Book Review - Prodigy 
 Author: Marie Lu 
 Series: Legend - Book 2 
 Publisher: Penguin Books 
 Pages: 356 
 Star Rating: 5 Stars 
 I feel like I've broken the sequel curse lately, having read two amazing sequels in a row! It gives me hope for the world! 
 Prodigy is amazing! (So many exclamation points are going to be in this review, get used to it). I feel like I can't even begin to describe it. I only finished it last night - having stayed up all night to finish it in one sitting and I'm still buzzing. 
 (On that note - I really need to stop starting books at night time. I am beginning to get seriously sleep deprived.) 
 This book follows closely in time from Legend - only 3 days or so after the events of Legend - and June and Day are on the run from the Republic. In order to save Day's life and try to find his brother Eden, June and Day agree to join the rebel group the Patriots. In exchange for their assistance the Patriots want June and day help incite riots between the already tense people and the leaders. They also have to assassinate the Elector Primo. 
 Day agrees, and June reluctantly agrees. 
 The things that make this book an incredible sequel are that the plot is strong enough to be a stand alone novel - it is action packed, well paced and answers a lot of questions raised in the first book. It deepens the world building, providing more background, history and context and also takes the characters to the next level - really getting into their souls and asking the hard questions. 
 June and Day's relationship is the most well developed that I've read in a while. I think something a lot of writers seem to miss when writing a romance aspect of a book (and sometimes even in romance books) is that the romance is still a sub-plot, it still needs to bring tension to the book. With romance plots the tension is obviously whether or not the couple will end up together, and a lot of the time you just know that they are going to be together and so nothing that happens gives you any sense of anticipation. In this case, Lu has done such a great job of developing very real flaws in the relationship with June and Day which really makes you question whether they will end up together. In places it's truly heart-wrenching to read. There is also a slight love-triangle/square. I actually don't mind the love triangle as long as there is tension - as in, you actually don't know who will end up together. There can't be a love triangle if you know that there is no chance of a couple getting together (cough, Twilight, cough). 
 I've kissed a few boys in the past...but Day makes me feel like I've never been kissed before. Like the world has melted away into something unimportant. 
 Outside of the relationship, as individual characters, June and Day are so realistic and their growth over this novel is beautiful. They are both dealing with the deaths of their family members and I loved reading how the each approached grieving. I really feel sorry for June in this book. Because she is such a tough character I sometimes forgot how much she has lost, and how alone she is. Then Lu would put in these tiny moments showing her vulnerabilities and it would just break me. 
 I am June Iparis, I remind myself. I'm not going to let him see the chaos I'm feeling. 
 The plot in this book is also very strong. You learn so much more about the relationship between the Republic and the Colonies, what the Colonies are like and the political climate of the Republic. 
 I feel like this book is what World After should have been like. 
 I feel like all books are now putting Hunger Games on the cover as a similar book - however I disagree with this one. I think this series feel more like the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. I feel like the way they both explore the issues of death and killing is more similar. Or maybe Day is more like Katniss and June is more like Tris. 
 Few people kill for the right reasons, but if any reason is the right one, it must be this. Isn't it? 
 And the ending - I have to know what happens next, straight away. I'm going to have to go out and scourer the local bookstores to try and find a copy.