Prodigy

Starred review from October 10, 2011
Lu’s debut is a stunner. Weaving the strands of SF dystopia, police procedural, and coming-of-age—with touches of superhero and wild frontier traditions—she fashions a narrative in which the action is kinetic and the emotional development is beautifully paced. June, a prodigy from the elite class of the disintegrating Republic, is being groomed for a military career when her brother, a captain, is murdered. June is quickly drafted into the team tracking his accused killer, a spectral and maddeningly persistent outlaw known as Day. June’s life has been shaped by intellect, and to be driven by an emotion as ungovernable as grief makes her vulnerable in painful, dangerous ways. Day has known grief all of his life, but is no more immune to it than June is. The chase unfolds against a plague-infested Los Angeles of Gotham-like grit that Lu conjures with every nuance of smell, sound, and sight. First in a series, this story is utterly satisfying in its own right and raises hopes high for the sequels to come. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from November 26, 2012
The characters are known, world-building is complete, and readers know the destination is still out of reach. It’s the second book of a trilogy—how will the author handle it? Lu opts for a high simmer of intrigue in her sequel to Legend. June and Day are crucial pawns in the game of political plot and counterplot as power at the top of the Republic changes hands. Love must take a backseat: for Day, to family and friends; and for June, to the greater good that is her lodestone now that her family is dead. The pair is separated for much of the book, and talk dominates action—the world-shaping machinations are the means to bring about a more personal, subtle pivot in the story. June and Day were once divided by ignorance and circumstance; now they are held apart by principle and choice. The portrayal of their dilemma is taut and insightful, and while the story line resembles a high plateau of tension rather than a conventional arc, there are enough unfolding questions to propel the narrative to its aching ending. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency.