Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

age: ya
genre: dystopia
rating: 4/8 tentacles

This novel is the second in a trilogy.  Spoilers for Legend below.


Day and June, after preventing Day's execution, travel to Vegas seeking the Patriots' help. However, the Patriots don't give away anything for free. If Day and June want their assistance, they'll have to play a role in the assassination of the new Elector. When June meets the new leader, she discovers that he may not be the tyrant his father was, and she begins to doubt the necessity of the rebels' plot. As Day and June move forward with the assassination, both become less and less sure of who they can trust, even beginning to doubt each other.

This trust dilemma creates a deliciously ambiguous conflict. With Razor, Patriot leader, on one side, and the new Elector, Anden, on the other, Day and June are divided between destroying the government in a full revolution, or giving the new Elector a chance to steer the existing government in a more positive direction. Which way is the best way? From a reader's perspective, both of these options make sense, and it's easy to empathize with the confusion that Day and June feel, as well as their fear of being manipulated. This representation of the rebels and the ruling authority is refreshingly human, although some of the grey sharpens into black and white as new information is revealed later on.

Although the premise of the plot is intriguing and creates the potential for complexity, its execution leaves much to be desired. In my review of Legend I mentioned the author's tendency to tell rather than show. This continues in Prodigy. The narrative consists of superficial inner monologues that repeat themselves and are overrun with rhetorical questions. Here is the first example I found, flipping through the book:

If Razor thinks June is safest under Thomas's watch, then so be it. But what are they going to do with June once they've got her? What if something goes wrong, and Congress or the courts do something that Razor didn't plan for? How can he be so sure that everything will go smoothly?

There are many more instances of this, and it isn't enjoyable to read. We're told what questions we should be asking instead of being lead to consider these possibilities on our own. There are better ways of creating tension in fiction, like through sensory detail or dialogue or descriptions of the behaviors of the characters. Spelling it out like this is boring for me (and other readers, I imagine) and lazy on the part of the writer.

My other problem with Prodigy (and Legend) is June. Everyone finds her beautiful, she wins every battle she fights, she has flawless logic (she conveniently figures everything out before everyone else), her brain is basically a clock (she can tell you exactly how many minutes and seconds have passed between events), she is THE BEST student ever to attend her military college. She's not a person, she's a fantasy, and I find her incredibly flat and boring. What's the point of making her so robotic-ly perfect? If I wasn't so fond of Day, I don't think I could've made it through these two books and if June was the sole protagonist, I'd have given up long ago.

These problems existed in Legend but seem to be amplified here, like the author is giving in to her weaknesses instead of improving on them. I do love the story. I'm interested in the conflict between the Republic and the Colonies. I love Day's relationship with the people of the Republic and the dramatic irony that comes out of his execution (we know he's alive, the people don't). As I said before, I like the way that Lu deals with trust. And I will read Champion as soon as it's released, but I'm crossing my fingers hoping that Lu will learn and grow as a writer because I'm not satisfied with the level of skill exhibited here.

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

age: YA
genre: dystopia
rating: 5/8 tentacles

Legend is set in what appears to be the future America, divided and at war. When June, a wealthy orphan and child genius, loses her brother, she is hastily graduated from military school and put on the trail of his killer. Robin Hood type rebel Day, wanted by the Republic for a series of criminal offenses, struggles to procure expensive medication for his family when a never before seen strain of plague infects his brother. Through chapters alternating between these two characters' POVs, readers watch as Day's and June's lives become more and more entangled, drawing them closer to uncovering a horrible secret they never imagined their country was keeping.

June and Day are both authentic, likable characters. Day is a refreshing switch from the smoldering man-whore love interest. He is compassionate and vulnerable and comes across like a mostly regular person. His super powers are agility and cleverness. June's stubborn patriotism clashes nicely with Day's disillusioned deviance, although her child geniusness comes off a little false. She's cool, but she's no Ender.

The plot moves consistently forward and Lu provides us with enough details about the setting to craft a new and intriguing world identity without bogging down the story. However, there's a lot of telling where there could be showing, which--if remedied--would create much more complexity. Maybe I'll find you an example when I have the book in front of me. There are also several passages (and this is a pet peeve of mine) that describe June's outfits and makeup in detail. Nothing wrong with this except that these descriptions are--in general--inserted where tonally inappropriate, where they interrupt the pace, or where they cause inconsistencies with voice. Also I don't care. For example, this is not something that Day would pause to describe to us (he does). Maybe to notice June's dress or her fancy military uniform, but would he describe her makeup? It felt weird.

Legend is not the most innovative novel--it is another story of two teens struggling against the secretive and oppressive government of a futuristic class-based society--and the writing is functional if not extraordinary. However, my interest in the characters and the mystery of the plot were enough to keep me reading late into the night, and I plan to start the sequel immediately.

Review: Sever by Lauren DeStefano

age: YA
genre: post-apocalypse, kind of dystopia?
rating: 3/8 tentacles

Sever is better than Fever, but still doesn't fulfill the potential of the series premise. The pace remains much too slow. Characters spend a lot of time waiting for no real reason. Motivations get forgotten and left behind. The world is only partially described, and much too late.

Spoilers for Wither and Fever below.

When Sever begins, Rhine has recently evaded the clutches of Vaughn and tried to explain to Linden (finally!) the extent of his father's misdeeds. Linden doesn't believer her, perfectly natural--why shouldn't he trust his father, but agrees to help her avoid Vaughn and find her brother. Then, for most of the book, Rhine stays within Vaughn's reach and does very little to track down Rowan. The efforts she does make to find her brother lack urgency, which is strange considering that he's going around blowing up buildings and she thinks that she can stop him. But no worries, she just hangs around and eats nothing but apples.

A big deal is made out of how cars and cell phones are now a rarity, which doesn't make sense to me. If this world contains high tech labs and advanced medical technology, why don't cell phones work? There are still adults around unaffected by the "virus" who know how this stuff functions and could keep the world running. Yes, there could be an explanation for the collapse of the internet and cell phone service, and a half-hearted attempt is made at one just before the book ends, but this leaves me wondering for the entire series why characters don't just do things the easy way. And I can't become invested in their conflicts if the characters seem to be making things unnecessarily difficult for themselves. Forget cell phones, what about landlines? Why can't Rhine call the house where she left Gabriel to see how he's doing? Why doesn't she try to get in touch with Rowan instead of wasting time cleaning for Linden's uncle and then driving across half the country? I know they have phones because Vaughn calls people.

The characters don't come across as vividly as they did in Wither. Cecily is certainly the strongest and stands out in this last installment. Rhine becomes a vague, actionless shell. Linden fades into the background and becomes little more than a flimsy tie linking Rhine to the superficial luxury of her old prison. Her nostalgia for the place that she was so desperate to escape in Wither adds some welcome complexity. However, her conversations with Linden about their relationship disturbed me. He apologizes to her for expecting her affections, or something like that, and Rhine says it's okay, we were married.

What!?

Being kidnapped, imprisoned, and forced into a bond with a stranger is not a real marriage. He is not entitled to expect anything from the slave wives that he picked out of a truck-full of kidnapped girls. And Rhine is suddenly okay with all of this? Because Linden is actually kind of nice? This makes me angry.  Rhine was angry too--what happened?

Sever loses sight of issues originally posed by the series. There's no more talk of the House Governor system, no more freedom and poverty vs. luxury and enslavement, no more determination to survive. I no longer understand Rhine, her relationships with any human beings, or her decision making processes. Rowan needs a slap in the face and a wakeup call. And I still don't understand how this virus/not virus works, how extensive it is, and what the deal is with the outside world. Ultimately, I am confused and dissatisfied. 

Review: Fearless by Cornelia Funke

 age: YA
genre: fantasy, fairy tale
rating: 8/8 tentacles

Wonderful, dark, fun. Love the characters, love the plot, love the world. I was sad to reach the end of the book and hope the next in the series doesn't take another three years to come out. Because I want it right now. There's so much imagination in this series. And, FYI, this book is one example of a romance I can appreciate.

Spoilers for Reckless beyond this point. You have been warned.

Fearless picks up in the middle of Jacob's search to discover a cure for the fatal curse placed on him by the Red Fairy, the price he paid to save his brother. He has exhausted every magical item he can think of, except one: the Witch Slayer's Crossbow, which would bring its owner unlimited power. This item is Jacob's last hope, but his search is made more difficult by a competitor, a Goyl nicknamed "The Bastard." Jacob and Fox must race against time and surpass the efforts of the Goyl treasure hunter if they want to find the crossbow before the curse is fulfilled.

As in Reckless, the dark, fairy tale world creates a rich, endlessly intriguing backdrop. Jacob and Fox are fantastic, well-rounded, sympathetic characters and I'm rooting for them to end up together.

The reason I'm a fan of the romance in this book is because it's born out of genuine caring for the other person. It's not all about the burning gazes of sultry, golden eyes or swooning or rippling muscles. It's about trust and attachment and affection. And attraction too, but not ONLY attraction. Funke focuses on what I feel are the more important, more fulfilling parts of romance.

It's actually been a little while now since I've finished this book and thinking about it again is reminding me how excited I am about this series.  Now I'm itching to read Reckless and Fearless again.

This book's got everything going for it: great, imaginative setting; authentic characters; and a plot that moves at a consistent pace, keeps readers guessing, and leads to an even more exciting mystery that opens into what I'm sure will be the plot of the next book. Oh and the writing is gorgeous. Cornelia Funke is the best.