What should I read after Prodigy?

If you liked Prodigy, try Uglies (Scott Westerfeld), Kindred (Octavia E. Butler) and World Without End (Ken Follett).

Prodigy by Marie Lu: what it’s like, who it’s for

Name: Prodigy
Author: Marie Lu
ISBN: 9780142427552

Science fiction Young adult Romance Fantasy

In a Republic obsessed with order, a government asset and a wanted criminal must navigate a decaying empire, political conspiracy, and impossible romance.

Feels like unease and curiosity. About society, freedom and power.

A page from the book

Intimacy dissolves the careful structure we built around ourselves.

I straighten and reach up to his shirt. My hands touch the skin of his shoulders. I try to keep my breathing even, my mind sharp and calculated. But as I help him pull off the shirt and reveal his bare arms and chest, I can feel the corners of my logic growing fuzzy. Day is fit and lean under his clothes, his skin surprisingly smooth except for an occasional scar (he has four faint ones on his chest and waist, another one that’s a thin diagonal line running from left collarbone to right hip bone, and a healing scab on his arm). He holds me with his gaze. It’s hard to describe Day to those who have never seen him before—exotic, unique, overwhelming.

Excerpt from Prodigy, Marie Lu, Speak 2011. Quoted for discovery. Source Rights & removals

Marie Lu.The novel is set in a highly organized, futuristic society influenced by tropes of grand geopolitical conflict and class disparity.

Books that feel like this

Uglies

Scott Westerfeld, 2005

Also society and curiosity.

Kindred

Octavia E. Butler, 1979

Also society and unease.

World Without End

Ken Follett, 2007

Also society and power.

Deception Point

Dan Brown, 2001

Also society.

One of Us Is Lying

Karen M. McManus, 2017

Also curiosity and society.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert T. Kiyosaki, 1997

Also power and curiosity.

More by Marie Lu

Θρύλος

Marie Lu, 2016

A dangerous game of secrets, identity and impossible choices, where winning may destroy the very thing you came to find.

Where to get it

Get the book

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Questions readers ask

What is Prodigy like?: Feels like unease and curiosity. About society, freedom and power.
What should I read after Prodigy?: If you liked Prodigy, try Uglies (Scott Westerfeld), Kindred (Octavia E. Butler) and World Without End (Ken Follett).

A taste of the feed

Every civilisation leans on one thing. What happens when it is taken away?
Maybe they didn’t want you to realize that every civilization has its weakness. There’s always one thing we depend on. And if someone takes it away all that’s left is some story in a history class.
Uglies · Scott Westerfeld
The most dangerous people are not the ones who look like monsters.
“He’s a fair man.” I looked at him, startled. “I said fair,” he repeated. “Not likable.” I kept quiet. His father wasn’t the monster he could have been with the power he held over his slaves. He wasn’t a monster at all. Just an ordinary man who sometimes did the monstrous things his society said were legal and proper.
Kindred · Octavia E. Butler
Hunger frightens a child more than hellfire does.
Gwenda knew that Jesus was telling her not to sin, or she would be tortured by demons; but humans frightened her more than demons. If she failed to steal Sir Gerald’s purse, she would be whipped by her father. Worse, there would be nothing for the family to eat but soup made with acorns. She and Philemon would be hungry for weeks on end. Ma’s breasts would dry up, and the new baby would die, as the last two had. Pa would disappear for days, and come back with nothing for the pot but a scrawny heron or a couple of squirrels. Being hungry was worse than being whipped—it hurt longer.
World Without End · Ken Follett
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