Review Sunday: Prodigy by Marie Lu

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Goodreads Blurb:

"Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?"

Review:

Let me first confess this isn't the first time I've read this book.  I actually read it and Champion (the next book) a few months ago.  However, I was sick when I read them so I didn't exactly feel like writing a review and all that jazz.  So take this review with a grain of salt.  That being said, I felt incredibly uncomfortable reading the first couple chapters.  I'm not sure if it was June and Day's relationship or the fact that I knew what was going to happen or what but I had such a hard time with the first few chapters.  Once I got into it though, it was all a piece of cake.

So June and Day.  I'm actually having a hard time shipping them.  More specifically, Day with anyone.  When Anden entered the picture, I immediately paired he and June together as a kind of Celaena and Rowen type of relationship.  Not a romance, but an intense friendship where they understand each other and that feeds the need for a romantic relationship.  Reading about Day and Tess was so real and painful.  What I really like about Marie Lu is that she accurately captures all the awkwardness in any relationship.  There is no embellishing or sugar coating.

I revelled in the plot twists and turns.  The whole situation with the Patriots and Razor and the Colonies blew me away and raised the complexity of Anden's situation.  With things turning out the way they did, I was absorbed in how all of the characters reacted to everything.

Now for the ending.  That.  Was.  BRUTAL.  Even though I read Champion and I knew how everything turns out, it still took me by surprise.  And broke my heart all over again.  For all you who have read it, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!  He's DYING?!  Of course.  Of course you can't go through one series without a character having a deadly illness.

The Final Verdict:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though it was a bit hard to get into.  The plot was gripping and the characters and ending fascinated me.

4 stars

Quotes:

“I make sure to keep a good distance between us, just in case she decides to get happy with a knife or something.” 

“We're in this together, right?" he whispers. "You and me? You want to be here, yeah?" There's guilt in his questions. "Yes," I reply. "I chose this." Day pulls me close enough for our noses to touch. "I love you.” 

“Love is illogical, love had consequences--I did this to myself, and I should be able to take it.” 

“You know, sometimes I wonder what things would be like if I just ... met you one day. Like normal people do. If I just walked by you on some street one sunny morning and thought you were cute, stopped, shook your hand, and said, "Hi, I'm Daniel.” 

“He is beauty, inside and out.
He is the silver lining in a world of darkness.
He is my light.” 

"He pauses when he finishes undoing the last button, then closes his eyes. I can see the pain slashed across his face, and the sight tears at me. The Republic's most wanted criminal is just a boy, sitting before me, suddenly vulnerable, laying all his weaknesses out for me to see.” 

“All it takes is one generation to brainwash a population and convince them that reality doesn't exist”