (Lu 371)

As I said before, June and Day are like glue and are always with each other. Even though June has to let him go, she knows that she loves him in every single way. This is a very sentimental ending and I don't think Marie Lu will keep them apart for long. 

CONCLUSION

   I can't help but admit that I did cry a little and felt sentimental at the end of the novel. So much has happened and so much is yet to happen. I feel awful that June and Day have to go on their own but I hope that they will reunite. Day is such an important character, I don't think Lu will kill him. Guess I'll have to read Champion to find out.

The Colonies

    A Shining Metropolis

    Day carries June to the other end of the tunnel and out into the Colonies. The Colonies city they emerge into is an enormous shining metropolis. However, they realize that it is not as perfect as they thought, and that the Colonies is a heavily consumer dominated, corporate police state.

    They are taken to a hospital, and Day is excluded due to his being a celebrity. Day discovers that Kaede has come through to the Colonies as well. As June dreams and works it out for herself, Day is informed that the leader of the Patriots, Razor, is in fact working for the Republic. The Republic Senate, angry with the new Elector's changes, wished to remove the Elector, and used Razor to do so. However, Anden survived, and many Patriots were arrested.

    June passes out at the hospital in Tribune City, Colonies of America. Later when she wakes up, she is captured by Colonies soldiers, June is handcuffed to a bed and she manages to escape from the cuffs using a paperclip ring. Kaede, June, and Day escape from Colonies soldiers who wish to sell them to a military company as prisoners of war. Kaede takes a jet and flies to the Republic. 

   "June still sounds weak, but there's a burning purpose behind it, the sense that we're about to do something pivotal. She can tell that something has changed inside me." (Lu 328) 

Day is escaping from the colonies with June, and even though she's weak,  she can tell something will happen. This tells me that something big will happen, involving Day, that affects not only him, but the whole Republic. Day is going to be a part of something revolutionary that will change ideas and make other people think again. 

"Are June and I a good match? No. It's the first word that pops into my mind." (Lu 330)

Day thinks about his relationships during his calm, and free time and figures out that he and Tess are a better match than June and him. My prediction is that Day will realize how Tess has supported, protected and stood by Day all these years, and he'll end up terminating his love interest in June. 

Conclusion

Day and June have survived the colonies, once thought to be a utopia, a place where freedom is everywhere, but were corrected. Not everything is always as it seems and sometimes the best things are bad, or can eventually turn bad. Day and June's has changed a lot and it's showing maturity between them. Kaede is being included more in the story, which I love, and the suspense created is amazing. I want to see what Day is or will be a part of in the next chapters and what will become of him. 

Collapse or Change? Breaking or Forgiving? Republic or Rebel?

Tension Rises, and Friends Fight

        The story continues as Tess reveals her feelings towards Day and the tension between the two rise. Tess has always been jealous of June and had been convinced by a Runner named Baxter that she is a double agent. They never go back to what they were, but they forgive each other. After a while, Day finds a train carriage with a boy inside a glass enclosure. He thinks it's Eden and gets really excited until he is disappointed by finding out it's not him and it is revealed that the Republic has been using victims of the plague as a bioweapon against the Colonies. The soldiers approach and Day abandons the boy and swears to himself that he will kill Anden, no matter what.
 
        The day of the assassination arrives, but June is against this operation. She has been ill so she pretends to faint in order to stop them, but Razor keeps the car moving against the orders of Anden. June stops the assassination and causes her and Day to flee the area and make their way to the tunnels between the Colonies and the Republic. They destroy a Republic entrance and make a shelter in a bunker. June and Day argue harshly and Day reveals his jealousy towards Anden, and his anger because a part of him holds her responsible for his mother's and brother's deaths. He also states that June is still with the Republic and never left them. They stay away from each other, and June, in an attempt to make peace between them, teaches him to fight and it works. They forgive each other, but June grows very ill.

"June will break your heart. I can see it already. She'll shatter you into a million pieces."(Lu, 231)

In the aftermath of Tess' and Day's fight, she states that June will break Day. I find this quote interesting because it highlighted the fact that June is the one responsible for Day's mother and brother's deaths and foreshadowed Day and June's fight. I think this quote might lead up to June actually breaking Day, maybe she joins the Republic again and leaves him for someone else.

" 'How could you not want to see the Republic collapse'(...)'I want to see it change for the better.' " (Lu, 264)

Day and June are in the middle of a fight and they both make some good points. Day asks her how can she still defend the government, even after her family's death, and June says that she doesn't want the Republic to collapse she wants it to change. That is what I found interesting about this quote, that there is a part, even small, of June that still is part of the Republic. I think this might foreshadow the change of sides that June will have and how she will try to change the Republic from the inside (maybe?) and supports the theory that June will break Day.

Conclusion

The past few chapters have been intense, and it is both fun and hurtful to watch my favorite characters argue between them. They all make very good points and have a decent yet fierce fight. I think that Day and June's relationship will be nothing to what we expect and that Marie Lu will change the whole story around and add a plot twist in the end. I want to know how June will survive her illness and if she caught a virus or something like that. In the end, the past chapters were insane and I had fun reading and deciding with which character I would side with. 

United States of America, Pre-Republic

Change of Mind

     June is taken to the capital city of Denver, a snow-covered city protected by a large shield war known as the Armor to meet the Elector, Anden. She is surprised by how different he is from his father. Anden opposes the Republic Senate's ideals, who wish to maintain their control over the nation. June tells him that someone wants to assassinate him, she does this as a decoy so that he trusts her and moves to the real assassination location. 

    June eventually manages to convince the Elector that the decoy assassination is real, and receives a pardon from the Republic. As she spends more time with Anden, she realizes how different he is from his father and how he wishes to change the nation. She also notices that he is in love with her and later kisses her. After a few days, Anden wants to remove the Trial system that divides the nation and also make the Republic of America a better place. June begins to have doubts, and attempts to send a signal to Day to stop the assassination.

    Anden tells June about how the Republic began and how its intentions were good in the early years. Global flooding submerged most of the Eastern United States under water, and people were filled with terror as thousands fled into the west. The Republic was formed by the military to establish order, and they blocked the East US. Soon, though, the military gained too much power and the Trials, originally optional and fair, became mandatory and were used as a means of population control. Anden wants to change the Republic and bring it back to the way it used to be. June is further convinced that Anden is not a threat and repeats her signal to Day.

    Day is sent on a mission by the Patriots to make a fake attack on a train to provide proof that there was in fact an assassination attempt. Day makes himself known to soldiers to feed the rumor amongst the people that he lives. He has mixed feelings about June's warning signal and asks himself how far does he mean for her to go? After seeing Anden and June's kiss on camera, he suspects she might only want him to stop because she is in love with Anden.

"In the midst of it all, I hear a few call out, 'Day lives! Day lives!'" (Lu, 130)

People are starting to notice that the person who was killed in Legend during Day's execution was not Day. This can cause a huge problem in the Republic because people will stop listening to them and start looking up to Day. I think this is good because the Republic can fail if people do this. What I think will happen next is that the people of the Republic will stop trusting the Republic and start to realize what is really going on with the world.

"I never considered the idea that he might be able to get into June's head."(Lu, 136)

I think that this is a really interesting quote because Day makes the point that Anden is playing a game, not them. As soon as I read the quote, my mind started spinning around over what could happen, and what this means. What I think it means is that Lu is foreshadowing what will actually happen, Anden revealing that he's been acting and knowing the Patriot's assassination attempt the whole time. I think this is a really good twist and would be interesting to see if this happens. 

CONCLUSION

These pages were filled with little hints of what could happen next and what Day and June will become. It was also fun to learn what happened on the rest of America, but also a little shocking. I'm hoping to learn more, not just about America, but what happened to the whole world. I'm also intrigued to know if what I predicted is correct because I think that would make an excellent twist to the story. In the end, we'll never know until we finish the book. 

June, the Prodigy

 The New Elector Primo

    The second novel of the book trilogy Legend, Prodigy is the sequel to Legend and starts off with June and Day arriving at Vegas because they heard a Patriot base was hidden there and wanted to make a deal in order to save Eden, Day's younger brother which is captured by the Republic. June and Day disguise themselves because they are the most wanted fugitives of the Republic of America. The JumboTrons light up for the anthem but the pictures of the Elector Primo are quickly changed by another set of images, his son Anden Stavropoulos. The people of the Republic are alerted that the Elector Primo has died and his son has replaced him as the new Elector. When they are almost discovered, Kaede, a Patriot, finds them and takes them to a nearby barrack.
There they meet Razor, a double agent that is a high ranked officer known as Agent DeSoto, and a leader of the Patriots. They arrange a deal so that Eden is rescued and returned to Day. The drawback is that in order to save Eden, they must kill the new Elector Primo. June and Day are separated with June having to go to a Vegas airship hub, and Day is taken to the warfront city of Lamar.

    June is arrested on purpose and taken by Thomas, the responsible for June's brother's murder. We learn that Thomas and Metias were secretly in love but their relationship was forbidden because they both served in military together. June is taken to the Elector Primo by her request, and as a part of the Patriot's plan. When they meet, June doubts whether she should kill him or not, Razor knows something that he hasn't told her. Day is infiltrated by Kaede to the Colonies and he sees the world beyond the Republic: a huge land of sea caused by a shift from the sun that burned the whole South Pole.

"Everything I am familiar with is gone," (Lu, 29)

As we already know, June has been a part of the high class her whole life. She hasn't known the suffering of the poor sectors and she's used to answering orders and idolizing the Republic. Being with the Patriots and learning all these secrets from the Republic makes her feel unsafe and out of her comfort zone. Her whole life has been stripped away and replaced by a new one. I haven't been through that but I can tell it is a hard experience.

"Can I trust Anden? Or do I trust Razor?" (Lu, 76)

June starts to doubt about the murder of Anden. She figures out that Anden is not the man described by the Patriots. Or is he? This desire of knowing the truth is really bugging me and I want to know what the truth behind Anden is. Like June points out, there is something Razor knows about Anden that he hasn't told June and I'm dying to know what it is.

Final Thoughts

Day and June's story has been able to keep up and I just love how every one has their own traits and qualities. Marie Lu has a way of describing things that I just love. For example the way she described Las Vegas, tall skyscrapers with soldiers and armies all over the place. Vegas seems dangerous and safe at the same time. Another thing that has been crossing my mind is what will June do with the Elector Primo. I am very intrigued on what's going to happen next and whether or not Razor is trustworthy.