Champion (A Legend Novel, Book 3)

Honestly when i first got this as a christmas present from my best friend i thought it was not going to be a good book based on its cover. I know I know horrible of me. I read the series in a matter of 3 days. This has got to be one of the most amazing trigly I have ever encountered. Its nothing like you would expect from a regular trilogy. Before I even knew what was happing i feel head over heels for day and june absolute blindly in love.This book has wormed itself into my soul and is probably there for good. As an older sister i recognized the need to protect my younger sibling with everything I have, i can so relate that to Day and Eden. It takes a lot for me to cry when reading a book and let me tell you it has happened very seldom, and i was bawling like a baby. These books draws you in from the first line and don't let you go. This book is not your typical love story its complicated and real, they have real raw feelings for each other, ladies and gentlemen buckle yourselves up for a crazy love roller coaster . I myself an avid book reader recommend this trilogy to anyone and everyone who reads. Words cannot describe how intricate the plan is what careful and creative time it took to think this plot out, it just boggles my mind congratulations to you Mrs. Lu you are an utter genius and should be given an award for staying true to the overall theme of these amazing books. CAUTION AHEAD CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! Lets vent a little shall we? OK so first off what the hell is wrong with commander Jameson. that is one evil jerk, nothing but bitterness and ice are etched in her soul and i just hated her with all my heart, each time she shot Day a little peace of me was chipped away. Tomas i started to feel kinda bad for Tomas at the end. but then i remembered get a back bone!! you loved Metias... and then killed him. Are you serious? All because of a command?! but as I said i felt bad for him and was glad he died with honor and dignity. Day Let me start off with how day captured my heart from the very first chapters of Legend. After 8 torturous months apart while Day was getting his treatment for being sick ( crushed my heart) June invites him personally to the ball, obviously an offer he cant refuse, he accepts. The first time they see each other again was in a ball, when he sees June in that stunning, gorgeous, dress he falls for her all over again. The way he couldn't forgive June for his families deaths was...real and it gave the book a real feel to it. now im all for June and Day 100 % believe me. With June only having a few months to live he knows he cant take anything for granted. In the middle of the war Day races for Eden (of course he would) and each time commander Jameson shot Day my heart got ripped out and stomped on, i sobbed with June as she flung herself over his unconscious body and wailed. June Now im soo into kick a** leading ladies. I love June. I Love how she can disarm a fully grown man at the age of 16 without so much of a blink, I love how she loves Day very much but carries the guilt with her about his family. I love how she always puts others before herself. You could see how much she loved Day when she flung herself over his body and wailed as if her life was ending. The ending got me real bad i was sobbing!! When she sits by Days bed waiting for him to come out of his coma everyday it made my heart swell. Then when he woke up and didn't recognize her my heart had been pummeled into a lump. i cried some more. Then when he asks if he knows her, she replied no, even thou how much she loved him she knew it would be better for him if she was out of the picture.I cried some more. Epilogue leaving the book off like that made me very very angry such a good trilogy and such a horrible ending then i read the epilogue. it summed up perfectly how things should have gone, it was very short and sweet, but not short enough to leave it without important details. ok so 10 years later its Junes 27 birthday , it explains her past birthdays with friends, her first birthday without Ollie (SO SAD!!), she even dated the Elector for a few years but then broke up with him because she could not love him like he needed her to. So its her 27th birthday she visits Metias at his grave, and hears that Day is in town with Eden, she is wondering around the lake sector and sees an older Day and Eden, Eden spots her first but does not say anything to see if Day will recognize June, he gives her a lingering look but nothing more, hurt and frustrated June walks quickly ahead fighting tears, when she hears footsteps thud behind her, it was Day (Daniel) saying she looked familiar again June claimed not to know him for his own good but in his eyes she saw that the wound she had caused with the death of his Mother and Brother, had healed. No longer hurt, he claims he lost something and he has found it again by looking at her. Probably the most brilliant ending to a series EVER was Daniel ( no longer going by Day and going by his REAL name) says "its you" to witch she replies " Is it??" he says staring into her eyes "theres a fog around you and I would like it to clear" He reaches out and takes her hand..... " Hi" he says " I'm Daniel" 'Hi" I reply " I'm June" So probably the best ending in HISTORY! as i said i recommend this book to anyone who has a heart and is breathing. This book changed me andI'm positive it will change you too. This series is worth it. You will not be disappointed. Thank you Marie Lu for such an amazing gift.

This review and more can be found on my blog, The Library Canary: [...] The end of an awesome series is really bittersweet. I was so excited for this book, but also dreading it. I never wanted it to end. After rereading Legend and Prodigy recently, I decided that this is my favorite dystopian series I've read. And if you know me, you know how many dystopians I read. After reading a disappointing ending to Allegiant, I was so worried for this one. The last book in a series is so difficult. Ultimately it's the author’s book and it's completely up to them how to end their series, but still, as a crazy fangirl, I want it to end in the best way possible. I want everyone to get their happily ever after, but that's not always how it works out. So I started this book with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I shouldn’t have worried. Marie Lu is amazing. This was such an awesome finish to the Legend series! I am so happy with the way everything worked out. There’s one thing I can’t decide about, but we’ll get to that. Holy action. There are so many crazy action scenes in this book. We get to see June and Day scale buildings. There are multiple bombings. There’s even a hand to hand fight that was epic! There’s so much craziness going on; I was on the edge of my seat the whole time reading. Marie Lu does such an awesome job describing her action scenes. I could easily picture everything unfolding in my head. There is still a massive amount of tension between the Republic and the Colonies in this book and it comes to a head at a certain point. S*** blows up (literally) and chaos ensues. The plague that Eden was infected with has spread through the colonies and they are demanding a cure. Their armies are about ready to run over the Republic and if they don't get help soon, they will fall to the Colonies. The Republic attempts to turn to Antarctica for help, but it won’t be easy to get them to agree. We actually get to go visit Antarctica in this book and it was one of my favorite parts. It was so interesting to get some information about the rest of the world. And Antarctica was so cool! The city sounded breathtaking. I wanted to climb inside the book and walk through the buildings right next to June. They also had some pretty kickass technology that I wanted to play with. Before we talk about Day and June, I want to take a moment to commend Marie Lu on the alternating POVs. Multiple POVs in a book is difficult to do and if you read my review of Allegiant, you know that it doesn’t always work. But Marie Lu pulls this off flawlessly. I never questioned which perspective I was reading from. Day and June both have such distinctive voices that I can always tell whose head I am in. Okay, now let’s talk about the romance. God, I love these two. They are so perfect for each other. Both smart, strong, analytical, risk takers. Day loves with such passion and I absolutely love that about him. And June has come so far from the first book. She has come from a blind follower to a young woman who makes her own decisions based on her own scale of morality. I absolutely love her character. Perfection. “You’re the scariest, most clever, bravest person I know, and sometimes I can’t catch my breath because I’m trying so hard to keep up. There will never be another like you. You realize that, don’t you? Billions of people will come and go in this world, but there will never be another like you.” –Day “Before me is the boy who has bandaged my wounds on the streets of the Lake, who has guarded his family with every bone in his body, who has stayed by my side in spite of everything, the boy of light and laughter and life, of grief and fury and passion, the boy whose fate is intertwined with mine, forever and always.” –June There were so many emotions in this book, so many feels. The ending ripped me to shreds. And I can’t decide if it’s in a good way or a bad way. I understand why Marie Lu did what she did and honestly I don’t see any other way she could have written it to make it work. But oh man, was it hard to read. I was literally sobbing. I’ve never cried so hard reading a book. The epilogue was perfect though. Beautiful, touching, exactly what I wanted it to be and it definitely made up for what had to happen at the end of the book. Although there was one part of the epilogue that literally made me growl (if you’ve read the book, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about). I am 100% satisfied with this conclusion to Marie Lu's awesome Legend series. These books are kickass. If you haven't started the series yet, what are you waiting for? All three books are out now! Commence the binge reading!

I won't describe the full plot in this review, because others have already done that. I have really enjoyed this trilogy, and my favorite things about the first two books are fully present in Champion too. Day's and June's characters are so well developed, and their voices are clear and authentic feeling (the chapters go back and forth between their two points of view.) I grew to care about both of them, and that hasn't happened with many of the recent YA dystopian trilogies I've read. The book has a lot of action - parts of this series read more like a martial arts or war book then most of the other dystopian series out there, because the battle scenes are presented in detail, and take up more of the book. The socio-political posturing between the various countries has also always been very good, with enough similarities to contemporary society to make this feel real. The plague part of the plot is interesting and although the science may be a bit sketchy, it worked for me. There is also a little more futuristic/sci-fi fun in this book, because June visits Antarctica, now a powerful country who could potentially ally with the Republic. Their entire society is set up with a points system in which inhabitants get real-time displays of the points they have accrued for good works and achievements on a virtual screen to the side of their vision, through an implant. June is given glasses to stimulate this (Google Glass anyone?) There's a little more to it, and it's all very well-drawn, and ended up being one of my favorite parts of the book. I had two disappointments, and this is the reason I didn't rate it 5 stars (and I do have MINOR SPOILERS in this part, so don't read on if you want to know nothing beforehand.) 1) I felt Lu kind of dropped the ball on the social/political side of things here - as I mentioned above, the negotiations and posturings between countries was interesting and well-done, but otherwise, there isn't a real revolution, i.e. any kind of democracy that sprouts or anything like that. The 'people' end up fighting for the Republic because of Day's influence, but it all just seemed a little stilted to me, as the Republic is still basically an authoritarian regime with Anden at the head at the end. That was hard for me to cheer for. I would have liked it more if it explored that a little more, with some sort of meaningful political shift. I felt the earlier books hinted that it might go that direction, but in the end it ended up being a romance and action series. That's fine if it hadn't hinted at more, so I was just a little bit disappointed with that. And 2) although I am OK with the ending, and the final Day/June epilogue did tug my heartstrings, having Day lose 2 years of his memory as the result of his illness, and conveniently forgetting everything bad June had done to his family, was just a little too contrived. Of course it all would have been in the news online - we are shown how 'wired' the world is when June goes up to Antarctica, so Day would have read all about his own life there (especially because he lives in Antarctica for 10 years!) So all of that part just went a little too Harlequin romance for me. I would have respected it more if Day and June separated for that time without any memory loss and simply healed from the damage and then were able to start again. But overall this is a well-written and exciting trilogy.

It’s been a little over a month since I finished Champion. I’ve put off writing this review because I wanted to let the ending sit. I always find it hard to write reviews for series enders. There is so much going on, and in a lot of ways, finishing a series is a private thing. You have to say goodbye to characters you’ve come to know over three books. That’s hard! June has grown so much over the last two books and it was interesting to find out just how much more she has changed as the Princeps-elect. It was a position she was ill-suited for but had thrust upon her. June was forced throughout the novel to play a political game and that isn’t her. I enjoyed watching her strive for excellence (which is her personality) and then come to terms with the fact that she couldn’t really excel in this environment. June had to decide what she really wanted after being told her whole life what to do. Then there is Day…*sigh* This boy has lost his whole family, is trying to care for his brother, be the hero to a crumbling country, and is dying! Then on top of that he loves June but is having trouble coming to terms with all of the obstacles surrounding their relationship. Day has it rough. I really didn’t think he was going to make it out of these situations. Lu’s writing shined during Day’s chapters though. Instead of feeling like the deck was stacked against him I felt like Day was competent, and was going to pull out a last minute victory, because that is what Day does. That brings us to Anden. He is not the Elector his father was and I loved seeing how he was steering the country in a different direction. The plot of Champion revolves around a plague, and an impending war with the colonies. Anden is crucial to solving both of these problems and I liked his portrayal as a strong leader. Lu also greatly improved on the world building in this finale. I liked the traveling the characters did. It was interesting to see how the rest of the world panned out in this dystopian series. The entire world wasn’t bleak which was a nice surprise. It further cemented the “North Korea” vibe I was getting last book. My absolute favorite thing about Champion was the epilogue. It is so difficult to end a dystopian series. Readers want a happily ever after but they don’t want it to be disingenuous, or to not match the tenor of the story. Champion ends beautifully with just the right amount of bittersweet and hope for the future. Overall, the Legend series is one of my favorite dystopian series. There is something special about June, Day, and this future Marie Lu has created. I have enjoyed every second of this thrill ride and can not recommend the series highly enough. I am now firmly in Lu’s fan camp and can’t wait for the next novel she writes!

First, can we start with the map at the beginning of this book? OMG, so amazing, it made everything look more understandable and real and amazing, have I said AMAZING. Yeah, let's stop. The book starts off with Day updating us on what has been happening to him since he said goodbye to June on Prodigy. One of the updates that we get is of his health, and I am so glad that we get Day's point of view, so this way we know his true feelings about his health, Eden, June, the Republic and everything else. I don't want to spoil, so you just wait to read and fall in love, or should I say more in love with Day. And then we get an update on June and what decisions she made since the last book, like how she has accepted the position of a Princeps Elect.. With June we get to see what is happening deep inside the Republic, like the trials on Thomas and Commander Jameson (I hate that woman), the war, the plague and the politics. Yes there are some politics going on in this book, and we get to know how June truly feels about it and how that affects her decisions throughout the book. June and Day haven't seen or talked to each other in 8 months and they are forced to communicate because of a big problem that is happening and an even bigger one that's going to be happening if they don't get Day's help. When a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak may end that and start a much worse war, involving international help. We get to learn about different countries, and how evolved the world is outside the Republic. Day and June go above and beyond to help the Republic once again. I loved how great those two work together, how great their strategies are and how effective they are. Oh yes, we get to see the Patriots in action again, and Tess. Wow, Tess is so different in this book, I actually fell in love with her character. Ok, what can I say that doesn't ruin the book for others that haven't read? It's so hard, one thing ties to the other and I should just shut up and just tell you how great it is. I give this book a 5 out o5, without question. The last two chapters, I laughed, I cried, I hated what Marie Lu was doing to my characters and then I loved her for doing that. So many emotions...I have to say it, since my accident and not been able to read because of my PCS, this trilogy brought me back to loving to read, to transport me to those worlds and feel what the characters are feeling. Please, if you haven't read this series, for whatever reason, do read it, because you will just fall in love with it. The end was pretty awesome, I wish there was a little more, don't we all?

Boy, do I hate when a book series ends. Especially when it's a series that I love, one that is compelling and well-written. So needless to say, I'm a bit bereft that Champion marks the end of Marie Lu's Legend series. I appreciate telling your story concisely, but really, Marie? Only three books? The cease fire between the Republic and the Colonies has taken effect. Day is back to being regarded as an upstanding member of the Republic, being assigned a key military position, while June is now a high-ranking member of the government, the youngest Princeps-Elect, alongside the newly installed Elector Primo, Anden, who promises a much more benevolent and upstanding rule than his father. But these new roles for Day and June—and the sacrifices that brought them both to this point—have taken their toll on their relationship. Day is concentrating on overseeing his brother Eden's recovery, and dealing with his own health challenges. However, their time apart is short lived, when they learn that the Colonies blame the Republic for a plague outbreak, and this threatens the peace between the two countries. And the key to finding a cure to the plague may lie within Eden, but is Day willing to yet again put one of his loved ones at risk for the sake of the Republic? As the possibility of war hangs over their heads, threatening to destroy everything they've known, both Day and June are forced to make difficult decisions about their next steps. Should Day concentrate only on his brother's recovery and taking care of his own health, or should he continue to help the Republic fight back? Is June's path one of leadership in the government, or should she go back to being a soldier? Can their relationship truly survive knowing how much has come between them? Champion was a terrific conclusion to this series. I've really grown to love these characters, the storylines, and the entire world that Marie Lu has created. The amount of thought that has gone into the smallest details really shows, and I truly appreciate that the characters remained fairly true to themselves the entire series. While it's hard to identify with the dystopian setting of the books, the characters aren't superhuman, so you can identify somewhat with their feelings and struggles, even if you're not facing the very destruction of your world. (At least not in the same way.) If you've never read any of these books, you're probably wondering what in hell I'm talking about. But I'd totally recommend picking up the first book in the series, Legend, because you'd be surprised how quickly you'll find yourself drawn into this world. I can't wait to see what comes next for Marie Lu. While I hope this is truly not the end of reading about Day and June, she is a really great writer, and I look forward to reading her future books.

Champion by Marie Lu Steph's Rating: 5 stars Overall: 5 stars Steph's Review: There's always that bittersweet moment you feel when one of your favorite series' ends. That's been happening a lot this year. Fall and Winter 2013: At least 4 or 5 series I love have ended within weeks of each other, and it's been a lot to take in to say the least. Champion made my heart ache a little more than most other books this year though. I was terrified going into this book. First, there was the heart-wrenching ending to Prodigy--such a nice stage for Champion. Then Marie Lu says that this was the first time she ever cried while writing a book. If she wasn't crying while writing Prodigy, I thought something worse was going to happen in this one. She also pointed out how much the bullet shot on the cover represented the story. I did not think the Legend tale was going to end well at this point. I did not picture an HEA anywhere in the near or far future. But more on that later in the review. June and Day are back in the Republic, but have gone their separate ways. Day has become a revolutionary symbol to the citizens--a new hope for the Republic, as well as a military official. At the same time, he is facing a race against time to cure the infectious tumor ravaging his brain with every second. June is a new Princeps-Elect, in a competition to become the head advisor to the new Elector, Aspen. Things finally seem to be going towards the better; a peace treaty with the Colonies is in the imminent future. When a Republic plague breaks out on the border cities of the Colonies however, all deals are off. Day, newly called back into service, and June must now find a way to prevent a definite disastrous war for the Republic. They must find a way to save the country they once revolted against, or else an even worse nation under a business-controlled government will spell catastrophe for all Republic citizens. All I can say is that Marie Lu knows how to make her readers a big glob of mess. First is our whole Day and June situation, although I supposed where Lu takes their relationship to is just something you will have to look forward to :). Then of course is Anden. ACK that guy continuing to make moves on my June even when in Prodigy those feelings were turned down. Seriously, June and Day have plenty to worry about without a smitten Elector on their heels. Lets do some ending talk again. Champion was definitely a phenomenal ending to the Legend series, albeit bittersweet. I actually predicted how it would end based on the infection that Day had (and also because of my friend's all caps ranting texts after she finished the book before me), so maybe I didn't feel so much of the "bitter" but more of the "sweet". The ending might not require a sob fest, but be assured that you will get teary. But unlike other bittersweet books, or just endings that are flat out tragic (I'm looking at you, Allegiant), Champion left me with a complete sense of hope for the Republic and for our characters. I'm sure that if Marie Lu decided to write another book in the Legend series set 15 years in the future, there would be an HEA conclusion to it. Unfortunately that probably won't happen, but overall you get positiveness out of this series. When you imagine the future for the characters even when there isn't a book out there to tell you, it's a happy scene. This is packed with action and turmoil that will keep you on your toes for the entire book. Marie Lu doesn't let her readers have any sort of break, and you'll either be wallowing in the feels, pointing angry fingers, or holding your breath for dear life at any given point in the book. Outstanding ending to an equally exceptional series!

Champion continues where Prodigy ends, with June accepting her position as Princeps-Elect after Day tells her this is the best decision. We also discover at the end of Prodigy that Day is dying as a result of the experiment from the Republic following his failed trial. This scene broke my heart and I was seriously hoping June would find out the truth quickly in Champion. The final war with the Colonies is quickly approaching, and we unfortunately see that the Republic is not the all-powerful empire they claim to be. They are outgunned and outnumbered and in desperate need of an alliance. There is also the issue of the plague ravaging the Republic. The entire city of LA has been quarantined, something that is virtually unheard of in the rich sectors. Our beloved characters certainly start this story in a desperate situation and I admit I did not see a happy way out for all of them. Champion is well-written and well-paced, just like the other two. While there is still great character development from Day and June, I think this installment focuses heavier on the plot and the war with the Colonies. Day continues to struggle with his illness and it becomes quite debilitating as the story goes on. One thing I appreciated about this book compared to the others was the world-building! We previously only saw cities within the Rebublic or the Colonies, but in this book we got to see Antarctica as well. Their city is definitely more technologically advanced and the citizens generally seem more content than the Republic. They also use a virtual reality that displays numbered scored above each person’s head. Every time you do what is considered a ‘good deed’ for the country, you earn points. June is intrigued by this concept and I certainly agree that it is very interesting. Lu also presents an interesting concept with the idea of the Colonies and the Republic. I appreciated watching Day’s transition from someone who would do anything to live in the Colonies to someone who defends the Republic. The old Republic was completely government-run with a heavy military influence, while we learn the Colonies consist of a completely decentralized government and is run by corporations. Both territories seem to be wrought with corruption and violence. Which is better? Is one the lesser of two evils? Luckily, the new Republic seems to want to address the issues of the old Republic. Lu’s expert world-building definitely had me thinking about June and Day’s world long after I finished the book. If you enjoyed the previous two books in the series, you will enjoy this one as well. It has all the familiar action-scenes and we see development from some supporting characters I really enjoyed- Eden and Pascao. Eden was so brave and adorable throughout the book and I love how Day would do absolutely anything for his younger brother. Pascao is our loyal Patriot runner who helps Day throughout this book. Although brief, I really enjoyed his action scenes with Day. Day and June continue to love each other and attempt to reconcile their differences as they fight to win the war against the colonies. And finally, that ending! It was a huge surprise to me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. After I had some time to digest it, I think I understand why Lu chose to end the series that way. I’m not sure I love it, but I also don’t know how else she could end it while still being true to each of the characters. Overall, I was very pleased with this series. I enjoyed the third book, but I still think the second is my favorite. I definitely recommend if you are a fan of dystopian books. I am sad to say goodbye to Day and June!