Book Review: Champion (Legend, #3) by Marie Lu

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BOOK review

Started on: 24.May.2015
Finished on: 31.May.2015

Champion (Legend, #3) by Marie Lu

Title : Champion (Legend, #3)
Author : Marie Lu

Publisher : Speak
Pages :  369 pages
Year of Publication : 2014

Price : $10.47 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
*for those who haven't read the furst and second book, this review may contain spoiler.
Review for Legend (Legend, #1) by Marie Lu here.

Review fora Prodigy (Legend, #2) by Marie Lu here.

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"Day, the champion of the people, the one who can't bear to see those around him suffer on his behalf, who would gladly give his life for those he loves. Except it's not his life that we need in order to save Tess, but his brother's. Risking one loved one for the sake of another loved one."

After separating from Day, June have decided to accept Anden's offer to become one of the Princeps-Elect. And after not meeting each other for so long, Day finally received a call from the Republic that requested Day's attendance at an emergency meeting. He wasn't very thrilled about it until the caller stated that June wants him to be there. In that meeting, Day found out that the peace treaty between the Republic and the Colonies is falling apart because of Republic's engineered plagues that have started to infect the Colonies. And the one person who might be the key to saving the Republic is Eden—Day's younger brother and the only family member he has left.

"We're supposed to be committed to seeing the United States return in some way or other. With the way things seem to be in the Colonies, I don't know if they'd be the right ones to bring that kinda change about. But I gotta admit, the new Republic Elector has potential, and after what Razor pulled on us, even I think Anden might be the answer we've been waiting for."

Day insisted that he doesn't want Eden to be experimented yet again by the Republic. And so Anden have to find another alternative to fend the Republic. Since the Colonies are backed up by Africa, one of the superpowers; Anden decided to request help from another superpower: Antarctica. In the meantime, Day discovered with the Patriots who are imprisoned by the Republic soldiers and requested Anden to let them go. Then Day cooperated with the Patriots to destroy the Colonies jets in order to help protect the city that's been under attack. Nevertheless, the Republic is still on the losing side if they couldn't provide a cure or receive backup from Antarctica in time. What will be the fate of the Republic? What will happen to Day, the legend who only have months left to live; and June, the Republic's prodigy?

"How can two countries with such radically different philosophies ever reunite? What hope do we possibly have of transforming the Republic and the Colonies into what they once were? Or perhaps they're not as drastically different as I think they are. Aren't the Colonies' corporations and the Republic's government really the same thing? Absolute power is absolute power, no matter what it's called. Isn't it?"

image source: here. edited by me.

I thought Prodigy was amazing, but this one turns out to be even better! Everything was fast-paced, action-packed, thrilling, and very emotional as well. I really want to applaud Marie Lu for doing such a great job in writing the perfect ending for this trilogy. It seems like everything about this trilogy is well-thought-out from the beginning—which I really admire. The story is still written in the two perspectives of Day and June, just like the previous two books; and again the two of them are going through different struggles throughout the story. Day with his weakening condition and June who's dealing with her new position as the Princeps-Elect. As for the main conflict in the story is the war that's finally breaking out between the Republic and Colonies. Both the political and romantic conflicts in this book progressed in a very satisfying way, nothing felt too overwhelming and it all balanced out really nicely. So many things happened throughout the story and it was an absolute roller-coaster ride for me because of all the ups and downs. Everything about this book was able to grasp my attention the whole time and it was difficult to put this book down. I just wanted to keep on reading and find out what will happen to Day and June at the end. And the ending is just perfection. All the problems are resolved and it feels like everything came to full circle. When I closed the book, I felt incredibly relieved and kept saying to myself how good that ending was. So so good.

"No matter how much money the Republic throws at me, I will forever be the boy from the streets.
And I'd forgotten that a boy from the streets is no match for the future Princeps."

I have a lot favorite parts in this book, so I'm going to try and discuss them one by one right now—hopefully it won't spoil too much for those who haven't read this trilogy or just this one book. In this book, we've yet again got a fuller detail on Metias' death and his relationship with Thomas. Even though Thomas had already explained briefly in the previous book, this time he goes deeper and it was such a heartbreaking moment for both Thomas and Metias. After I finished reading the trilogy, I couldn't really hate or blame Thomas for being such a loyal soldier to the Republic. But there are times when his loyalty would beat his conscience.

"I shouldn't have to choose between losing my brother and losing this damn country."

And of course there's Day with the dilemmas he's facing. Just like the previous two books, Day had reasons for his decision and I can totally understand him when I think of his position. He lost his family because of the Republic, and now Eden is the only family member he has left. I can't blame Day for his decision to not let Eden be experimented, even though it might sound selfish because Eden potentially could save the Republic.

Besides that, Day is also struggling against his feelings for June, because he feels like he doesn't deserve to be with her and tried to stay away. And it's really heartbreaking because at the beginning of the book June have no idea about Day's condition :'(( I absolutely love how everything that happened since the first book was able to build up their relationship to this point in which it became so complicated and emotional. June will forever be guilty of what she's done to Day and how much grief she's brought to his life; while Day feels unworthy to be with a girl like June. Ugh, so frustrating but I love it. There are moments when the scenes are so heartbreaking and tugs at my heartstrings; which means that I care about these characters enough to feel sad for them. After all that's been happening in their lives, they definitely deserves to be happy :')

"The images from my nightmare linger, haunting me. No matter how hard I try, I can't push them away.
Time heals all wounds. But not this one. Not yet."

"I did this to him. . . and because he loves me, he can never really escape it. He'll remember the fate of his family every time he sees me, even if he loves me, especially if he loves me."

Aside from the plot line, one of the highlights of this book for me is Antarctica—one of the superpowers—whom the Republic wanted to seek help from. I am utterly in awe with how futuristic and cool this place sounds! Antarctica political system is like a game with level and scores. Each time a person does a good deed, it will add up their scores and help them level up. Level is everything in this place; it determines their jobs and position in life. Although I do have the same question as June had about this system; who decides what's good and bad in the scoring system? Which I think leads to another absolute power that's been an issue both in the Republic and Colonies. Another thing that I love in this place is the internet! It's very interactive, offers a lot of things/features, and I really want to try one out. Unfortunately this is all just fiction. But I'm still secretly hoping these will come to life in the future :))

"Your level means everything in Ross City. The higher your level, the more money you make, the better jobs you can apply for, and the more respected you are. Our highest scorers are widely admired and quite famous."

If you've read my review on Prodigy, you would know that I don't fully trust Anden's character. But now I feel guilty for thinking that way. Anden's character is explored a little bit deeper in this book since the fate of the Republic falls on his shoulders. In a way, I feel kind of sorry for him because he had to deal with this huge responsibility at such a young age. Although he might want to escape from all this political madness, Anden still have to be the Republic's Elector. I'm sorry for thinking negatively about you, Anden. You turned out to be a pretty good guy. I also mentioned it before in my previous review, that one of the main conflicts in this trilogy is the political issue. And I'm really liking how the political conflict progressed in this third and final book; a part of it reflects the politics we see in real life—which is very interesting to read.

"A moment later, I see another emotion in his eyes—envy. He's envious that I have the choice to step away from the world of politics, that I can turn to something else, when Anden will forever and always be our Elector, someone the country needs to lean on. He can never step away with a clean conscience."

"You do what you need to do. Echoes of the philosophy of the Republic's own former Elector—echoes of something that, no matter what country I'm in, never seems to change." 

Another part that became my favorite was when the story is nearing the end. I was constantly anxious and worried about what will happen to Day and June because they're both going through dangerous situations. This part was probably the most intense because there's a lot going on and there are threats everywhere. Especially the part that's narrated by June when she saw what Commander Jameson was about to do. I don't want to elaborate too much about it because I don't want to spoil the best part about this book, but this gif below perfectly portrayed how I felt at that certain point.

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I was thankful because the story didn't go the way I feared it would be, and that's why the ending became one of my favorite scenes as well. In a way, it's heartbreaking but I feel like that's the best solution for this story. I'm also very satisfied because Marie Lu fast-forwarded the story to 10 years later. June quickly narrates what has happened over the span of 10 years to her life and the Republic. And the very last page (the last two sentences, to be exact) almost brought me to tears. Because it's what Day had casually hoped for in the previous book; and then it really happened. So so beautiful and perfect. ㅠㅅㅠ

"Day just smiles at me, an expression so sad that it breaks through my numbness, and I begin to cry. Those bright blue eyes. Before me is the boy who has bandaged my wounds on the streets of 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."

"Perhaps we really can meet like other people do, on some street one balmy evening, where we each catch each other's eye and stop to introduce ourselves. Echoes of Day's old wish come back to me now, emerging from the mist of our early days.
Perhaps there is such a thing as fate."

I know my review might be kind of jumbled because I have so many feelings/thoughts that I need to write down and I don't know how to put it together nicely. As I've said earlier, this book is the perfect conclusion for the Legend trilogy. I went through so much with the characters from book one, and it's kind of sad for me to finally say goodbye. But in the end I felt relieved and very happy for the characters as well. If you're looking for something dystopian, fast-paced, and action-packed, you can definitely try reading this trilogy :)) I will definitely be picking up the prequel to this trilogy titled Life Before Legend, and I'll also post the review for it as well. Marie Lu is currently writing The Young Elites trilogy, which I'm looking forward to read as well. Okay, I'll end this lengthy review now! Bye!

  by.stefaniesugia♥ .