BOOK REVIEW: Champion by Marie Lu

“Sometimes, the sun sets earlier. Days don’t last forever, you know. But I’ll fight as hard as I can. I can promise you that.”
Wow. It has been quite some time since I first joined Day and June in their mind-blowing escapades, but in the days leading up to my first COVID vaccine, I felt compelled to follow-up with the stars of the plague-focused Legend series, so naturally, I reached for Marie Lu's Champion. Intriguing? Yes. Did it live up to its predecessors? Negative; but it was still enjoyable.

Day and June have not seen each other in three months. Though each pines for the other, distance seems to be the answer for survival - especially with Day hiding a secret, life-threatening illness from his beloved {he's dying as a result of Republic experiments}, and June making moves in the political world working alongside Anden as a Princeps Elect. The Republic is finally on a path of success for the people, with a peace treaty with the Colonies on the brink - and then things turn sour.

With just days left before the treaty is signed, there is an outbreak of a new plague strain throughout the Colonies - a strain far deadlier than the previous - that pushes the Colonies to declare war with the Republic. Though from the outside the Republic appears strong and powerful; they are lacking in both weaponry and combatants, and require an alliance if they are to survive - which very few territories are willing to even consider. The only option for survival? Hand over a plague cure or fight.

While Prodigy, for me, started out very slow and then picked up; Champion presented the opposite problem: it started strong, petered out a bit, picked up again then continued in that ebb and flow motion until the final page was turned. Part of me feels that this was just an extension of problems that had begun for me within the pages of Prodigy - such as my growing lack of interest in Day and June, and the stronger focus on politics. That said, Champion did have its moments.

While June was completely uninteresting for me until the final chapter, there was a hint of Day's old, charming spark sprinkled throughout the pages that kept my hope alive; whereas Anden, whom I had actually enjoyed in Prodigy became incredibly boring. TBH, the two standouts in this installment were Eden and Pascao - Day's younger brother, and the loyal Patriot runner, respectively. These two are the main reason I muddled through the endless passages of political talk, and stuck with the story until the end. Well, them and the Antarctica experience, which is brief, but so awesome to read about due to the virtual reality aspect.

Though not as thrilling as its predecessors, Champion is an intriguing continuation of the series; but, it is not, as many thought, the conclusion. There is now Rebel, the fourth installment, and I, for one, cannot wait to get my hands on it - if only to see more of Eden and Pascao!


Star Rating: ***1/2


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