Unbreakable is the first book in the Legion series. Kami Garcia co-authored the Beautiful Creatures series, and this is her first book on her own. I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, and it stayed interesting the whole time. It did have some of the characteristics that are kind of common in YA lit (new/confusing situation, love triangley, etc.), but the story itself was one that I have not really seen before. The story follows Kennedy just as her world is falling apart. She discovers that her mother has died. As she is spending her last night in their house, she wakes up with her cat on her and unable to breathe. Two young men come in and destroy the vengeance spirit that is using the cat to steal Kennedy’s breath (basically the spirit is trying to kill her). The next day, Lukas and Jared (the two young men) are waiting for Kennedy outside her house. They all are in her kitchen as the boys try to explain what is going on when a poltergeist starts attacking them. It throws knives at them, locks them in the house, and pretty much destroys the place. All three are able to escape, and Kennedy starts to believe Lukas and Jared and some of the craziness they are telling her.
They are part of a secret society called the Legion that was created to fight an evil demon that they ancestors accidentally summoned. There are always five members of the Legion with membership being passed through family members. Lukas and Jared believe that Kennedy is the fifth member. They take Kennedy to meet up with the other two members of the Legion. The current members are all teenagers because the previous members were all found dead in the same way on the same night. It was the same way that Kennedy’s mother died, adding to their belief that Kennedy is also a member. Kennedy is skeptical because her mother never mentioned anything about the group or its history. She also never had any of the training that the others have had and had no idea that this responsibility was being passed to her.
The basic plot involves the group trying to find the pieces of a weapon that they believe will allow them to destroy the demon. This involves them battling different types of spirits that are protecting the pieces. The spirit protecting the final piece causes Kennedy to question whether they are doing the right thing because he tells her it will allow the demon to fully come out in the world. The others do not believe the spirit, so Kennedy finishes putting the weapon together. It seems the spirit was telling the truth as the building they are in crumbles and basically all hell breaks loose. Kennedy is found by the police (it has been believed through the story that she was kidnapped) while the rest of the group gets away. Kennedy still feels like she is not truly a member of the Legion.
I’m excited to continue this series, and hope that I don’t forget about it when the next book comes out. I think a good premise has been started and that the rest of the series could be pretty great.
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