Alexis Campos Period 6

Book Talk Plan

English 3H Mrs.Robson

March 20, 2017

Title of the Book: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Date of Publication: November 29, 2011

Background on the author:

Marie Lu was born in Beijing, China in 1984 and move to the United States at the early

age of 5. Marie and her family settled in Texas and she would later on go to the University of

Southern California. Marie originally wanted to become a lawyer, yet she ended up working as

an art director for a video game company. Marie even says that certain aspects of Legend were

inspired by the love she had for gaming and the movie Les Miserables. Marie began writing

novels about twelve years before Legend, the first one of her books to be published. Almost

immediately, her book attracted a great deal of attention and CBS Films quickly bought the

movie rights to the book. Yet Marie is also known for other great novels such as The Young

Elites which received great praise from both the New York Times and USA Today.

Main Characters:

 June is a fifteen year old prodigy , born into an elite Republic family, that managed to

score a perfect score on her Trial. She is described as having long, dark brown hair that is
 tied back in a high ponytail and having dark brown eyes with golden flecks in them. Her

brother Metias took care of her since due to her parents being killed in a mysterious car

crash. After the murder of her brother Metias, June seeks revenge against the prime

suspect, Day.

 Day is a fifteen-year-old criminal who was born in the slums and is currently being

chased as a most-wanted criminal. He lives his life on the run with the help of Tess and

his sole purpose is to protect his mother and brothers from the Republic. He is of mixed

race heritage with long, light blond hair and luminous blue eyes.

 Metias is a captain in the Republic and the older brother of June. Metias took on the role

of June's guardian once their parents passed away and seemed to be quite overprotective

of her at times.

 Thomas Alexander Bryant was the best friend of Metias and was completely obsessed

with June. Similarly to Day, Thomas was also born in the slum, but he instead followed

the rules of the government and was able to achieved the rank of captain of the

Republic's army.

 Tess is Day's thirteen year old partner who was abandoned by her parents and later taken

in by Day when she was only ten years old.

 Eden is Day's ten-year-old brother that was unfortunately infected with a mutated version

of the plague. He is planned to be used by the Republic as a biological weapon against

their war with the Colonies.

Central Conflict:

The main conflict revolves around June wanting to seek revenge on her brothers' killer

who she is told is Day. Desperate to find him, June heads out undercover to the slums to bring
justice to the man she thinks killed her brother. Day, on the other hand, wants to protect his

family and help cure his brother Eden who was infected with the plague. Day manages to

retrieve medicine for his brother, but he is cut off by Metias. In an effort to escape, Day injures

Metias enough to get away and bring the medicine back to his brother. This all ties in to the

central conflict of June believing that by seeking revenge for her brother, she is helping the

Republic and doing what's right while Day thinks that doing whatever it takes to protect his

family from the corrupt Republic is the right thing to do. The conflict could even be looked at as

the rich versus the poor in this situation or even the strong going against the weak.

Key Events:

One of the most important events is the when June's brother, Metias, is killed while he

was patrolling through the hospital. This incident gets the whole plot rolling as June sets out to

hunt Day, who the government says is the murderer. The next key event has to be when June

unknowingly encounters Day and begins to develop intimate feelings for him, which helps build

up the drama of their complicated relationship. Another crucial event was when June, upon

discovering Day's identity, informs the government of where Day is. Yet instead of simply

bringing him in, Thomas is ordered by his captain to shoot Day's mother and take Day's brothers

into custody. This event is the most important part since it starts to make June realize that her

perception of how the Republic operates is vastly different from what she used to believe. The

final most important event in the story is when June uncovers Metias's diary blog which reveals

the truth behind not only her brothers killer, but also that her parents were killed by the

government. June then betrays the Republic and begins her plan to help Day escape from prison

with the assistance of the Patriots.

Author's Message:

I believe that Marie Lu is trying to convey to the reader that we shouldn't divide the

people into different social and economic statuses. While the story focuses on Day and June, it

also gave light to the dirty slums and how low they are looked upon by the richer, more elite

citizens. I am sure Marie is trying to show, in the love that June and Day have for each other, that

what should really matter is what kind of person is on the inside and not just their status.

Books or Movies Similar to this:

When I first began reading this book, the story somehow reminded me a lot of Romeo

and Juliet. The situation is extremely similar in how the main characters live completely

different lives, with families that hated each other, yet still managed to love each other in the end.

Similarly to how June and Day would have never met under regular circumstances since their

social statues were so vastly different. I was also reminded of the movie "Beauty and the Beast"

while reading through Legend. The way Belle is afraid initially of the Beast because all the lies

she heard from the townspeople that he would eat or kill her. This situation reminded me of how

June was filled with lies from the government about her brothers killer and the one's behind her

parents death.

Do I recommend this book?:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories with plenty of drama,

romance, mystery, and a bit of humor in between. The story starts off slow in the beginning to

fully introduce to the characters and lifestyles that both Day and June are in, but once the central

conflict begins, the story really starts to pick up with the reader feeling the suspense of whether

or not June will find out that the boy she loves is the one being accused of killing her brother.
While reading, you will start to connect so deeply with the characters that when a character starts

to cry, you will feel a tear crawl down your face. I can guarantee anyone that once you read

about ten minutes of the book, you will not want to close the book until the end. While the story

may seem a bit cliché for some, I promise that the unique characters and immersive dialogue

will keep you hooked to it.