Prodigy

Having fled Los Angeles for the relative safety of Las Vegas at the end of Legend (rev. 11/11), Day (the Republic's most notorious criminal) and June (its erstwhile prodigy) decide to throw caution to the wind and join forces with the rebel Patriots to assassinate the newly ascended Elector Primo. The plan calls for June to be captured and sent to the capital in Denver, work her way back into the Elector's good graces with a penitent attitude and a supply of misinformation, and lead him into an ambush where Day will publicly execute him, toppling the government regime for good. But the situation changes when June discovers that, unlike his deceased father, the new Elector is determined to implement wholesale changes. The romance that developed in the first book is complicated here when Day learns he is the object of unrequited love and June finds herself falling for the Elector's charms. Readers not hooked by the sociopolitical elements will still clamor for the final volume to see whether their relationship can survive. In the wake of the phenomenal success of the Hunger Games trilogy, a cottage industry of dystopian novels has emerged; no author -- save perhaps Veronica Roth with her Divergent trilogy -- provides a more satisfying readalike experience for fans interested in this particular niche. jonathan hunt