Review: Rebel

Rebel by Marie Lu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One more Legend novel? Not the start of a new trilogy, but a single coda?

It's Marie Lu. Of course I'm in.

When last we left off with Lu's first and star-making series in the YA sphere, Champion infamously ended on a bittersweet but still pretty saddening note, at which point the story picked up with a ten-years-distant epilogue showcasing the spark of hope that perhaps the future would be a little brighter for June and Day.

Now we get the challenges they still have to face going into that bright future - as does Daniel's little brother Eden, now in his late teens and going to university in Antarctica, while late-twenties Daniel works for the AIS and still pines for June - who may just come back into the picture in an official capacity, escorting the Elector of the Republic on a state visit.


Though the two POVs of Eden and Daniel bring this book up more into new-adult than YA territory, it's still every bit classic Marie Lu, reminding us all again why she's consistently one of the best in the business. The brothers' dynamic, particularly with Daniel trying to be protective while Eden runs into trouble in Ross City's underworld - reminds me very strongly of Hiro and Tadashi Hamada - it almost begs the question of whether or not this isn't Lu's idea of an AU fanfic in disguise, and as a longtime Big Hero 6 fan I'm always down for that. Though the love story is a subplot this time around - unusual for Lu because she tends to put the romantic aspects in very strong focus - her gift for propulsive action hasn't deserted her one bit. And after two years with the Warcross duology that illustrated the secret origin of Antarctica's Level system, it now seems so much less utopian than how it was initially presented way back in Champion as a gentler alternative to the authoritarian, class-divided dystopias of the Republic and Colonies. Which, of course, is precisely the point once the main villain's plot really kicks off.

Not gonna lie, I do still wish this could be the start of a whole new Eden-and-Daniel trilogy. But as a new conclusion to Legend, we couldn't have done any better than Rebel, and to this series I now can officially bid ave atque vale once again.

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