Book Review: Champion by Marie Lu

Champion (Legend #3)
Author:  Marie Lu
Publisher:  Putnam Juvenile, 384 pages
Publication Date:  November 5, 2013

From Goodreads:
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.

Review(SPOILERS FOR LEGEND AND PRODIGY):

Now this is how you end a trilogy.  This book has it all, it's intense and fast-paced, full of action, emotion, and romance.  It has all the feels.  The dual POVs work so well, with both June and Day having distinctive voices.  

The book starts out eight months after Prodigy ended, with June and Day separated, and June still not knowing that Day is dying.  It's so strange to read about Day being weak (physically), he was always so strong in the other books.  And I felt so bad for him, he's suffered so much at the Republic's hands and specifically from June's actions in Legend.  I like that June takes it so seriously in this book.  She knows that there's nothing she can do to make it right and that, although Day loves her, he still cannot entirely get past the fact that she's partly responsible for the death of his mother and brother.  And June experiences so much character growth in this book.  She's not perfect, she's made mistakes, and she's trying to learn from them.  She feels real.  I loved that Metias still has such an impact on June, and in a positive way.  

Once again, I enjoyed the politics of this book, with the Republic and the Colonies on the brink of peace, but then a new plague bringing war instead.  And we get a much better sense of the rest of the world in this book since we get to see Antarctica.  That part was fascinating.

The ending...I won't spoil it for anyone, but I just have to say that I loved it.  It's heartbreaking but hopeful and it completely made sense to me.  When I think about it, it's what needed to happen.  The paper clip ring...gah!!  I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.  

Loved this whole series and the last book is fantastic.  I. Loved. It.

Posted by:  Pam