Tori Tasso is the surprise nominee for the Legacy Club, being a scholarship student suddenly introduced to a world of wealth, power, and privilege. Now she’s coming into constant contact with students who have previously ignored her, and quickly learning they’re not as perfect as they first appear. As the Legacy Ball approaches, everyone’s secrets start to spill, leading to a death.

The writing of this book is really effective. Goodman cuts back and forth from after the ball to before, so readers know someone dies-and start collecting clues-but don’t know who the unlucky character is or the exact details of their death. Goodman also uses multiple female povs to let readers into the heads of the most important characters.

This book was very suspenseful and went down smooth. I would recommend this book.

#NetGalleyARC Another great YA novel by Goodman. This one has a Gossip Girl feel, mixed with some reminiscence of Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl. Another YA book full of multiple POVs and time hops, but this one was pretty manageable. A great thriller for the upcoming fall season.

Oooh, I really liked this one. I just was on the edge of my seat the entire time while reading this book. It managed to suck me in completely and just not let me go. I really liked the kind of dual time line we got in this book. It really helped with keeping the intrigue, in my opinion. I also quite liked the cast of characters. I mean, they are all really unlikeable but their dynamics together are just so full of drama and it was amazing to read. Honestly, rich people drama is my guilty pleasure, and this delivered really well. I also liked all the different reveals throughout this book. I did see some coming but I thought it was still really well executed. I don't really know how to talk about this book properly without talking about any spoilers, but just know I had an amazing time reading this book, and I definitely recommend it if you like rich people drama, and vibe with an elite club setting as well. I am a big fan!

If you really like the show gossip girl, then this book is meant for you!

I genuinely couldn't put this book down, I really wanted to know whodunit. I liked the way the first few pages really grasped my attention.
This book dives into the life of rich kids and their problems and as they try to make it to the Legacy Ball. That Ball grants you "for life" privileges in the society that is why so many people are trying to make a perfect presentation. Unfortunately the events don't unfold as they expected as someone didn't survive.

My favorite character was Tori, I liked her little bubble chapters with her family out of the rich drama.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me this e-arc.

This book was giving Gossip Girl and I’m here for it.
It’s no secret that I love Jessica Goodman. I have all her books and I’ve enjoyed them all.

There are many character POVs from the past as well as current day when the events are happening. That was super helpful in not getting confused. I’m usually not a fan of multiple POVs but the characters were all different so I never had any issues.

I sped through this one so quick. I was intrigued the entire time. From the start you know there’s a death but we don’t know who. Trying to solve who the killer and victim are was so fun!

I absolutely loved this one and I think anyone who enjoys YA mysteries will love it.

Jessica Goodman's books have such interesting plots and premises, and I love a little bit of rich people drama. I do think there are some sections of this book that just serve to make it longer, and I think that overall this is not the strongest YA thriller I've ever read. But it is fun and kind of ridiculous. I think people who loved gossip girl specifically for the drama will love this book. It doesn't have as likeable characters as gossip girl, but the rich people infighting is definitely solid.

I couldn't put this down. I loved the Gossip Girl-esque drama/mystery. Rich kids and adults behaving badly is one of my favorite genres. So much betrayal and lying, cover ups and blackmail....all of my favorite things, especially when I have no skin in the game.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Jessica Goodman is back with another phenomenal teen thriller! If you enjoy Holly Jackson then you will like Jessica Goodman. The Legacies is quite the page-turner! I would recommend to teen and adult thriller readers alike! A very satisfying read.

I fell in love with Goodman’s writing last year after reading The Counselors and was extremely excited when I heard the premise for her latest release, The Legacies. This book is made for people who love dark academia and rich people problems with a YA flare.

Goodman unravels The Legacies through the eyes of several narrators: Bernie, Isobel, and Tori. Each girl felt genuine in her actions and decisions based on the backstories that Goodman revealed to the reader over time. I loved watching their worlds collide and trying to guess what would ultimately happen.

To make things even more suspenseful, the reader knows from the start that a death has occurred at the Legacy Ball, but we’re forced back in time by three days to tensely march toward the fateful event. Goodman keeps the suspense, tension, and guesswork moving forward by including glimpses into the events after the ball. These chapters are short, but provide lots of fun hints and red herrings.

If you’ve ever been a fan of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars, I think this book perfectly fills that void with all of the teenage drama, lies, secrets, and deception you could want!

A huge thank you to Penguin Teen & Razorbill for my gifted copy!

"We're all here for a reason, one predetermined and predestined, set into motion by our parents or grandparents or the powers that surround our very beings. None of us are better or more skilled or more special than the others. We're all here because of who we know, and what those closest to us feel that we are owed."

Bernie Kaplan and Isobel Rothcroft are both students at the exclusive Excelsior Prep, just like their parents were before them. They know exactly what their lives will hold, starting with nominations to the exclusive Legacy Club, which will help catapult them to all the best colleges and careers afterwards. Bernie knows she's destined to marry Skyler Hawkins, the son of her father's law partner, Lulu Hawkins (who is also her mother's best friend). Everything is going according to plan. Except that Bernie's mother, Esther, who's been preparing her for Legacy Week all her life, has suddenly vanished and Bernie has no idea where she is...

Isobel is keeping a devastating secret from her best friend and it's causing her drug and alcohol habit to spiral out of control. And besides that, she's thinking she may not really want to be part of the Legacy Club...

And then there's the Legacy nominee that shocks everyone. The one no one was expecting. Tori Tasso, the scholarship student with no money or connections. No one can figure out how Tori got nominated, why she's there with them. What secret could Tori be holding? And when the Legacy Week culminates in the decadent Legacy Ball, will all of them survive the night?

"The Legacies" was an interesting enough read with decent plot twists. The whole book shifts narrators between Bernie, Isobel and Tori divided by small, short sections where the story goes back to what is happening the night of the ball in the Legacy Club. Bernie and Tori are the most enjoyable characters. Isobel's addiction to substances kind-of defines who she is, and she's taking new things to slide off into oblivion in practically every single chapter. Addiction is a sad and terrible condition, but it makes for a rather boring character, especially when a lot of the problems that Isobel is running from are of her own making and she refuses to take responsibility for any of them, even if she knows she's in the wrong. Skyler is the thoroughly unlikeable slimy, preppy jerk boyfriend.

Most of the family members of all three narrators are complicated people, except for Tori's family. Being low income, they are mostly grounded and lovable people. Side characters are also usually likable people with the possible exception of Tori's partner, Joss, who seems only to be concerned that Tori is joining a 'rich people's club' and that it's causing her anxiety and she's tired of hearing Tori go on about it. Although she accuses Tori of being self-absorbed, she is the one who comes across this way.

There are things in this book that I feel wouldn't be appropriate for younger teenagers. There's also a lot of profanity in the book. I know that's how high school age kids talk these days, but it still feels a bit unnecessary. All in all, I would have enjoyed it more with a few more characters I could root for and a bit less language, but the story was still okay for fans of mystery and high school drama. If a person liked "One Of Us Is Lying", I believe they would probably enjoy this book as well, and those are the readers I would recommend it to. Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin Young Reader's group for the advanced reader's copy.

(3 POV from three main characters)

Regal club “elite”high school seniors are trying to get into with one outsider who is mysteriously connected… plot sounds good right.
But ugh..This book was so hard to get into and get through. I like the twisted plot but it felt so dragged out to get to and it really wasn’t enough for me. If it wasn’t an ARC read I wouldn’t have pushed myself so hard to finish. I would suggest this is a definite YA book also.

#legacies #netgalley #jessicagoodman #keepreading

Blackmail, secrets, and so many drugs! The Legacies was a tense and thrilling book that I devoured, eager to find out what had happened and who was the one who was murdered.
It took me a moment to gain my footing, it really dropped me right into the story at the beginning, I had to take a minute to be like...wait? What's happening? I soon became immersed in the opulent world of the rich and powerful, rich kids and murder really pair well together.
I really loved the Jewish representation, and how some characters had their heads on straight.
I felt like I spent so much of the book waiting for action, or waiting for a reveal. When the reveal did happen at the end it felt....like a let down? It was revealed as if it was a big twist and a huge shock, but I just didn't find myself that into it.
This is one of those stories where everything could have been avoided with communication and one conversation, which makes it a bit frustrating to endure.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and it just felt there were so many at times in order to drag the story out a big longer. It just felt like none of them had any depth. Not in a "shallow/rich" way, but in a one dimensional character kind of way. I didn't really feel like they were in any danger, nor did I care what happened to them at all. They just spent all their time partying and that was it?
Everything regarding Bernies' Mom just felt...meh.
I ended up loving Isobels' POV the most, as she spiraled deeper into addiction the writing really conveyed her mood and unstableness.
I don't know if part of the story was meant to criticize, or be a bit of a metaphor for classism, and what gossip and power does to people. If it was then I don't think it should have ended the way it did. Or maybe showing that rich people can get away with anything was the point of the book.
I liked the concept a lot, but I feel the execution could have been better. It didn't really feel like a murder mystery to me.
If you really like YA Thrillers, then give this a read. If you are on the fence about this book, maybe check out some reviews before delving in.

The mystery and whodunit aspect of the book was done really well. The book opens with a missing person and a murder and then throws all these despicable characters at you. I enjoyed the suspense and the ending.

However, I didn't like the characters and the basic storyline of rich kids with one misfit felt like something I've read 100 times before. I was also disappointed we didn't get much of the school setting I was hoping for.

However, if you're looking for a fun mystery that you could ready on one sitting this is definitely choice.

Gossip Girl meets I Know What You Did Last Summer, with a dash of The Skulls in this story full of betrayal, longing, and murder where no one is exactly who or what they seem.

I've read other Jessica Goodman books and loved them so the bar was set pretty high and I wasn't disappointed.

I found myself alternating between jealous and terrified at what the children of the erlite were doing, while being fascinated at how this story played out.

With legacy comes privilege, with privilege comes responsibility, and with responsibility, well apparently that's just murder. At least it does on the upper east side.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a YA mystery that revolves around an exclusive grouping of people. There are many character POVs from the past as well as current day when the events are happening. I appreciate the back and forth as things are happening to understand how things got to be where they are. There is a lot more than meets the eye for this group beyond the glitz and glamor of a high society. Some of the group seem to know there are bigger issues than the Legacy Ball and some are completely in the dark. The twist at the end is not fully what I was expecting which was a nice surprise.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, this is a voluntary honest review.

Each year, a collection of the most elite high school seniors on the Upper East Side get an invitation to join the ultra-exclusive Legacy Club. Entry into the secretive club will grant members a lifetime of access to power, wealth, and so much more. But when something goes wrong at the Legacy Ball - the night the new seniors finally get inducted - there are many questions about what happened and who is behind it.

Jessica Goodman is back with another Gossip Girl-esque teen thriller! I love the suspense she builds in her stories as well as the teens misbehaving. Throughout the book, I was wondering not only who died, but who was behind it. There were so many secrets to uncover along the way that kept me guessing and invested in this story from beginning to end. This book was fast-paced and fun to read!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy. #PenguinTeenPartner #TheLegacies

The Legacy Club is one of NYC's most exclusive and wealthy social clubs, and every year a small number of privileged seniors attending the city's most elite private schools are nominated to participate in an initiation week leading up to the famed Legacy Ball. The only catch is that you have to know someone in the club to have a chance of being nominated in the first place, and most of the nominations are already spoken for. Students like Berni Kaplan, whose mother is a club member, have been destined for this moment their entire life. So when Tori Tasso, a scholarship student at Excelsior Prep whose family is struggling financially, is nominated to join the elite, it catches everyone else off guard and leaves them wondering how she possibly could have earned her nomination.

The Legacies follows Tori, Berni, and Isobel in the week leading up to their initiation into the club at the Legacy Ball, a night filled with beautiful gowns, glamour, and memories that will last a lifetime. However, fate takes a dark turn as this year's ball ends in the murder of one of the club's newest members. But who did it, and what was their motive?

This is the second book I have read by Jessica Goodman, and it did not disappoint! The author kept you guessing who the murder victim would be as the story alternated between the days leading up to the Legacy Ball and the night of, heightening the suspense. Overall the book was well-paced, hard to put down, and a fun YA read. I highly recommend it to fans of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Razorbill for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jessica Goodman can do no wrong in my opinion. I’ve loved all of her YA thrillers and this one was no different!

Bernie, Isobel, and Tori have been nominated for the exclusive Legacy Club. With their entrance to this club will come a lifetime of power and wealth. The story alternates between the three girls’ POVs. I loved the alternating perspectives and seeing how their lives and secrets would unfold.

The Legacy Ball is the main event that will cement the girls as members of the club. But the night won’t go off without a hitch — by the end of the night, someone winds up dead.

I really liked how Goodman alternated between the events leading up to and the events during the Legacy Ball. The writing was engaging and I found this to be a super quick read!

As someone who didn’t always have a love for reading, I wish I would’ve had books like Goodman’s to read when I was in high school! I love the YA genre so much and can’t wait to read more of @jessicagoodman’s work!

Read if you like —
🗝️ multiple POVs
🗝️ short chapters
🗝️ books about exclusive societies
🗝️ Gossip Girl

The Legacies is full of secrets, lies, deception, and privilege amongst old money as six teens from Excelsior Prep get tapped for the exclusive Legacy Club and someone ends up murdered.

I love the look into the lives of rich prep school crowd and what money and power does to people. This is only my second book by Jessica Goodman but she writes some pageturners! Trust no one!

This one gives off Gossip Girl vibes. There’s privileged private school kids being initiated into an exclusive club, plenty of drinking and partying, and always that one scholarship student trying to fit in with the rich kids.

A death is revealed in the present timeline and is slowly unraveled in between chapters that tell what’s been happening in the days before. There’s also another mystery hinted at that, to me, was the more intriguing of the two, even though I figured out one of the reveals. Add in a missing mother with secrets and you have a fun YA mystery full of betrayal, backstabbing, and teens behaving badly.