4.0

Setting: New York
Rep: one of the POV characters is queer & Mexican-American

This was a solid YA mystery! I am a sucker for mysteries set in rich elite schools and though this involved very little actual school, it was still a great addition to the genre, and I really appreciated Tori being queer. I also liked that the plot means the parents are very involved. That was quite refreshing in a genre where the parents are often dead! (There was only one dead parent here.)

Exciting and suspenseful thriller with a prep school / elite secret society setting in NYC - yes please! This book was an enjoyable read and I really liked the dual timelines and multiple points of view. I appreciate getting viewpoints from different characters instead of one vantage point for an entire book to get a multifaceted view. This is especially helpful in suspense books like this one. I also liked the element of unknown as to who the victims were that kept you guessing and thinking you knew but you were never really sure. Unreliable characters with their own motivations and sketchy activities kept the story interesting and appealing. 5/5 and definitely recommend - thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This is the first book I've read by Jessica Goodman but it won't be my last. This is an amazing YA thriller, which reminds me like One of Us Is Lying with morally grey characters who each have their own secrets. This is fast paced with multiple POV's from all the girls and dual timelines keeping you on the edge of your seat. I read this is one sitting I couldn't put it down, from all the twists and turns and great storyline. I highly recommend this.

This is the 1st book have read by Jessica Goodman, and it was a good read.
Its about the New York elite seniors joining the legacy club, as read it felt it had a gossip girl feel to it which liked but minus the gossip and full of secrets and lies.
The book goes back and forth, starting that there's been an incident and someone is dead but who??
then it goes to 4 days before and give you a few chapters then back to incident and so on, but i must admit I was surprised when i did find out who was dead. You think you know who it could be then its someone else but a right twist at the end.
Will be looking for more books by this author now.

Bernie, Isobel and Tori are entering the Club. The Legacy Club. This world is known to both Bernie and Isobel who are born into it, but for Tori this is something new. The club gives you access to a world of power and wealth. Toris lives with her father and twin siblings, and she works at the family diner. She attends her school on a scholarship. Throughout the book you get to experience time jumps between the time before and after the legacy ball.

Some warnings: This book contains mentions of drugs, alcohol and death.

In my opinion, this book was a bit slow at times. I enjoyed the book but i couldn't fly through it like I usually can with books from this author. The plot is interesting, but the characters made me cringe quite a bit. I couldn't for the life of me understand how some of the characters were thinking which made me annoyed. The ending was partly expected but mostly unexpected.

I gave this book two and a half stars.

Good concept, but the characters in this book were not very likeable. The book was told in the mostly before and the current and some the aftermath, in 3 povs. I feel like if you cut it down to 2 povs from Bernie and Tori and fleshed out their characters more, I would of liked it better. I do like how the author kept you guessing on who was murdered through book up until it happened.

3.75 stars

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I loved this thriller and would love to interview Jessica for my podcast!! The Legacies is great for fans of Diana Urban.

I will start with this review by saying that I have read the authors previous work. I have enjoyed a few of their previous books. But always felt like they were lacking something to make them really, really good. This book hit the mark for me! I feel like this may be their best work yet. Of course with YA thrillers they are hit or miss. But this was definitely a hit for me! I look forward to seeing what the author does with their next book.

A secret society and club that involves rising seniors, old AND new secrets, old money, and everyone has something to lose. This book was a fun and quick read with a long of fun twists. We follow along with Bernie, Isobel and Tori as they go through their week entering into the the Legacy Club. All of them have secrets they want to keep. Bernie and Isobel were shoo-ins with connections into the exclusive club. But Tori a scholarship kid from queens is a mystery to how did she get in? Everything leads up to the Legacy Ball. An exclusive and final event for the week of activities for joining the club. But someone isn’t going to make it out alive. How far would one go to hide their secrets?

What I enjoyed:
-this was fast paced and I was able to finish it with in 24 hours!
-most of the characters weren’t really likable at times. But there was some growth for a couple of them. But it is to be expected from teen MCs. I did catch myself rooting for one of them!
-multiple POVs. We get POVs from all three girls
-LGBTQI+ representation.
-the twists and a few of the mysterious story lines!

I really enjoyed this book! As I said previously, I have read the authors previous books. This one is hands down their best book yet. Their writing has definitely improved and I thought the plot was interesting. I am always weary of YA thrillers but this one did a good job keeping my attention. 3.5 stars out of 5! Rounded up to 4. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review!

I love me a good YA mystery and I was really excited to read The Legacies by Jessica Goodman.
It’s a solid mystery, with the setting at a prep school.
This was a very addictive and quick read that I was able to finish in just a couple of hours.
This story is amazingly well-written and intriguingly told keeping me glued to the pages.
The story was filled with lies, secrets, backstabbing and blackmail filled with twisty secrets which really helped to make this book hard to put down.
Jessica Goodman masterfully guides the reader through an immersive world she artfully curates page by page.
And this is why I’ll read anything she creates, because she is damn good at it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Razorbill for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I love a YA novel that is set at a rich prep school and this one is pretty good! Rick kids are vying to be inducted into a super secret club called the Legacy, but something happens the night of the induction ceremony and someone ends up dead. A great summer read.

A prep school thriller-YES!

The Legacy Club is a prestigious club that the wealthy students of NYC want to get into and some will stop at nothing to get nominated. Being a Legacy will open the door for college and beyond, so it really is something you want to be a part of. 5 of the nominees in this story are richy rich so they were the obvious choice from their school. However, one nominee is a big surprise to everyone.

I really liked this one! The chapters focus on a different person leading up to the Legacy Ball (Tori, Bernie, and Isobel). There is also a chapter about the aftermath of a death at the ball where everyone is getting interviewed by the police. We don't know who died and really what led up to the death but as we read we get the background of the three girls.

Every character is going through something and we navigate their personal issues as they are going through Legacy Week. I liked that we get to go inside this wealthy world of prep schools, scandals, and the secrets EVERYONE shares. I finished this one in a day because those twists made you keep reading!

Thanks, Netgalley for my ARC!

The cover and title made me incredibly excited.

This book was filled with twists and turns, and for me maybe a little too much?
I absolutely loved the idea, but was a bit disappointed about how it was executed.

I loved reading about reach peoples drama and getting a look into their world. The book is written from different POVs and there’s also jumping between different times. The book starts in the middle of a tragedy where something very bad has happened and then we are thrown back in time to 5 days before the tragedy hit. The author also switches between these two POV throughout the book which really keeps you hooked while reading.

It was a good book, but I was hoping for something more.
3.5 from me

This was DNF for me unfortunately. I got to 38%. While I normally like this author and storytelling and quality was similar to her other books, the setting of this book just wasn't for me.
The super rich spoiled high students that break all the rules/laws because they think they can and then their world comes crashing down because that's not real life, just is not my cup fo tea anymore. It's been done too many times.
The mystery was good but not enough to keep me going.
I really wish she'd picked a more fun setting like the summer camp in Counselors!

A bunch of rich kids do rich kid shit and then someone dies. This could have been cliche and awful, but Goodman manages to make it entertaining. It's not the best YA mystery I've ever read, but it's decent.

I’ve preciously loved Goodman’s books, so was so excited to dive into this book. And I was not disappointed! I absolutely love a good murder mystery with tons of twists, and I also LOVE a good prep school book. This was such a good combination and I cannot wait to get the physical copy of this!

I'm torn on this one. I loved the format where it alternates from the night of the Ball to each character's take for the few days leading up to the Ball. I also liked the story. Trying to figure out who died kept me hooked. But I wanted more. I felt like the characters all stayed surface level & unlikeable, which is strange considering one of them talks about unfairly losing her mother. I also felt like a was waiting for a big twist that never really came. But I also couldn't stop reading it. Like I said, torn.

Jessica Goodman!!! Getting early access to this title was a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing, because I am always chomping at the bit to read your newest release. However, it's also a curse, because as always, I finished the book in several hours and now know there is a long wait until your next! Please start writing your next book asap! I can't wait for more!!

The Legacies follows a group of Elite NYC teenagers who are being inducted into The Legacy Club. This is a moment may of them have been waiting for their whole lives. To some it feels like their birth right. To others, it's a guaranteed outcome of the benefit they reap from their parents successes and schmoozing.

The NetGalley synopsis nails the description for this book:

"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."

The book is told is a now and then format that keeps the reader guessing what happened practically to the last page. These are some really complicated and messed up characters. All of them are impacted by wealth and power in some way. Some have been fortunate that it's benefitted them and others have suffered at the hands of the pressure of wealth and power. If you like YA thrillers, I highly recommend reading this book! It's got so much deceit, mystery, scandal, and teenage angst. It has some really gritty and hard to read moments. I also want to warn this book explores drug use pretty heavily in case that is something that's not for you!

I will continue to read and love books by Jessica Goodman. I love the way she crafts her plot-lines and keeps her stories fresh and different.

"Legacies" is a mysterious teen drama with vibes reminiscent of "Gossip Girl" meets "Pretty Little Liars," rather than a thriller. However, there are many intriguing mysteries perfectly blended into the main whodunit and who died theme, including big secrets that the characters are hiding from each other, a missing mother, lots of betrayal, backstabbing, cheating, and corruption that will lure you to flip the pages a little faster.

The story moves back and forth between the night of the Legacies Ball and the POVs of Bernie and Isobel, two privileged and golden girls with tons of secrets, and Tori, a scholarship student and an outsider who finds herself chosen to be part of the six Legacy students. The Legacy Ball turns into a tragedy with the death of someone, but we don’t know the victim's identity. Was it a parent from the ball committee or a student who might have accidentally fallen or been pushed from the balcony? Is it a murder, suicide, or accident investigation?

The Legacy Club in New York City gives the chosen students a lifetime access to power and wealth beyond any prep school doors, providing the privilege to attend any Ivy League school they dream of, helping them not only climb but also directly fly up the ladders of corporate success like a rocket. Their high education and job safety at any industry they desire will be given by the tight-knitted connections of community members.

Bernie Kaplan is a strict, eyes-on-the-prize, mommy’s girl who is dating her childhood friend Skyler Hawkins, as their parents have planned their marriage for years. Isobel Rothcroft is an aspiring artist and party girl who always takes care of Bernie when she loses control (lately, she occasionally finds her head stuck into the toilet bowl). They are the popular girls of Excelsior Prep. When Tori Tasso, a scholarship kid from Queens that nobody knows, gets selected to the Legacy Club, the other five students start questioning who may have nominated her. But Tori gets her approval in an illegitimate way. She keeps a big secret, and she needs the prize money to pay her family's business debt, so she cannot deal with the drama between the other privileged club students.

Isobel hides something big about Skyler, and if she comes clean to Bernie, their friendship may be destroyed forever. Bernie cannot find her mother, who seems to have vanished into thin air.

Which one of them died that night? And, more importantly, which one of them is involved in a crime?

Overall, the writing style is intriguing and riveting, forcing you to keep your guesses until the end. Even though I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and I didn't care much about which one of them died, I couldn't stop reading. The execution is definitely satisfying. The ending is also well wrapped up, and all my questions are answered without any loopholes. I’m giving it four mysterious teen drama stars, and I'm looking forward to reading more works of Jessica Goodman in the near future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/Razorbill for sharing this digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

i'm a little disappointed... i was expecting something better. i found it to be very much in surface, repetitive, and just not as engaging as i wanted it to be. jessica goodman's best novel remains her first one.

thank you to penguin teen for this arc!