Legacy

learning to love after tragedy....I loved this book. It shows how easily we humans could get addicted to drugs that make us feel good. Altering emotions is a very tempting prospect...take a pill and you wont' feel the pain. Wow....and this shows how that could be taken too far. Great Book!

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This book is unbelievable.

I feel like I should start the review with that. Also, I'm at a loss for words for this book. Nothing that I say can wrap up the perfection that is this book.

The plot? Amazing. Original. Something I'll be talking about for years.
The characters? I connected to them instantly. I felt like I was in the book, and they were MY friends, too.
The setting? Breathtaking. I seriously felt like I was actually there.

Honestly, you would never be able to tell that this is Ellery Kane's first book. She writes better than some people who have written tons of books. The way she described the world in its crumbling, ruined state really blew my mind. The way she makes the reader really, truly connect to the characters is something I've never really seen before, and I've been reading for a very long time. The whole plot - where the world has been ruined by the development of the drug Emovere, which controls the ability to feel fear (and other drugs that were later developed, which allows for the control of other emotions, as well), and eighteen year old Lex, along with a few others, has to try and make things right- is also something I can honestly say I've not seen yet, either. It's one of those rare books where I'm not sitting there rolling my eyes and wondering where I've read the same generic elements time and time again. It's original.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I wanted to start it again as soon as I put it down. I cannot wait until the next book!

Set in 2041 San Francisco, Lex joins the Resistance to fight the Guardians. She and Quin work to destroy the labs on Alcatraz Island making the mind altering drugs that keep the Guardians in control. Surprisingly, this is a story of a mother and daughter loving and helping each other through terrible times. This is a very realistic science fiction story that is an enjoyable read.

Legacy by Ellery Kane was a great read, I couldn't put it down even though I had a big pile of school work to get to. I kept reading further and further, wondering if Lex was going to make it and if Quin was going to be alright.

The story takes place in 2041, where emotion-altering drugs like Emovere have taken over society. San Francisco, once populated by many, is now deserted. There are two sides: Guardians, a government-appointed military police force set to maintain order, and the Resistance, those who fight back. Lex's mother drops her off at the outskirts of San Francisco with a flash drive she has to deliver. Once she finds the Resistance she takes a liking to Quin McAllister, a former Guardian Force member turned good. His past holds a lot of secrets that haunt him and make him push Lex away. Can the two of them, along with the rest of the Resistance, expose both the dangers of Emovere and corruption of the Guardians without losing one of their own?

After finishing this book I took a look at some other reviews, and one detail many people point out that I totally agree with is that it's hard to tell that Legacy is Ellery's first book. The plot was hooking, sentence flow was mostly good, and sentences were nice and descriptive. I do kind of feel as if in the beginning there were a few sentences with commas that didn't need them, but hey, I'm no English teacher. I also feel like a few times the book mentioned Lex's jealousy of Quin a few times in a really short period, but again, it's minor stuff and not a big deal. Nothing jumped out at me as bad, downright wrong, or just flat out of place in the book, so that's a sign it's very well written. I also find it neat that Ellery (the author) made Lex's mother similar to herself - they both evaluate criminals and live around San Francisco. Excluding the epilogue, I feel that the final sentence of this story is perfect.

Overall, it was a fun and thrilling dystopian story. I know some people have mixed feelings about dystopian stories since they're all the rage nowadays, but I would say that this is one worth reading. Believe it or not, I was more motivated to read this book than Divergent, so I think that's a good way to put into perspective how interesting and hooking Legacy is. My copy of this book came with a little plastic card containing a code to give to a friend so they can download the ebook for free. Cool stuff! Looking forward to the sequel!

I was attracted to this novel first by the cover depicting the SF Bridge, second by the name of the author, Ellery Kane which of course reminded me a great deal of Ellery Queen. Third, the author is a forensic psychologist which was the eventual when-I-grow-up goal of one of my best friends in high school - back when I though forensics only had something to do with guns. I'm always intrigued and enlightened with people with backgrounds other than in English lit write books. This dystopian novel begins with the fragmentation of a family... then of a belief system... and finally, a nation.

Summary: Lex remembers when her father still loved her and her mother. When her mother had been a psychological researcher instead of a superstar, making biopharmaceutical news with mood-suppressing drugs which gave a anxious and fearful populace the ability to go on. When they lived happily in Tiburon, and things were normal, the internet was safe and everything was fine. Now she's eighteen, the world has unraveled, and "fine" hasn't been seen for a long, long time.

The drug Emovere, her mother's brilliant invention, turned out to be a chemical evil unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Thought to be useful to the government as a way to prevent wartime post-trauma stress, it was instead embellished upon and given to Guardian Force soldiers - the elite government-appointed military police force - to block all of their emotions and to turn them into emotionally deadened machines. After speaking out forcefully and repeatedly, Lex's mother resigned from the biopharmaceutical company and cut ties with the government, and now spends her time at home being harassed by men in unmarked black cars. The government believes her a disloyal defector -- but they have their hands full with riots, mobs, drug addicts, and a rapidly devolving society. San Francisco has been evacuated by Guardians - but Lex has to get to them with hew information for the Resistance. It's her mother's plan - her face is simply too well known to sneak into the city, and if she goes missing from the house, the men in the black cars will have questions... Lex is the only one who can do this, and the only way to contact the Resistance is to go into the bombed out, silent, evacuated city.

Or, so Lex's mother says.

They'll come to her, Lex is assured, if she just waits in the place they select. The Resistance knows she's on her way. But, it's not as easy to find the resistance as Lex had hoped - and once she does, she's not sure she trusts them. The big, military-looking boy, Quin McAllister, who leads her to the underground has a Guardian tattoo on his arm - so, how is he safe? Why does the leader, Augustus, give her the creeps, with his wide, genial smiles and his lifeless eyes? And when can she go home?

Truths within lies and more lies are revealed as Lex joins the Resistance. There has to be a way to fight - and retrieve the world they know from the hands of General Ryker, the sadistic head of the Guardians. But Lex keeps finding out more about the people she's working with - and more secrets about the boy she's come to love. In the end, your history matters more than you might think - your legacy, and what you leave behind. And, what you don't know - and what your mother has kept a secret out of what she thought was love - can still hurt.

Peaks: This is a fast-paced, fairly typical dystopian novel with some interesting twists. Fans of books like ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the CHEMICAL GARDEN series or other novels wherein the populace is keep complacent or breeding or whatever with drugs or fans of novels like PARTIALS which have super-soldiers will find something to like. Lex's relationship with her mother - and with other dynamic leaders - is at the core of this novel, and made me think of how I react to people in leadership. I think that's always a good topic to delve into for young adults. Layered on top of that are her issues with love and trust which thread through the novel - and her ability to see personalities and reactions and behaviors are a direct result of having a mother who is an extrovert and who explains her work to her. This makes her a good protagonist and the reader feels like they understand what's going on. This also makes the action feel very close and the suspense very suspenseful.

There is an ensemble of friends who become important to Lex, in contrast to her somewhat isolated life before this crisis. The Resistance allows the novel an authentic-feeling diversity, and for once supplies a dystopian novel with someone other than just teens to save the world. Of course, this being a YA novel, the teens play a large role.

Valleys: It's never clear what happens to the world initially - and how it all comes so far apart. Why is the government recruiting so hard for the Guardians? Is there an outside threat? A lot of the antecedents for this crisis are murky.

There is a romance in this novel - one that is both a little speedy and intrusive for me, in light of the danger that they're in. It also is a little questionable. Love is put forth as a panacea to soothe the savage beast, and Lex is in a relationship with former soldier, Quin, who after his drugging has trouble controlling his emotional reactions. When his jealousy spikes and he's punching walls, it's clear he's dangerous - but it seems the answer to that is that "love conquers all." After Lex withdraws from him, Quin decides he's going to be a better person, and works to understand himself, reading psychology books and whatnot... and while this is indeed the baseline of what it takes to make personal changes - actually becoming informed and making an effort - it all seems to happen pretty quickly for me. This is unfortunate, especially since this appears to be a series - I feel it would have been okay to let the situation just sit for a bit - and let readers see and understand the time this sort of thing takes, and let Quin and Lex be just friends a bit longer.

Conclusion: A cleanly-written beginning to an action-packed Bay Area dystopian adventure - though San Francisco seems to be the city most often destroyed in dystopia, at least in this book, it's only the Bay Bridge that's been bombed flat. Sequels forthcoming - maybe they'll rebuild.

Refreshing to read the first in a trilogy that can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Set in 2041, this book looks at a US where a failed economy and perceived threat of internal terrorism, have caused some major cities to be completely ruined and almost deserted, with the population in a perpetual state of fear.
Lex is the daughter of a brilliant scientist who may have been the catalyst to this troubled new world. Her mother invented a drug that was meant to stop criminals from re-offending by dampening the brain's ability to react to emotions; i.e. Anger,jealousy, hate etc. Instead, this has been abused by some to quell fear and empathy, and create ruthless Guardians, (in other words the Home guard) who patrol the streets quelling the citizens freedom with intimidation and violence.
Lex is sent by her penitent mother into an abandoned San Francisco to deliver a message to an underground movement called the Resistance. There she meets Quin, an ex-Guardian, now Resistance fighter who's past is somehow caught up with Lex's own. Together, they uncover terrible secrets about the Guardians, the Resistance itself and quickly learn to trust no-one.
A very fast-paced dystopian novel in the vein of the Hunger games and Divergent triologies, Legacy uses the author's knowledge of the lasting effects of violent crime on those who witness or are a part of these events, to provide credibility to the main characters' strengths and weakness. All are vulnerable, at times lost and weak, which makes their words and actions, and especially their mistakes, more believable. Infused With the confusion that surrounds one's first physical love, this book contains sexual references, drug use and violence that would classify it for readers over the age of 15. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

My Rating: 3 stars

My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I wasn't really sure what to expect with this novel, but I really enjoyed it. I thought Kane did a great job creating a well written, engaging book.

The characters were intriguing, and I definitely enjoyed it.

San Francisco has been deserted. The only people left are part of the resistance. Victoria Knightly is a psychiatric researcher who is responsible for a drug called Emovere which suppresses fear. Sadly, the government finds out too late that it is a dangerous drug. By the time the government tries to stop the chaos, it is too late. The Resistance wants the drug "removed from the market." The guardians are former soldiers who have taken Emovere are now the police for the city. Victoria feels guilty so sends her daughter with a flash drive to cross the dangerous San Francisco Bridge to give to the leader of the Resistance. What is on the flash drive? Lex, Victoria's daughter meets Quinn McAllister who is a former Guardian turned Resistance. He takes her to the leader.

In this dystopian thriller, you will find romance, PTSD, and child abuse. It shows a dark emotional story about rebellion. It is written well. Once, I started reading this novel, I could not stop.