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jessread_s 's review for:
Rebel
by Marie Lu
Review: I first read the Legend series back in middle school around the release of Champion in 2013. I remember being absolutely devastated after the series conclusion, my soul crushed under the weight of my favorite ship being teared apart. Over time, I came to appreciate the way Marie Lu brought Day and June’s story to a close. I moved on. Then Rebel was released in October. I bought it the day it came out... but I didn’t get to it until now. I guess I was skeptical, as I didn’t see the need for a fourth book. I didn’t want my love for my absolute favorite series to unravel if things didn’t turn out the way I wanted to with this fourth book. After finally getting to Rebel, the fourth book in my beloved Legend series, here are my thoughts.
What Worked:
01. The return of June and Day. Rebel takes place ten years after the time period established in the novel Champion, so I was eager to see how all the trauma they experienced with the fall of the Republic would effect their adult lives. I was especially curious about how June and Day would cross paths again, as Champion ends with the duo parting ways. I was not disappointed. Lu did an astounding job capturing the moment June and Day reunited for the first time in nearly ten years. My heart ached as Lu described Day piecing his memories together to discover how June played a role in his life. The numerous amount of times my heart beat against my chest as I had to watch the two start from scratch to become comfortable with each other, trying to serve as each other’s support system to calm the inner demons plaguing them from their time under the rule of the old Republic. It was almost as if I was witnessing Day fall in love with June all over again and that made reading Rebel all the more worthwhile.
02. In this novel, we got the perspective Eden, Daniel’s brother, which I thought was very interesting. In the Legend series, we know Eden to be the brother who was struck down by the plague, later allowing the Republic to experiment on him to find a cure for the very plague he was infected with. Eden’s perspective allowed me to get a glimpse of how he himself was effected by the revolution that saved the Republic of America. I had been so focused on June and Day’s storyline, that I hadn’t even considered how Eden might have felt after the dust settled. Like Day, he lost a brother to death by firing squad and witnessed his mother’s murder. He was on the brink of death after catching the plague and had to worry about his only remaining family member, Day, who nearly died due to the Republic’s tampering with his brain. Lu shed light on Eden’s struggles with fitting in, the constant nightmares about the death of his family, and living in his older brother’s shadow. This perspective really added a lot to the novel and helped me to better understand his relationship with Daniel.
03. Rebel’s ending. I intend not to give away what happened at the novel’s end, but I will say that it was extremely satisfying. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more.
04. The relationship between Daniel and Eden. I thought the Daniel and Eden’s dynamic was very interesting. Lu characterizes Daniel as overprotective brother figure. This makes sense to me, as Daniel nearly lost his entire family at the beginning of the series. For him to constantly keep watch over Eden just goes to show how afraid he is of his past. Naturally, Eden views Daniel as a “helicopter parent” who will not allow him to do anything on his own. What caught me off my guard was Eden’s annoyance with being in his older brother’s shadow. I thought that was an interesting concept to explore. Rather than being referred to as Eden Wing or Eden the extremely intelligent individual who is at the top of his class, many simply call him “Day’s brother.” This is what actually creates the divide between Eden and Daniel. Eden believes that his legendary brother has moved on from the past and does not experience the same trauma that he does. Daniel, however, does not confide in his brother about the hauntings of the past in order to shield him from dangers in the possible future. I love how Lu built up the conflict between the two and how they eventually let their walls down.
What Didn’t Work:
01. Rebel didn’t offer anything new to the table. Sad as it was, the ending to Champion was beautiful, dare I even say perfect. Day and June meet again in the epilogue after ten years spent apart and we are left feeling hopeful. Though it isn’t explicitly said that the two will have a happily ever after, it’s something we can infer. We are left on the edge, fighting for more even though we cannot have it and I love endings like those. Endings where things aren’t neatly tied up in a perfect bow. What bothered me about Rebel was that it practically repeated everything that had been established within Champion and even "Life After Legend" with the addition of a predictable storyline and the perspective of Eden. To make matters worse, the ending to Rebel was nowhere near as powerful as Champion’s epilogue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for the book, but I think it would be better suited as a spin-off than an actual novel in the series.
02. Eden’s story is just not as compelling as the stories of June and Day. When Lu announced that she would be releasing a fourth book in the Legend series, it felt as if my prayers had been answered. I had always wondered what happened to my favorite couple after the conclusion of Champion and I was hoping for a happy ending to their story. As the release date drew near, I discovered that Rebel would be primarily Eden’s story, not June and Day’s. It pains me to admit this, but I was saddened by the loss of June’s perspective in the novel. Eden’s point of view could not live up to June’s. I found myself completely ignoring Eden’s side of things in favor of focusing exclusively on June and Day’s side story. Therefore, I have to agree with many fellow reviewers who have stated that Rebel should have been a novella. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if Rebel had been a spin-off rather than an actual book in the series. A spin-off would have allowed for Lu to strictly tell Eden’s tale in a manner that would have been short and to the point, without my mind rushing through Eden’s chapters to get to Daniel’s.
03. Eden’s perspective. What baffled me was Eden’s behavior. Being a twenty-one-year-old, I did not expect him to to act so childish. He would purposely get himself into trouble to punish Daniel for being overprotective and lash out at him for not understanding what he was “going through.” I will admit, that there were aspects of his story that I really enjoyed, but some of the justifications for his actions did not make sense to me, thus painting a picture of an annoying little kid.
04. The plot. Rebel just did not have the most complex, interesting plot. It pales in comparison to its predecessors. It pains me to say this, but I was not impressed by the villain, nor was I impressed by the predictable storyline that had me frustrated at times.
Jess Approved?: ✓
What Worked:
01. The return of June and Day. Rebel takes place ten years after the time period established in the novel Champion, so I was eager to see how all the trauma they experienced with the fall of the Republic would effect their adult lives. I was especially curious about how June and Day would cross paths again, as Champion ends with the duo parting ways. I was not disappointed. Lu did an astounding job capturing the moment June and Day reunited for the first time in nearly ten years. My heart ached as Lu described Day piecing his memories together to discover how June played a role in his life. The numerous amount of times my heart beat against my chest as I had to watch the two start from scratch to become comfortable with each other, trying to serve as each other’s support system to calm the inner demons plaguing them from their time under the rule of the old Republic. It was almost as if I was witnessing Day fall in love with June all over again and that made reading Rebel all the more worthwhile.
02. In this novel, we got the perspective Eden, Daniel’s brother, which I thought was very interesting. In the Legend series, we know Eden to be the brother who was struck down by the plague, later allowing the Republic to experiment on him to find a cure for the very plague he was infected with. Eden’s perspective allowed me to get a glimpse of how he himself was effected by the revolution that saved the Republic of America. I had been so focused on June and Day’s storyline, that I hadn’t even considered how Eden might have felt after the dust settled. Like Day, he lost a brother to death by firing squad and witnessed his mother’s murder. He was on the brink of death after catching the plague and had to worry about his only remaining family member, Day, who nearly died due to the Republic’s tampering with his brain. Lu shed light on Eden’s struggles with fitting in, the constant nightmares about the death of his family, and living in his older brother’s shadow. This perspective really added a lot to the novel and helped me to better understand his relationship with Daniel.
03. Rebel’s ending. I intend not to give away what happened at the novel’s end, but I will say that it was extremely satisfying. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more.
04. The relationship between Daniel and Eden. I thought the Daniel and Eden’s dynamic was very interesting. Lu characterizes Daniel as overprotective brother figure. This makes sense to me, as Daniel nearly lost his entire family at the beginning of the series. For him to constantly keep watch over Eden just goes to show how afraid he is of his past. Naturally, Eden views Daniel as a “helicopter parent” who will not allow him to do anything on his own. What caught me off my guard was Eden’s annoyance with being in his older brother’s shadow. I thought that was an interesting concept to explore. Rather than being referred to as Eden Wing or Eden the extremely intelligent individual who is at the top of his class, many simply call him “Day’s brother.” This is what actually creates the divide between Eden and Daniel. Eden believes that his legendary brother has moved on from the past and does not experience the same trauma that he does. Daniel, however, does not confide in his brother about the hauntings of the past in order to shield him from dangers in the possible future. I love how Lu built up the conflict between the two and how they eventually let their walls down.
What Didn’t Work:
01. Rebel didn’t offer anything new to the table. Sad as it was, the ending to Champion was beautiful, dare I even say perfect. Day and June meet again in the epilogue after ten years spent apart and we are left feeling hopeful. Though it isn’t explicitly said that the two will have a happily ever after, it’s something we can infer. We are left on the edge, fighting for more even though we cannot have it and I love endings like those. Endings where things aren’t neatly tied up in a perfect bow. What bothered me about Rebel was that it practically repeated everything that had been established within Champion and even "Life After Legend" with the addition of a predictable storyline and the perspective of Eden. To make matters worse, the ending to Rebel was nowhere near as powerful as Champion’s epilogue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for the book, but I think it would be better suited as a spin-off than an actual novel in the series.
02. Eden’s story is just not as compelling as the stories of June and Day. When Lu announced that she would be releasing a fourth book in the Legend series, it felt as if my prayers had been answered. I had always wondered what happened to my favorite couple after the conclusion of Champion and I was hoping for a happy ending to their story. As the release date drew near, I discovered that Rebel would be primarily Eden’s story, not June and Day’s. It pains me to admit this, but I was saddened by the loss of June’s perspective in the novel. Eden’s point of view could not live up to June’s. I found myself completely ignoring Eden’s side of things in favor of focusing exclusively on June and Day’s side story. Therefore, I have to agree with many fellow reviewers who have stated that Rebel should have been a novella. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if Rebel had been a spin-off rather than an actual book in the series. A spin-off would have allowed for Lu to strictly tell Eden’s tale in a manner that would have been short and to the point, without my mind rushing through Eden’s chapters to get to Daniel’s.
03. Eden’s perspective. What baffled me was Eden’s behavior. Being a twenty-one-year-old, I did not expect him to to act so childish. He would purposely get himself into trouble to punish Daniel for being overprotective and lash out at him for not understanding what he was “going through.” I will admit, that there were aspects of his story that I really enjoyed, but some of the justifications for his actions did not make sense to me, thus painting a picture of an annoying little kid.
04. The plot. Rebel just did not have the most complex, interesting plot. It pales in comparison to its predecessors. It pains me to say this, but I was not impressed by the villain, nor was I impressed by the predictable storyline that had me frustrated at times.
Jess Approved?: ✓