Words on Prodigy by Marie Lu (Legend Trilogy #2)

With June's help, Day has escaped execution, and now the pair is on the run. The two are taken in by the Patriots, a group of rebels that wants to reunite the United States and bring the Elector Primo down, along with his supporters. June and Day have no money to offer the Patriots in exchange for medical attention and shelter, but they can give the Patriots their valuable skills. June and Day agree to join the Patriots and help them start their rebellion.

When the Elector Primo dies, Day and June are given their first mission: Assassinate Anden, the new Elector. Day is more than happy to do just that, believing that cutting off the head (Arden) will stop the body. (The Republic's government.) At first, June is also ready to kill Anden. However, once the mission begins, June can't help but have second thoughts. It's possible that Anden isn't like his father, and killing him may hurt the Republic's people more than help them. June also has second thoughts about her relationship with Day. She wants to be with someone because she loves him, not becuase they were thrown together. She doesn't know if what she feels for Day is love.

June and Day are having a wedge pushed between them. While Day embraces the Patriots, June is wary of the group's leaders and doesn't fully agree with their beliefs. In the end, they may go their seperate ways.

I'm glad that June was reconsidering her relationship with Day. They're nice together and make a good team, but I don't really know if their that great together. Day wants the lower social/economic classes to have a say, and June agrees that everyone should have a voice and an equal chance to be successful in the Republic. However, she doesn't think that killing Anden is the way to go. In this way, they disagree. As for loving Day, June hasn't known him all that long. It's been maybe a week or two at most. I don't think you can fall in love with someone that quickly, so I support her sad but smart decision to take a step back and figure out exactly what she feels for the rebel.

I liked the politics in the book. In the Republic's government, not a lot of high-ranking officials like Anden very much, and I think maybe this is because Anden wants more equality for the lower classes while the majority of the government wants to keep the old system in place so they can have tons of power. In the Patriots, the leaders have their own motives and aren't abouve using June and Day for their own personal gain.

I thought this was a good sequel, building on the world of Legend. June and Day are conflicted over what is best for the Republic's people, giving their relationship a little more spice. The book gave me a little more information about the world outside the Republic, which was interesting. There was plenty of tension as June began to do and think things that went against her mission, and it was wonderfully bittersweet to see June and Day working together, trying to push back arguments, stress from the mission, and differences to try and laugh and enjoy each other's company. I'm looking forwards to seeing the series finale with Champion. While Legend was a little slow at times, Prodigy made up for it with it's action-packed fighting and chase scenes and all the mystery, never being able to figure out what characters like Razor, a leader of the Patriots, was really up to. The characters developed nicely and I enjoyed the world building that was lacking in the previous book. The cliffhanger ending has me stoked for Champion, and I can't wait to finish this sci-fi trilogy! 4/5 stars.

#scifi #rebellion #thefuture #warandmilitary