How to become a "Legend": (Week 4: Graphic Novel YA Selection)

"You take it all one day at a time. You try to walk in the light.""-- Leigh Dragoon

    I was so excited to read Leigh Dragoon's graphic novel adaptation of Marie Lu’s novel Legend. I read the original novel around ten years ago, and I still regularly think about it. I will attempt to write this blog entry ignoring the original novel.

The dystopian graphic novel, Legend takes place in The Republic an area that was once known as the West Cost of the United States. The Republic is divided into sectors, some wealthy, some poor, which are under absolute control of the government and riddled with plagues. Children are given a test that determines their mental and physical aptitude and are placed into jobs. Children that do not meet the minimum standard are sent to labor camps.

    The tale follows the point of view of two characters, June and Day. Day is a boy in the impoverished Lake Sector. He fails his test and finds himself in a laboratory where he receives injections. After falling ill, he finds himself in a pile of bodies; the laboratory employees thought he succumbed to his illness and he was able to escape. For his families safety, he stays away from them, but attempts to help them through criminal activities which leads him to infamy. Five years later, his younger brother, Eden develops the plague; so, Day attempts to steal plague cures from a government facility where he runs into Matis Iparis, a military officer.

    June is a prodigy from the wealthy Ruby sector, she is the only person to receive a perfect score on the Republic’s test. This does not stop her from getting suspended from school after scaling a building. Her world changes when she is called to a medical facility and informed of the death of her brother, Matis. She is assigned to investigate the crime and vows to track down and punish the person responsible, Day. She goes under cover where she meets Day, by chance. However, he does not seem like the cold-blooded murderer the Republic makes him out to be.

    Leigh Dragoon’s adaptation provides clear explanations of the story through the succinct dialog and thoughts of the characters. The illustrations by Kaari bring the story to life with action packed scenes and expressive pictures. The graphic novel is done very well and fleshes out the story nicely. This is the first or four novels in the collection.

In the Classroom

    This graphic novel has many depictions of violence and some depictions of death. Because of this, I would recommend this graphic novel to 10th graders and up. The story explores the question of how much power is too much power, as well as, security vs. freedom. It would be a great back drop for students to explore this question through a student prepared debate over the topic. Some of the actions of the Republic mirror the actions of the Nazis during WWII; I think that Legend would provide a fictional context to explore these actions and identify parallels and differences.