Everything you need to know before you read Champion: Spontaneous Saturday (1)

Everything You Need to Know Before Champion Comes Out; Literally EVERYTHING

Spontaneous Saturday is a new weekly post on "Loving the Language of Literacy" where I post anything I want to. Whether it's another review, character spotlight, or even something like this, it will be spontaneous where I won't even know what I'm posting until that Saturday.

We ALL should know I'm a crazy wackjob for The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu. I transcribed around 25 minutes of footage from "Meeting Marvelous Marie Lu". There you can find out about "Pantsers vs. Plotters", interrupting Marie Lu, a new series with the Black Death leading to magical powers, the history of paper clips, and Day being named after Daniel Radcliffe. 

This is just some news about "The Young Elites"

@sslluvsbooks <3 Aww! I just turned in my latest revision yesterday, which hopefully is a good thing.
— Marie Lu (@Marie_Lu) January 2, 2014

Now I want to focus on the Tri-Fold I made in May 2013 for a book report and all the information on it. Basically this is the post you could read if you were going to skip straight to Champion without reading Legend or Prodigy, although I highly suggest you don't do that. Maybe even if you need a refresher on the books before reading Champion. 

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the great Republic of America to our Elector Primo, to our glorious states, to unity against the Colonies, to our impending victory!” — The Republic Pledge

Introduction to the Republic:

Plagues-

Thousands of feet underground,there are meat producing factories that killed thousands of animals because of because of viruses. Then Congress remembered the Colonies War. Every time a new virus appeared, scientists took samples and crafted them into human viruses, and at the same time developed a vaccination and a cure,They handed out vaccinations to everyone but the poor sectors. They pump the virus into the sectors through a system of underground pipes, into the water, or directly into a few houses to see to see how it would spread. When there was enough evidence for what that particular strain could do, they would prick everyone with a cure during one of their routine sweeps. The plague wouldn’t come back until the next strain. Congress would run individual plague experiments on children who failed the Trial and died. All of the Republic’s people with weak genes were killed off. Congress also used the plague against the Colonies.own people are lab rats. Someday a virus will get out of hand, no vaccine or cure will be able to stop it.

Trials-

“You’re worried about a bunch of renegade Trial takers who managed to escape their deaths?”—- Legend, Day at Batalla Hall

Scores:

1450-1499- it’s instant access to 6 years of high school and 4 at the top universities in the Republic: Drake, Stanford, and Brenan. Then Congress hires you and you make lots of money.

1250-1449- you get high school and are assigned a college.

1000-1249- Congress doesn’t let you go to high school and you join the poor people working with water turbines or power plants.

Below 1000- you fail (most that fail are from the slum sectors), the government orders your parents to sign a contract giving the government full custody over you, tell your family you’re going to the “labor camps”, and then give your family 1000 notes as condolence.

In the beginning of the Republic, the Trials didn’t favor the rich, given to children, and were taken by choice, but the Elector won lots of support by making it a mandatory test for all children on their 10th birthday. It became so that this one test could decide your future. It consists of a written portion, physical, and an interview in front of a panel of judges . It is said by the Republic that the Trial was to encourage athleticism and hard work, enticing the fittest and best for more military-like people. When in reality, the Republic is lying to weed out the weak, defiant, and eventually, to control overpopulation because they were considered a waste of resources and space.Your family thinks you’re sent to the “labor camps”, if you fail, when in reality, they will just kill you or send you to the labs to be experimented on.

Republic:

“We have risked our lives for this country- not the country we live in now, but the country we hope to have. People  of the republic, know your enemy, the republics way of life, the laws and traditions that holds us down, the late elector, congress. I don’t want to see the republic collapse. I want to see it change.”—-Prodigy, Day’s support speech for Anden

The Republic was originally formed in the middle of the worst crisis North America. The eastern half of North America was underwater because of floods, so millions of people flooded into the west because they had nowhere to go. Because of so many people, it was pure anarchy with  no jobs, food, or shelter, and the entire country was in utter fear, panic, and rioters, with everything in absolute disrepair. The federal government had no money to contain and maintain crisis after crisis. The first Elector seized power by declaring the Republic a separate country under martial law that allowed soldiers to fire at free will, giving them a newfound power that they openly embraced so much that it became the military versus the people. Afterward, the Colonies declared war on the Republic.

Characters:

Daniel Altan Wing “Day”:

“I’ve fought the same injustices that you’re here to protest right now. I’ve suffered the same things you’ve suffered. I’ve watched my friends and family die at the hands of the Republic soldiers. I’ve been starved, beaten, humiliated, insulted,suppressed  and humiliated. I’ve lived in the slums with you. We have risked our lives for this country- not the country we live in now, but the country we hope to have. People  of the republic, know your enemy, the republics way of life, the laws and traditions that holds us down, the late elector, congress. But the new elector is not your enemy. You think your congress wants to end the trials or help your families? Its a lie. The elector is young and ambitious, and he is not his father. He wants to fight for you, just as I fight for you, but he needs you to give him that chance. He will lift us up, change things for us, one step at a time, build that country that we all hope to have. I came here tonight for all of you-and for him. People of the republic, do you trust me? Raise your voice for your elector and he will raise his for you. I don’t want to see the republic collapse. I want to see it change.”—- Prodigy: Day’s acceptance speech to Anden which prevented a ‘full scale’ uprising against Anden

Day, the beautiful blonde-hair, blue-eyed boy   is the most wanted criminal in the Republic because he irritatingly has defied every attempt of theirs to capture him. He isn’t layered like June, there are no double sides defying each other in his personality. His opinions are black, and white, he and the rest of the poor sector people are the victims of the cruel, power-hungry Republic. When he took the Trial at age 10, he was told he received  687, because the Republic wanted to take him away and experiment on him. When in reality, he received 1500, which June discovered when looking over his file in Legend. He stands at 5 feet 10 inches tall, with incredible intelligence, tinged with stubborn resilience and has astounding agility skills that June says are “up to par with those at Drake”. He has lost almost his entire family to the Republic’s deadly wrath. Besides being a wanted criminal, he can be very sweet, and loving to people who have been unjustly treated by the Republic. His status and popularity had the power to prevent the revolution that was at Anden’s door.  

    At the end of Legend, it is said that Day and June are the same person in two different bodies, and that is very true. Even though June is a rich prodigy, and Day is a criminal from the slum sector, they are the same in personality, ideas, and the way they think. They both are extremely athletic, intelligent, diligent, outspoken people that won’t stand for anything unless it’s their way.

June Iparis (ih-PAIR-uhs):

“I will hunt you down. I will scour the streets of Los Angeles for you. Search every street in the Republic if I have to. I will trick you and deceive you, lie, cheat and steal to find you, tempt you out of your hiding place, and chase you until you have nowhere else to run. I make you this promise: your life is mine. I have no sympathy for a criminal. Just a score to settle.” —- Legend: said by June, directed at Day.

“I want a partner who has her finger on the pulse of the people, someone extraordinarily talented at everything she does, You were born to shake the Republic.” —- Prodigy: Anden, directed at June at the request of her being his Princeps  

“Do you remember then I trusted you, even though everything I’d ever known told me you were an enemy? I sacrificed everything for what I believed, I’m here for your sake, and I gave up everything for you.” —- Prodigy: June, in her argument with Day in the bunker  

June is never seen without a flawless high ponytail that screams no-nonsense just like her character. She is a deep and layered character, with a personality that is completely her own. June is a 15 year-old military prodigy who is one of the two people in the entire world that has scored a 1500 on her Trial. She is 5 feet, 4 inches of amazing agility, combat skills, and endurance, all while  being graceful, but full of action at the same time. June has the charisma of a true politician and leader, with undeniable poise when she speaks, that make everyone want to hear and obey what she has to say. With her piercing, gold-flecked eyes, she picks up every single detail of her surroundings, and stores them in her extremely intelligent brain. This is how she appears to most of the Republic, a strong, dedicated soldier, that desires to do her absolute best at all time for her country. June has been faithful to the Republic, and believing everything she has been told since birth, like a good Republic soldier.

Another reason why June is such a layered character is because she takes the brunt of internal conflict unlike any other. On one hand, the Republic has given her so much, made her their darling, little prodigy, and on the other, she is introduced into a world she never knew existed until she started her search for Day. June has an absolutely astoundingly concrete sense of right and wrong, and her ability to act on decisions is superb. Just because she believes in Day’s innocences, she gives up everything to side with Day. Her money. Her status. And everything she has ever believed in for one boy.  

June and Day’s relationship is a very complicated one, especially viewing the fact that she is the reason Day got arrested in the first place. She also gets a lot of grief from Tess and Kaede because she is the reason Day’s mother and brother are dead. But Day didn’t kill Metias, June decides to get Day out of the jail she put him in.

Tess:

“I’ve done nothing but help you-I have been at your side ever since the  day we met. But I can’t bare to watch you choose a girl that’s done nothing but hurt you.”—-Prodigy: Tess right after she kissed Day

She is a A 13-year-old girl was rejected by her family at the age of ten, and becomes Day’s accomplice, caretaker, friend, and falls in love with him in Prodigy. She then leaves Day after he deviates from the assassination plan, making sure he knows exactly how she feels.

Eden:

Day’s 8 year-old brother that is sick with the mutant plague, and very close to death. He is the reason why Day is blamed for Metias’s death because Day broke into the hospital to get plague cures for him. He is used as a bio-weapon slash lab rat by the Republic, and finally gets released by Anden in Prodigy.

John:

“I would rather die than see them hurt you”

Day’s 19 year-old brother that is captured along with Day and buys time for Day’s escape because by taking Day’s place in front of the firing squad.

Commander Nathalia Jameson:

“When his execution date came, the court granted me permission to kill him personally instead of putting him in front of the firing squad. I think he would’ve preferred the firing squad.”—- Legend: Commander Jameson, directed at Day in Batalla Hall

The cruel head of one of Los Angeles’s patrols that requested that the prodigy with the perfect trial score join her patrol. Commander Jameson did many bad things that include: ordering Metias’s death, taking part in Anden’s assassination, and being responsible for Day’s execution date being changed last-minute in order to see where June’s loyalties lie.

Thomas Alexander Bryant:

“I’m from a poor sector too. But I followed the rules. I worked my way up, I earned my country’s respect.”—-Thomas directed at Day’s Batalla Hall interrogation

“Metias loved you, but you still turned him in.”—- June directed at Thomas in her detention center

His best friend Metias, is the one responsible for Thomas getting into a good college and being in one of the city’s patrols. Thomas is basically a lapdog to Commander Jameson, that accepts killing his best friend without hesitation, and in Prodigy when he is the one chosen to capture and interrogate June.

Anden Stavropolous:

“The elector is young and ambitious, and he is not his father.  He wants to stop the Trials and the plague experiments he needs to win the Republic’s favor first. He wants to fight for you, but he needs you to give him that chance. He will lift us up, change things for us, one step at a time, build that country that we all hope to have.”—Day’s acceptance speech to Anden

The Elector Primo’s dashing, regal, six-foot-two son that in Prodigy inherits his father’s position . Anden is just a 20 year-old man who came into power at a really fragile time in the Republic’s history. He is needs to prove to the country that he is not his father, and that he will change the country in his people’s best interest. To do this, he is determined to get Day and June on his side because he knows they have the power to repair, or destroy the country.

Metias:

“If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.”—-Metias directed at his sister June inside his diary

June’s protective, 28 year-old brother that is an expert hacker, and the head of one of Los Angeles’s patrols. He and his parents were murdered by the Republic because they had classified information that they were going to reveal to the Republic. His character is pretty small with probably 30 lines of dialogue, but on a higher level, he is the main reason there is a story. It’s because of him that June and Day meet when June is given the job to hunt Day down, and his journals are very helpful, giving a lot of answers to June.

Kaede:

A dark haired fighter pilot for the Patriots that is originally from the Colonies. She doesn’t play a very big part in Legend, only being the person that gets in a skiz fight with June. In Prodigy, she acts as Tess’s mentor and mother-like figure, while working with Razor and is by Day’s side for most of the story. Her biggest impact in the series is when she goes across the border to warn Day about Razor’s betrayal, and helps June and Day get back to the Republic. Unfortunately, she dies in a brutal jet chase  from the Colonies.

Razor/Commander De Soto:

He is the double agent for the Republic and Patriots that is actually working with the Republic and is hired to make it seem like the Patriots are the instigators of Anden’s assassination.

Legend:

Timeline:

1. Day watches his family’s house while soldiers mark  his family’s door with a three lined x.
   
2. June gets temporarily suspended from Drake University for leaving campus. Metias,  comes to pick her up, and is very upset. Metias drops June off at home and leaves right away for his job.
   
3. Day breaks into the Los Angeles Central Hospital, to try to get plague cures for Eden. He then makes a run for it, and escapes. Metias is there, and catches Day near a sewer opening. He’s about to shoot Day, when Day throws his knife at him, and goes down into the sewer.
   
4. Thomas, relays to June that Metias is dead, and Day is blamed for it. Thomas drives a shocked to the scene of the crime.
   
5. After being promoted to Commander Jameson’s squad, June has her first mission, where she tries to lure Day into buying a plague cure.
   
6. On another mission to find Day, June disguises herself as someone who lives on the streets,  but during her mission, she gets caught in a Skiz fight and is wounded.Someone throws a dust bomb, that gets rid of all the people coming after her. June doesn’t know it, but the boy who saves her is Day. Day allows her to travel with him and Tess, thinking that she is a street girl, and not a Republic soldier.
   
7. June tells Thomas through her microphone that she has found Day, so he sends a squad of soldiers to Day’s house. After June tells Day that the plague patrol is coming for his house, he runs all the way back to his house, surprising his family that thinks he’s dead. Day futilely tries to hide his family, but the soldiers find him anyway. During his arrest, Day finds out June is a Republic soldier, and that she is the one that turned him in. Day’s mother is killed, and his brothers are taken, along with him to Batalla Hall.
   
8. June is personally thanked by the Elector Primo and meets his son Anden at a celebratory ball held for Day’s capture
   
9. When Thomas tried to kiss June, she disgustedly pushes him away because he killed Day’s mother. After he leaves, J  une looks at Day’s profile and learns she isn’t the only prodigy with a 1500 Trial score.
   
10. After Day’s death sentences, people cause riots outside Batalla Hall. Later, when June logs onto her computer to review Metias’s death report, she realizes that Thomas killed Metias, not Day.
    
11. June looks thru her brother’s journals, and realizes there is a hidden message. She follows his instructions were Metias tells her that he has uncovered the truth about their parents’ death
    
12. June is determined to help Day escape so she gets the patriots to help. The plan she and the Patriots have is altered when she realizes Commander Jameson moves Day’s execution day up.
    
13. June gets confronted by Thomas about the missing electro-bomb and almost gets put under arrest when the missing electro-bomb goes off . Then she races to the front of Batalla Hall where Day’s execution is about to take place. John gets executed in Day’s place in order to give June and Day enough time to escape Batalla Hall.In order to stall, John takes Day’s place and dies for him.
    
14. . June and Day have to run as far as they can from Los Angeles, where June’s commander will be furious at her, and they would be searching for Day
    

Setting:

The Story starts out in the crumbling and poor Lake Sector where Day’s family lives. June, meanwhile, lives in the wealthy, upper class Ruby Sector. She works as Republic soldier at Batalla hall, where the majority of the later half of the story takes place, the events there all having to do with Day and his imprisonment. Legend in Barstow where Day and June reached when they ran from Los Angeles. The story Legend takes place all over future Los Angeles from the  plague-infected sectors, to the glorious gem sectors, and the sparkling military section.

Theme:

The theme throughout the story is determination, for both June and Day. June is determined to avenge Metias’s death that she thought Day caused by capturing him. Later that determination for vengeance is turned into the determination to do the right thing which is helping Day escape his execution. Day is determined for so many things, the biggest being to get plague cures for Eden, and later being determined to escape his arrest, and to free John and Eden.  

Prodigy:

Timeline:

1. June and Day arrive in Las Vegas, where they hope to receive help from the Patriots. On the JumboTrons, they see that Los Angeles is quarantined for the alleged plague. The pledge gets interrupted when the whole country gets the news that their Elector Primo is dead, and that his son, Anden Stavropoulos is the new Elector Primo.
   
2. Day and June’s identities are almost revealed, but Kaede, saves them from being discovered and they are taken to the Patriots headquarters.
   
3. In the patriot headquarters, June and Day request assistance in exchange for the promise of helping in the assassination of their new Elector.
   
4. June, Kaede, and Razor discuss the situation and plan of Anden’s assassination which will involve June warning Anden about the assassination plot against him and then leading him to the real one.
   
5. After parting ways, June purposefully gets captured by Thomas and interrogated. The interrogation turns into a cutting conversation about Metias and the reasons why Thomas killed him. She is then shipped off to the capital.   
   
6. When June arrives at the capitol in Denver, Colorado, she has dinner with the Elector Primo, Anden. After feeding the assassination story, June realizes that Anden may not be the person she thought he was.
   
7. In an underground bunker in Lamar Colorado, that is one of the Patriot’s strongholds, Tess and Day have a falling out. where Tess’s true feelings about Day and June’s relationship is revealed. She accuses Day of being faithful and loving June no matter what she does and tells him that June will break Day.
   
8. Anden trusts June completely now and he has a private very intimate talk with her where he kisses her. After he leaves the room, June realizes that Anden is nothing like the Patriots said he would grow up to be. So she lifts two fingers to the side of her brow, the signal they used in Vegas. The signal that meant: Stop.
   
9. Day and the other runners plan to detonate a train full of supplies for the war front. Day’s job of being seen so that people know that he is alive. Day gets distracted when he sees a train car with the plague symbol. He enters it in hopes of finding Eden, but instead he finds a little boy that like Eden. is being used as  a bioweapon against the Colonies.P. 206 fury quote
   
10. June gets released, and her decision about siding with Anden is even more enforced when he tells her of the Republics history. Tess kisses Day, and their previous argument resurfaces, ending with Day realizing his relationship with Tess, romantic or otherwise is over.
    
11. Even though June tries to delay Anden’s journey to the assassination location, Razor’s orders override it, and the plan continues as usual. Day waits for his cue, the third grenade going off, and when it does, June tumbles out of one of the jeeps and signals to Day, putting herself in full exposure of the Patriot’s and Republic’s soldiers. Chaos follows her act, full of grenades, and frantic decisions made by both sides with Razor commanding Day to stay on course and to ignoring June. They then run to another underground tunnel, but instead of following like she has always done, Tess makes her own path, by joining the Patriots and leaving Day forever.
    
12. June and Day have a huge argument that consists of biting remarks about the trustworthiness of the Elector, accusations of trust, and sacrifice.They are forced to evacuate soon after, but by that time June is sick with fever. So Day carries June through the tunnels until they reach the Colonies of America.
    
13. June is brought to a Colonies hospital because she’s extremely sick, she then has a dream with Metias in it where she finds out that that Razor was hired by the Republic to assassinate Anden. Day meets with Kaede who brings him the good news that Eden is released, the bad that the Colonies aren’t all they hoped for, and most importantly, Kaede confirms June’s discovery. Day, Kaede, and June then escape from the Colonies in a fighter jet, but not without a price: Kaede’s death.
    
14. Day delivers a glorious speech that prevents the Republic from launching a full-out rebellion. Afterward both Day and June are met with some news. Anden comes to June and offers her a job as Princeps, the second highest position in the country. Meanwhile Day is reunited with Eden, but gets delivered the news that he is dying.   
    
15. Day comes to June’s apartment, meaning to tell her of his condition, but ends up telling her to accept the job as Princeps-in-training, and that they would never have worked out. The book ends with one last parting kiss, that means goodbye.
    

Setting:

Unlike Legend, Prodigy’s setting is all over the United States in both Republic and Colonie’s land. The story starts in Vegas, which is the Patriot’s headquarters. When June and Day split, June goes to Denver, Colorado to meet Anden, and Day goes to the Patriots stronghold in Lamar, Colorado. When June and Day meet up again in Pierra for Anden’s assassination. The two then journey through underground tunnels all the way to the sparkling Colonies across the border. They go back in a stolen fighter jet to Denver Colorado , the current Republic capitol.

Theme:

The theme is the search for truth because June and Day are both being fed lies by the Patriots, and they’re just trying to sift through all of them to find the reality of their new Elector. The Patriots said Anden’s assassination would stoke the fires of the budding revolution. But June realizes that he isn’t the  ruthless, dictatorial leader like his father, but someone that can provide peace, prosperity, and freedom, everything she and Day need. So June goes against the Patriots plan, and does everything in her power to stop Anden’s assassination because she believes in Anden and knows he can change the Republic, yet another demonstration of June sacrificing circumstances in order to  do the right thing. Day only knows what he’s being told by Razor, and what he’s seeing from June, and they are both extremely contradicting. On one hand, Razor is the leader of the Patriots, and guarantees that he will get Eden back. Then on the other Day sees that June has changed her mind and told him to stop, but he doesn’t know what to stop. He chooses to believe June, and his decision is the right one when Kaede tells him that he was being tricked, working for the Republic instead of the Colonies.

I have to admit that I could not have done this Tri-Fold without the help of Paige and Erica, the two friends that helped me with this Tri-Fold after a lot of prodding. So I want to say "Thank you so much for all your help"