I probably stared at a blank page for some minutes before I could come up with the words to describe how incredible this book is. The truth is that there are no words! But I’ll try to describe its awesomeness anyways. I’ll start with our badass heroes. And I really do mean scale-a-building, gun-wielding, kick-your-face-in, defy-a-nation badass heroes. Day is the most wanted criminal in The Republic. He has set fire to police stations, robbed a bank, and exploded some military jets among other things, but he has never killed. Then when his family catches a new mutation of the plague, he breaks into a hospital to steal the cure. But things go wrong! Day’s forced to attack a soldier during his escape, barely making it out with his life.June is a prodigy of The Republic and the perfect soldier. She got a perfect score on the Trials, she is super smart, extremely athletic, and has attitude. Then she receives the terrible news that her brother has been killed by Day. June vows to catch him and devices the perfect plan to do it. She goes undercover! But after getting to know Day, and seeing the terrible things done to civilians by her fellow soldiers, June begins to question the system. What she’ll uncover is bigger than her brother’s murder. Following orders blindly is no longer an option.Day and June are such great characters to read, and both POVs managed to keep my eyes glued to the action, the suspense, and the romance. They’re both very precise, noticing every little details of everything they see, especially June (we get her details in parentheses). Their thoughts are always running a mile per minute, and keep you wondering what they will do next. The other characters were also very well written. I loved Metias from the short scene he got. Quiet Tess, was lovable too. I grew to hate Commander Jameson and Character X (named so by me to avoid spoilers) with a passion! There isn’t one boring page to this book and I will be pushing everyone I meet on the street to read it! This is one exciting and not-to-be-missed debut! And if the book is not enough, go and check out the amazing artwork and games Marie Lu has created for her novel on her DeviantArt page!
