Legend is set in a dystopian future where the United States no longer exists. (Does that sound familiar?) Thankfully, only a few times did it tread into Planet of the Apes/Battlefield Earth “We were on Earth ALL ALONG?!?” territory. What really drives the storyline are the characters.

Day is 15 years-old but a master criminal a la Robin Hood, stealing from the Republic and giving to the citizens of the poor sectors. June is a master tracker, a police officer in the style of Javert from Les Mis. Day is accused of killing June’s brother and she vows to track down the criminal…by the stars (I couldn’t resist a Les Mis reference).

Romantic tension and a jealous third character? Check.
A hero driven to save his/her sibling from the evil government? Check.
Fighting with wits instead of a big gun? Check.

I like how Lu worked in some of those standards for a dystopian YA novel. The guns are so advanced that they track which user is firing them. If a criminal is on the run, he doesn’t want a gun blaring his location to government computers. I do appreciate that Lu did her research when it comes to hacking the computers. She describes what privileges the user needs (instead of just having the character say, “I hacked into the computers”), but doesn’t go into detail with how to do it. This isn’t The Cuckoo’s Egg.

In a sea of current dystopia, Legend stands out. Gone is whiny angst, replaced by action stars that threaten the existence of the Republic and the Colonies. The pacing matches that of a Hunger Games, a decent balance between dialogue and jumping off of a building. There are decent plot twists and turns that go beyond “The evil government is evil.” The sectors seem real, like actual people live there, and definitely have the Les Mis vibe.

The book is already being adapted for the big screen and its producers are Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, the people who brought you a few movies about some book called Twilight.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that you’ll hear more about Legend as it gets bigger. It definitely has the makings for a series.

This one’s a Star Wars book, but it’s a little different because it’s built around the MMORPG The Old Republic.

Sean Williams also did the novelization of The Force Unleashed, so he’s familiar with taking a guy walking around slashing things with a lightsaber and creating some connecting narrative. The Old Republic has a storyline, but what makes it different is that multiple users play along and help create the experience.

That being said, Fatal Alliance feels like an online role-playing game. Each character represents a playable class in the game. You have your grizzled soldier, your naive Jedi, and your conniving diplomat. Williams did creatively twist some characters, but for the most part, these are characters we’ve seen before.

There is a mystery driving the plot. A planet not in the charts promises wealth for both sides of the galactic war and two different parties try to get there first to stake a claim. You may have guessed already that the planet has a hidden danger and that there will be some kind of alliance…a fatal alliance…that forms to defeat the common enemy.

What I really liked was seeing main characters from both the light and dark side of the Force. This is one of the first Star Wars books that I’ve read where one of the Sith may actually be a protagonist alongside a Jedi. (I know there are books that detail the bad guy perspective, but not one that I’m familiar with where both sides are the heroes.) It makes sense, though, when you consider the source material is a game where players can create characters from any place on the moral spectrum.

I enjoyed reading it. Granted, I’m a Star Wars fan, but someone picking up this book is probably going to be a fan. I more want to highlight it for students who know about the game and want something to read that’s connected to it.

Well, Summit Entertainment just announced a release date of March, 2013. That’s interesting, considering they don’t have a cast yet. I guess release dates can always be moved. Anyone who has talked to me about book to movie adaptations knows that I’m always distrustful of a February/March release date *cough* Hunger Games *cough*. The big movies come out during Summer or Winter Break, not Spring Break.

Orson Scott Card did have some comments about the film that you can find here.

Because the pop-up book is so popular, he’s been made to suffer. It’s his lot in life.

With that in mind, Divergent had to work really hard for me to get over preconceived notions. Yes, there were maniacal government workers. Yes, there was a secret the protagonist had to hide on penalty of death. Where Divergent exceeds, though, is in what Veronica Roth did not do.

Tris did not have to choose between her childhood friend and the wild, mysterious boy. The development between her and Four is paced really well. The other boy that tries to make advances is awkward and almost provides a little comic relief.

So yes, many of the plot elements have been done before, and done recently (I could have sworn I’ve seen that ending before), but it’s still a fun story. Dystopian sci-fi used to be my favorite genre, but now the plotlines are very, very similar. There were still parts that caught me off guard, which is why I can give it my recommendation. The Dauntless scenes were great and I loved what Roth had to say about life. It was every jumping off of a train or diving into a simulation that kept me going.

The Darkness (still one of the cooler YA villains) has summoned bugs that breed like parasitic wasps (National Geographic should be labeled as a horror channel). The bugs, conveniently enough, cannot be damaged by Sam’s laser hands and the residents of Perdido Beach must find some way to survive.

What always impresses me is that Grant can keep the story going full-tilt until it explodes in the last 30 pages. I did know going into the book that this was not the end of the series, so I knew there would be huge gaps left, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment.

Amidst all of the superpowers lies a story of teens dealing with tough teen issues. This one is just as edgy as the previous three books. The ironic part is that Grant doesn’t use swearing in the narrative. You’ll see characters say a “rude word” but not read the actual word. I’m glad because the issues that the kids deal with are tough enough without language distracting for some readers. More than one teen battles depression, which is extremely realistic considering how chaotic their world is where life can end unexpectedly. Some have a crisis of faith. The girl running the makeshift hospital has to decide who to treat and who to let die. Tough stuff.

Romance shows up and is used to show the duality theme that runs throughout the course of the series. Sam and Astrid seem to be the perfect couple, but as life hits them hard, they are rocked badly. Caine and Diana are together, but Diana must come to grips with Caine’s true nature (FYI: HE’S CRAZY).

These two relationships are just one example of Michael Grant making comparisons between characters. Computer Jack struggles with his new muscle-bound identity and whether he’s defined by the people around him. Brianna floats between comic book fantasy and grim reality. Astrid has to deal with being the good girl even though she wishes she could ditch her autistic brother. Like I said – tough issues.

My only complaint is the inclusion of throw-away characters. The series has a ton of kids, but that allows Grant to focus on scenes across an entire town. This is more than just Sam and Astrid’s story. Yet the throw-away characters are the ones who Grant names and in the same sentence has a bug eat. “A boy, who people called Buster, oh no – bug eats him.” (My own version of the scene, not Grant’s own words.) Grant was not afraid to kill off characters in the first three books, so I wonder why this book mainly had Red Shirts dying. Not a big complaint, since most authors are afraid to kill off characters they love, but I did notice.

Plague is a very enjoyable read and it always surprises me how quickly the series reads, considering the length of the books. The fourth book sits at 490 pages.

This is a case where you definitely have to read the first three books in order to really get what is going on. Librarians, it is worth the purchase, especially since I know the series is super popular.

That sentence alone sounds epic. Now check out the photo the crew posed for:

NASA did a pretty decent Photoshop to recreate this:

All Photoshopping aside, check out this amazing photo from Stefanie Gordon’s iPhone:

She was in a plane flying by the launch site and snapped a photo. It should be noted that she just gained 1,000+ followers on Twitter.

The poem was selected as a featured work on Thin Air Magazine’s Writers’ Challenge site. Go check it out here.

Gale, Lone Wolf hunter extraordinaire, will be played by Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus’s boyfriend (as of the time of this writing).

Peeta, the lovable baker’s son, will be played by Josh Hutcherson. You might see him in the remake of Red Dawn that comes out later this year. He was in Bridge to Terabithia and The Vampire’s Assistant.