Damn. Damn damn damn. I did not mean to care. I did not WANT to care. I blew through the first two books, and was continuously let down by the writing and the (lack of) development in the main characters. While Prodigy was a marked improvement from Legend, I still found it lacking. This means I came in to Champion unprepared for the best book in the entire series. 
 Which brings me back to the "damn x4." 
 I still need to process. 
 I think that Lu did a FANTASTIC job writing a believable and mature ending to her trilogy. These books went from having me intrigued and invested mentally, to gripped and so emotionally invested, that this morning I woke my sister up a half hour early because if "I have to be miserable because of this stupid damn book, then you don't get to sleep." Seriously. I did. 
 The ending was great and the epilogue was believable and lets the reader determine what happens. 
 I will try and post a more coherent and well thought out review later...after I've processed.