This was my first book by Jessica Goodman and it won’t be my last. I enjoyed the Manhattan Gossip Girl vibe. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Goodman does next!

The Legacies is a book with just the right amount of mystery and intrigue mixed with the drama of the upper class that will draw the reader in right from the beginning. The story is told from different characters' points of view as well from a neutral stand point. The neutral standpoint focuses on what happened after the ball and on the death of one of the students. This information is not revealed until much later and adds to the mystery of the plot.

The story revolves around six kids from Excelsior Prep and how they navigate their induction into the Legacy club. For five of them, it was a no brainer to be nominated, but tori's nomination was a curve ball that no-one saw coming. The author handles each of the characters quite well, giving us glimpses into who they are and why they do what they do or react the way they do.

At times the story felt a little disjointed. I didn't get attached or invested in any of the characters. The character of Esther was odd to me. Most of what she did didn't make sense or seem necessary to the story even with the plot twist.

If you like YA mysteries with rich people backstabbing each other, lies, secrets, and not-perfect characters, then you should read this.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Young leaders for this arc for an honest review.

The Legacies is a YA mystery thriller born from the incredible pen of Jessica Goodman, out July 25 for Razorbill / Penguin Group.
Old money. New secrets. One killer party.

Scoring an invitation for membership to the exclusive Legacy Club in New York City is more than an honor. It gives you a lifetime of access to power and wealth beyond any prep school doors and guaranteed safety and security as Legacy Club members always look out for their own. That is, after you make it through a rigorous week of events and the extravagant gala, the Legacy Ball.

So it’s not surprising when Excelsior Prep seniors Bernie Kaplan, Isobel Rothcroft, and Skyler Hawkins are nominated as Legacies; their family pedigrees have assured their membership since birth—even if they're all keeping secrets that could destroy their reputations. But scholarship kid from Queens Tori Tasso? She’s a surprise nominee, someone no one saw coming. Tori’s never fit in this world of designer bags, penthouse apartments, and million-dollar donations. So what did she do to secure her place?

The night of the Legacy Ball is supposed to be the best night of these seniors’ lives, a night of haute couture, endless champagne, and plenty of hushed gossip.

Everyone expects a night of luxury and excess.
No one expects their secrets to come out.
Or for someone to die trying to keep them hidden.

"The Legacy Ball never ended in murder, of course."

A bewitching and overwhelming story is the one we are told in The Legacies by Jessica Goodman. Full of betrayal and drama, lies, a missing mother, backstabbing, money, money and more money.
Between continuous time jumps between the past and the present, we get to understand the actions, grudges and motivations of our three protagonists: Isobel, Bernie and Tori. The girls, of course, are connected to each other: all three had access to the Legacy Club. However, one of them, during the famous Legacy Ball, loses her life.
Who among them, how and why you will find out by reading this fantastic book.
The author's writing is so intriguing and engaging that I struggled to put it away. So, I ended up devouring this book in just 2 days. The characters are all well characterized and studied, even if I could not particularly attach myself to any of them. And the setting... Well, who wouldn't want to become a member of the NYC Legacy Club and have access to a life of power, wealth and open doors EVERYWHERE? I don't know about you, but I would pay billions to get access.

Perfect for lovers of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and Élite.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher, and Jessica Goodman for sending me the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. All the considerations are mine.

This reminded me a lot of gossip girl with lots of secrets and rich families who will die to protect those!

It wasn’t my favorite by Jessica I think I enjoyed her other book They’ll never catch us more.

The Legacies is a gripping, can't-put-down, YA thriller that follows a group of NYC's elite teenagers as they gain access to an exclusive, secret society. Bernie has been preparing for this week for as long as she can remember; Isobel isn't sure that she wants to be here but with Bernie by her side, she knows it is where she belongs; Tori knows she doesn't belong here and the only reason that she is here is a secret that if revealed will ruin several people's lives. On the final night, the night of the ball, the unthinkable happens at this Upper East Side secret society - someone is killed.

The Legacies is fast-paced, and the use of the dual timelines and multiple POVs is well executed. The characters are all morally gray and exhibit the insecurities of teenagers. There were plenty of surprises throughout the book, and I was kept guessing on "what happened" until the end. Overall, it's a fast, easy, and enjoyable read. It's a perfect beach book for this summer!

Thank you Penguin Teen, Razorbill for my copy of The Legacies! All thoughts are my own.

I often say I don’t read thrillers, but when I do, they’re YA thrillers and usually by Jessica Goodman. Now, I was all about the idea behind this book. There’s nothing quite like the intrigue of the “rich people behaving badly” trope, especially for those of us who grew up watching Blair and Serena on Gossip Girl. I picked this book up because I needed a fast paced book to get me back into a good reading routine…and sadly this didn’t do the trick.

I really enjoyed The Counselors from this author in 2022 so maybe I missed the more summery setting, but I do still think this will be a fun book to put in your beach bag this Summer if you want something totally escapist and a little unbelievable!

Synopsis:

“Old money. New secrets. One killer party.Scoring an invitation for membership to the exclusive Legacy Club in New York City is more than an honor. It gives you a lifetime of access to power and wealth beyond any prep school doors and guaranteed safety and security as Legacy Club members always look out for their own. That is, after you make it through a rigorous week of events and the extravagant gala, the Legacy Ball.So it’s not surprising when Excelsior Prep seniors Bernie Kaplan, Isobel Rothcroft, and Skyler Hawkins are nominated as Legacies; their family pedigrees have assured their membership since birth—even if they're all keeping secrets that could destroy their reputations. But scholarship kid from Queens Tori Tasso? She’s a surprise nominee, someone no one saw coming. Tori’s never fit in this world of designer bags, penthouse apartments, and million-dollar donations. So what did she do to secure her place?The night of the Legacy Ball is supposed to be the best night of these seniors’ lives, a night of haute couture, endless champagne, and plenty of hushed gossip.Everyone expects a night of luxury and excess.No one expects their secrets to come out.Or for someone to die trying to keep them hidden.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The World—I love a good rich people behaving trope. As a Gossip Girl girlie (OG, of course) I was quite excited by the premise of this book set in the mysterious world of elite Manhattan schools.

The Intrigue—There’s an air on intrigue that surrounds this book because it feels like the ending could be very predictable but at the same time, the writing keeps you on your toes.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

The Pacing—Things felt a little stale for me, even with the dual timeline.

Things Felt Low Stakes?—Shockingly! This could be a me problem but this book almost put me in a reading slump. I thought it would be fast paced and exciting, but it didn’t make me want to read it.

Character Authenticity: 3/5 Spice Rating: N/A Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Content Warnings:

infidelity, grief, loss of a parent, medical malpractice, substance abuse, death

I think this wasn't Jessica's strongest book, though I did enjoy it.

I ended up reading this over the course of a couple months because for some reason I just had a lot of trouble getting into it -- which is weird, because with Jessica's books I'm usually sucked in and finish the book in a day, maybe even just a number of hours.

Tori was a great character, and I loved the dynamics between her, Isobel, and Bernie, but I found that the plot itself kind of fell short; I wanted to be done reading more than I was enjoying reading it.

BIG LITTLE LIES meets Pretty Little Liars in THE LEGACIES, and it definitely delivered.

This book had SO many things I love--an elite group that was nearly a secret society, a cutthroat competition, and abounding secrets. It was such a fun twist on all things 'elite school,' and the interspersed chapters of after the death had me on the edge of my seat. I would have loved for the ending to come together a little more, and for Isobel's character to have a bit more contribution, but I still highly enjoyed it.

A solid four stars. Very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc--I'll be recommending it to all lovers of glamorous competitions, secret societies.

Jessica has done it again! I have loved all of Jessica's books so I'm not surprised that I loved The Legacies. The Legacies feels a bit more mature than Jessica's other books, and it's clear she has now mastered the YA thriller genre. I loved the dual timelines and thought the alternating POVs were done so well! There were lots of POVs, but I never felt confused or lost. Jessica did a great job of distinguishing between the voices. The book is plotted super well. The Legacies is one you won't want to put down!

This book was a really good YA read. Honestly it barely even felt like it was YA. I loved the old money aspect and the leadup to solving the death. Goodman did a wonderful job bouncing between time and point of view. Each chapter gave a little bit more information, but also asked more questions in the meantime. I thought it was really well done. If you're a fan of Gossip Girl, this one is for you. The ending was really well done.

I enjoyed the structure of this story. Getting a glimpse at the future without knowing who died kept me guessing for quite some time. At times the story felt a little disjointed. I didn't get attached or invested in any of the characters. The character of Esther was odd to me. Most of what she did didn't make sense or seem necessary to the story even with the plot twist. The biggest negative for me was the excessive use of profanity. It was too much. This is the first book I have read by this author so I don't know if that's just her normal writing style or not. I ended up skimming through a lot of the second half just to see who died because that's all I really wanted to know. It was a fast read though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

This was not the best mystery I’ve ever read, but I still enjoyed reading it. It felt more like a romance than a mystery for most of the book.

The story has a unique structure. There is a glimpse of the future, where you know something has gone wrong in the extravagant Legacy Ball, you just don’t know what exactly happens. Then there are a few chapters set during the week before the ball, from the povs of Bernie, Tori, and Isobel. It continues like that until the present day meets up with the future, and you get to see what actually happens at the ball.

Besides the whole romance secret plotline of the book, none of the other secrets actually were revealed until later in the book, which made it feel like a romance for me.

Honestly, it was a pretty average book, which is why I gave it 3 stars. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and I didn’t really like any of them ngl

The foreshadowing of the mystery was nice, as it was a surprise who got murdered, but since I didn’t really get attached to any of the characters, I didn’t care as much as I would have liked to.

This was a decent ya mystery, and if you are in the mood, I would recommend reading this book, but I would also recommend so many other ya mysteries over this one.

I’m in my mid-20s, and I really liked this book. Definitely more YA, but I had a lot of fun with it. It had me guessing from the start, and I was invested in the characters and their journey. It was suspenseful and action filled. I really liked it.

meh.
It was entertaining but i wouldn't recommend it.
I didn't care about anyone. I disliked the whole group of Excelsiors Legacies, except Kendall and Lee. I liked that the characters grew and developed through the book

I skipped a lot of POV and read only the dialogues, cause it was kinda dense and boring.

The plot twists were predictable, weren't a big deal, I was like "Oh! cool" but not more than that, didn't surprise me.
I liked that I couldn't guess who was the murdered and who was the murderer, but the thing is I didn't care enough to make an effort to guess which one was, I was just reading it to finishing it.

the story whiting the story or the "backstory" of our legacies' parents was really cool, it was good.

After finishing the book, I immediately told a friend, "It's a Gossip Girls and Desperate Housewives mashup!"

It's intense, mysterious, full of betrayal… By the last page, I was blown away by the extent of gaslighting and deceit the characters will achieve is crazy! But that's also what makes the story so amazing and complex.

The Legacies was my first experience with Jessica Goodman, and I can't wait to read the rest of her books.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill for the eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Legacies is a book with just the right amount of mystery and intrigue mixed with the drama of the upper class that will draw the reader in right from the beginning. The story is told from different characters' points of view as well from a neutral stand point. The neutral standpoint focuses on what happened after the ball and on the death of one of the students. This information is not revealed until much later and adds to the mystery of the plot. The rest of the story takes us back to the start of the week where the students nominated to join the club of the elite are made to go through different tasks every day leading up to a presentation in the end.

The story revolves around six kids from Excelsior Prep and how they navigate their induction into the Legacy club. For five of them, it was a no brainer to be nominated, but tori's nomination was a curve ball that no-one saw coming. The author handles each of the characters quite well, giving us glimpses into who they are and why they do what they do or react the way they do. Each one is as complicated as the next and there are different shades and layers to them which we peel back step by step as the story progresses.

This story brings out the many secrets that are being kept which all culminate in one unexpected end, the death of a student and an unknown reason for it. Only few people know the truth and whether they will tell it or not is what drives the plot. I quite enjoyed reading this book which to some extent reminded me of series like Gossip Girl but it had it's own twist to it which sets it apart. There is mystery, intrigue, teen drama, some romance and a whole lot of secrets to deal with. I do look forward to reading more books by the author.

thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC! i am a huge fan of jessica’s previous books, so i am so thrilled to get a chance to read this one early.

we are brought into the world of new york elite through their private schools, where students from a handful of schools are nominated to join the legacy club, a almost secret society of sorts helmed by generations of wealthy and elite before them. the club offers opportunity and influence, and becoming a member is treated as an honor.

we meet our main trio, the three female students nominated from excelsior prep: bernie kaplan, whose mother is a legacy, her best friend isobel rothsworth, and scholarship student tori tasso, whose scholarship is funded by the legacy club itself. the other key player in our tale is skyler hawkins, bernie’s long time boyfriend and childhood friend, another excelsior prep student nominee, whose mother is also a legacy. we meet various other characters that play smaller roles in the story, but these four provide the primary drama and focus.

we start at the beginning of legacy week, a few days leading up to the main event: the legacy ball. through snippets of the end of the ball sprinkled between chapters, we find out an accident has happened, resulting in a death. we don’t know for sure who the deceased is, or what’s really happened, and that is where our story eventually takes us. goodman also sprinkles in tinier mysteries into the story, and by the end, every little question has been answered, and the story feels whole. all the characters become intertwined, their stories slowly lining up by the biggest twist of all.

i am an avid jessica goodman fan, so needless to say, when i got the chance to read her latest book, i was thrilled! and as per usual, she did not disappoint. goodman has crafted another fantastic mystery, this one felt more like “they wish they were us” than the last two works of hers. she writes snippets of scenes from the aftermath of the event to give us hints as to what’s coming and i love the way she does so, where it isn’t a single person’s perspective, instead more so a fly on the wall kind of view. it’s descriptive without giving too much away, and it keeps you eager to find out more. i also loved getting details from each of our leading ladies’ points of view! it felt like they each offered things you wouldn’t know if the book was simply from one of their perspectives alone. overall, i can’t recommend this book enough, and it definitely was one i would not put down (
unless I had to!

So this is so Gossip Girl with the vibes, make a mystery, and we have Legacies. I was very interested to see where this story was going and couldn't put it down. This book follows the pov of Tori, Isobel, and Bernie, who are in the world of the Elite In New York City. The book is about them getting into this exclusive Legacy club, and while Isobel and Bernie were born into the world, Tori wasn't and needs it to help with her family diner. There were multiple povs and past and present timelines and it leads to them uncovering secrets before the final legacy ball.

I've always loved Gossip Girl, so of course, this was good, I think what I liked most was uncovering the secrets and rich people being rich people. The characters and parents weren't really great (just like in Gossip Girl) in the beginning, I was only rooting for one of the characters but as the book went on I did understand why the characters behaved the way they did. I also really appreciated that despite the multiple povs, I was able to follow the story because of how fast-paced and easy to read this was.

If you like YA mysteries with rich people backstabbing each other, lies, secrets, and not-perfect characters, then you should read this.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Young leaders for this arc for an honest review.

The Legacies is a book full of secrets, suspense, murder and lies that I could not put down. This book reminded me of Gossip Girl but with a bit more mystery, and a murder.

Excelsior Prep has some high profile students. Bernie Kaplan, Skyler Hawkins, and Isobel Rothcroft are at the top of the pyramid. Their main goal in mind is receiving an invitation to become a member of the Legacy Club. Gaining access to this club gives you a lifetime of power and wealth beyond any doors that a prep school could offer. The Legacy Club members look out for their own, as it is made up of some of the influential individuals in New York City. Bernie, Skyler, and Isobel are not surprised when they get an invitation to join the club, as their families have insured their membership since birth, but what they did not see coming was the surprise nominee, Tori Tasso. Tori is a scholarship kid from Queens, and it leaves everyone wondering how did she get nominated?

Everyone is keeping secrets that could destroy their reputations. The night of the Legacy Ball, everything starts to unravel. That is when a body falls from the roof of the club into the perfectly curated garden below.

The chapters switch between different characters points of views, plus some chapters foreshadowing what happens the night of the Legacy Ball. You get to see each character, as their secrets start to unravel as well as the repercussions of their actions.

This book left me guessing until the end. Each chapter left me with more questions, so of course I finished the book within two days. This has become one of my new favorite YA novels. It had the perfect amount of mystery and drama. I will truly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a new thriller that will immediately get them hooked!

First of all, I’m a sucker for any book that takes place in New York City and lets me live vicariously through privileged, rich AF characters.

This book is gossip girls meets skull and bones society- and I feel like it’s a unique story that I haven’t read before. I also felt like it was a quick read and very easy to get into.

I’m still a bit confused over the whole Esther character, and to be honesther character’s disappearing act seemed unnecessary. I liked the ending, but the final page left me a little unsatisfied (but I’m guessing it was a set up for a sequel).

I would definitely read a sequel and I’m looking forward to reading Goodman’s other books- especially They’ll Never Catch Us.