Champion

Author:  Marie Lu

Series:  Legend, Book 3

Year: 2013

Publisher:  Putnam

Pages:  369

Goodreads Summary:

The explosive finale to Marie Lu’s New York Times bestselling LEGEND trilogy—perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DIVERGENT!

He is a Legend.

She is a Prodigy.

Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

I love how this series is compared to The Hunger Games and Divergent. Those were both tremendously popular series with huge cult followings that did phenomenally well. And Marie Lu deserves all that and more. This series is most likely my favorite of any dystopian series out there. Lu writes these beautiful stories with lines that make me sit back and say "wow, that's beautiful." She has this way with words that is unmatched in YA literature in my opinion. Whereas the ending of Allegiant drew anger (and even death threats) from fans and many fans think that Mockingjay was a disappointing ending for The Hunger Games series, Lu writes a perfect ending to the Legend series. Things aren't perfect at the end. Instead, it's bittersweet but keeps hope alive. I feel like Collins did the same thing with Mockingjay; however, her words are not as elegant as Marie Lu's and Collins doesn't have the same magic touch. 

In sum, if I were going to recommend any one dystopian series to a reader, it would be this one.