asianamlitfans | A Review of Marie Lu’s Rebel (Roaring Brook, 2019). (Reply)

A Review of Marie Lu’s Rebel (Roaring Brook, 2019).
By Stephen Hong Sohn

Despite the fact that I would consider myself I huge fan of Marie Lu’s Legend series, which was originally a trilogy. I stalled out of this book at least twice. For some reason, I could not get into the rhythm of this version of alternate narration. Let’s let the official site give us some background: “Respect the Legend. Idolize the Prodigy. Celebrate the Champion. But never underestimate the Rebel. With unmatched suspense and her signature cinematic storytelling, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Marie Lu plunges readers back into the unforgettable world of Legend for a truly grand finale. Eden Wing has been living in his brother’s shadow for years. Even though he’s a top student at his academy in Ross City, Antarctica, and a brilliant inventor, most people know him only as Daniel Wing’s little brother. A decade ago, Daniel was known as Day, the boy from the streets who led a revolution that saved the Republic of America. But Day is no longer the same young man who was once a national hero. These days he’d rather hide out from the world and leave his past behind. All that matters to him now is keeping Eden safe—even if that also means giving up June, the great love of Daniel’s life. As the two brothers struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own . . .” So, Lu shifts the dynamic from June Iparis and Daniel Altan Wing (otherwise known as Day) to Day and his little brother Eden. The first person perspective toggles back and forth between them. We see things get complicated once Eden gets involved with illegal drone races that put him on the radar of a criminal kingpin called Dominic Hann. Day’s overprotective vibe does not sit well with Eden, and they are continually drifting apart.

The most interesting world building element that Lu works in is a futuristic city that is based upon game experience points and levels. Anyone who has ever played a dungeons and dragons or fantasy based game or even most MMORPGs knows that you have to kill things, go on quests, or unlock major achievements to get a higher experience level. In a similar fashion, life has become game-ified, with every actions or thing you do giving you points. Points can also be subtracted. The problem with the system becomes pretty clear quite quickly: it cannot regulate certain things like intent. In addition, the people who excel at the game are given way more liberties and rights than those who do not choose to “play the game.”

The reason why I stalled out was really a subjective response to one character: I just did not find Eden very likable. I’ll be the first to say that I try to encourage students to look beyond value judgments when they are digesting a book, so I really tried hard to instill that in myself as I plowed through the book. Even after a couple of “stalls,” I eventually did finish. I suppose I didn’t empathize with Eden’s sense of the world around him but Lu attempts to give Eden far more roundedness in the back half, especially when Day finally gives Eden a stronger sense of the home (in the Republic) that they had to leave behind. It is at that point that Eden more fully understands the life of privilege that he has led, giving him the character motivation that most of us were waiting for anyway. The romance plot I found far less compelling, as this novel was more about the relationship between two brothers than it was about June and Day. I did have to say that I was very originally impressed by Lu’s ending to what was then conceived of as a trilogy. There was not “happily ever after,” but the open-endedness was apparently something that compelled Lu to return to it, after she too began to wonder what had happened between her characters. In any case, despite my admittedly mixed feelings about the final installment, anyone who has read the original Legend trilogy will not be able to stop themselves to read this unexpected addition to the series.

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Review Author: Stephen Hong Sohn
Review Editor: Leslie J. Fernandez

If you have any questions or want us to consider your book for review, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email!
Prof. Stephen Hong Sohn at ssohnucr@gmail.com
Leslie J. Fernandez, PhD Student in English, at lfern010@ucr.edu