“Now, as we stand three feet apart and stare at each other, I feel the full distance that comes with spending so much time apart, a moment filled with the electricity of a first meeting and the uncertainty of strangers.”
Rating: 5 stars
SPOILERS AHEAD
My love for the Legend trilogy has grown with each new installment. With Champion as the grand finale, Marie Lu did not disappoint. Everything about Champion satisfied me. Lu succeeds in clarifying questions about Thomas and Metias’s relationship and in making me cry like a baby… multiple times during this book.
Starting from the beginning, I liked how Lu continued to make Day’s brother, Eden, a primary character in the book. She explained how far Eden had progressed from his experimentation to a couple of his personal quirks. Too often, secondary characters are left forgotten or underdeveloped. It was refreshing to see Eden grow into an independent young man away from Day as the book progressed. Moving on, lets talk about the backstory of Thomas and Metias. It killed me. After reading the whole scenario, I couldn’t stop crying for a good 15 minutes. Even as I’m typing up this review, I’m still getting a little teary eyed. Lu demands you to feel something for Thomas, whether it be hatred or sadness. I felt the later. I sympathized with Thomas and to make me sympathize with such a despicable character is a huge achievement.
As for the main plot, I enjoyed it but didn’t find it as powerful as Thomas and Metias’s short story. Day’s struggle with choosing between his brother and a country that has turned it’s back on him in the past was interesting. Unfortunately, most of the book was focused on Day’s dismal condition, which put me in a negative mood. I couldn’t figure out how Lu was going to end Champion. I had several crackpot theories: Eden was going to die trying to save the country, Day was going to die from his terminal sickness, etc. I thought somebody was going to die, but I was wrong. I would’ve never guessed that June would let go of Day after losing his memory, only to meet up 10 years later on the streets like normal strangers. Lu completed the trilogy with a full circle and I couldn’t have asked her for a better ending.
I highly recommend this series to people who love dystopian books. I won’t say it’s the next Hunger Games because it stands as its own entity. So what are you waiting for? Go pick up the complete box set. You won’t regret it.
The Unapologetic Self 