Legacy

by Jessica Blank

A powerful coming-of-age novel about a seventeen-year-old girl who joins a radical environmental movement in the Pacific Northwest.Ever since her older brother Andy died, Alison's life has been just as dark as her home in Tacoma, Washington. Her mom is in perpetual mourning, her father ran out on them, and after hanging out with Andy's hard-partying friends for a year, Alison's reputation is trashed. She planned on taking the path of least resistance during her senior year--hanging out with her punk rocker boyfriend and trying not to flunk out of school--until a massive fight with her mother pushes her over the edge, and she runs away. At first, joining a group of radical environmentalists who are occupying a Washington State forest is just about having a place to crash. But the ancient woods prove to be as vibrant and welcoming as they are vulnerable, and for the first time, Alison realizes that she might be more powerful than she thought. As tensions in the forest mount and confrontations with authorities get physical, Alison has to decide whether she's willing to put her own life on the line to fight for what she believes in. In this stunning literary work, Jessica Blank uses the anti-establishment and radical mood of the 1990s to show a girl grappling to find the strength and courage to do what's right . . . for the world . . . and for herself.

Genres: Young Adult

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since a book kept me up all night reading. How can you not though when you're reading a book set in the 1990s about a girl who goes to protect the redwoods with an environmentalist group? Maybe it's just that I was standing in the redwood forests of the Pacific Northwest myself not too long ago, but I could really imagine myself following the characters around in the woods and feeling like I was a part of their story.

I feel like this would be a good recommended read for someone looking for a book similar to Looking for Alaska. Lots of the same kinds of themes and a similar age group, but instead it's set on the opposite end of the country and the main character does not have loving parents.

This book probably won't win any awards, but as a reader who remembers the 90s and has felt the magic of an old growth forest, this was exactly the book I needed to spend all night reading.

[Teenreadsdotcom · Rating 4 out of 5]

LEGACY is author Jessica Blank’s latest novel. Blank has also written ALMOST HOME and KARMA FOR BEGINNERS along with several plays. In terms of plot and premise, LEGACY is very different from most of the YA books I’ve read, but it does explore the ideas of finding oneself and discovering purpose, common themes in many well-loved young adult novels.

LEGACY is about 17-year-old Alison, whose older brother, Andy, died in a car accident several years before the story takes place. Following her brother’s death, Alison’s personal and family life has become dark and difficult. Her experience in high school has not been great either, she has to deal with nasty bullying and her ability to graduate is in jeopardy due to absences. All Alison really wants to do is spend time with her punk-rock boyfriend and finally get out of Tacoma, Washington. However, when her boyfriend, Jeff, gets kicked out by his dad and Alison gets into a massive fight with her mom, the two of them decide to join a group of environmentalists protecting a forest of ancient trees from being cut down. It starts out has just having a place to stay and sleep at night, but soon Alison begins to understand the importance of protecting the woods from destruction. She begins putting herself on the line to work with the environmentalists and stop Cascade, the lumber company, from cutting down the trees. As she works for something she truly cares about, she finds compassion, true friends and something that inspires her and brings her the purpose she needed.

For the first couple of chapters, I had a hard time staying engaged with LEGACY and the novel moved a little slow. I was also frustrated by the somewhat stereotypically way in which Blank portrayed Alison, as a moody, bitter teen. Jeff, Alison’s boyfriend, also did seem possessive of her at times, though thankfully that situation was handled well in the story by Blank. However, once Alison arrived at the Free State, where the environmentalists were protecting the trees, the novel became much more interesting and picked up pace.

Towards the middle of LEGACY, I found it hard to even put the book down. It seemed like Blank wrote the book in a way that allowed the book to become better and more interesting as Alison’s life became better and more purposeful. I loved that the character of Alison became more confident and strong as the novel went on and how Blank constructed the friendships Alison and some of the environmentalists, it really showed how she was finding herself.

At times, the plot could be a bit redundant, but the character development of Alison and her personal journey of becoming more of her own person is really what makes LEGACY a well-written, interesting book. She grows from being a moody, frustrated, grief-stricken teenager into a powerful, caring person, which is not something that usually happens in shorter novels like LEGACY. The character development did not seem too rushed or awkward; it was a smooth transition that really showed the quality of writing in the novel. When I first picked up LEGACY, I was almost positive that I would not like it, but soon enough I couldn’t put it down and wanted to read even more. LEGACY is a quick, but great, read.

LEGACY is the perfect novel for anyone looking for a coming-of-age YA story, but with a more unique and unconventional plot. I would also recommend LEGACY to anyone looking for a quicker, but still worthwhile read or for anyone who is looking for a book that is not set (exactly) in the present day, as LEGACY takes place in the mid-1990s with many references to punk-rock culture.

Reviewed by Ansley K., Teen Board Member

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Legacy by Jessica Blank, 228 pages. G. P. Putnam (Penguin), 2018. $17.99.

Language: R (118 swears; 82 uses of the “f” word ; at least thirty scenes of drug usage, sex, police brutality, drug usage, brutality in general, self harm.); Mature Content: R; Violence: R.

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – NOT RECOMMENDED

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

In Tacoma Washington, right after teaching Alison how to drink with style, Andy drives off with his friends for a night of fun. The kind of fun he never returns from. Alison, her mom and dad deal with it by falling apart. Alison compensates by having sex with all of her older, now deceased, brother’s friends and then wonders why everyone at her school thinks she is a slut. Along the way she finds a boyfriend. He has dropped out of college and his great inspiration is a guy named Dirtrat. After getting kicked out of their respective homes Dirtrat advises them to join a sit in to protest the cutting of old growth trees.

This is historical fiction about an interesting time in our past. This a pivotal moment about how people can make a difference. But it is told through the eyes of confused and fairly repulsive characters, their language is offensive, their actions are chaotic and without logic, taking what could have been a really fascinating book down the trail of trash.

Lisa, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

We go back to the 90s in the Pacific Northwest for this tale of growing into yourself. Allison has had a crappy couple of years since her brother died while driving drunk. Her father left, her mother has been drinking, Allison has just been getting by--getting good grades so she can take her brother's scholarship to UCSB and not making any lasting connections. She's got Jeff, the guy she's dating, who is not into the man or capitalism, and doesn't work. Somehow, this ends them up in a situation where they go to a Free State, protecting Legacy--a thousand year old redwood tree. And then Allison finally has some space to breathe, think and realize what she wants for her own life.

It is that emotional journey that Allison takes that is so important here. And it isn't just emotions--she's realizing what restrictions society puts on people. Even on people like Jeff and the rest of the dudes hanging out at the school bus at the Free State. They are still worried about status and who's in charge even though they pretend to be free and throwing off the shackles of the man. I loved watching Allison grow here, especially in the shade of so many redwoods. This isn't really a book about a cause, but more a book about what fighting for a cause can do for you.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is hard for me to review, because I can't pinpoint exactly why I loved it. I loved Alison, flawed though she may be, and I loved watching her grow into a stronger person. I also loved the 1990's setting, and I loved the idea behind people coming together to save a majestic tree from being cut down.

Even though I loved all of those things, they're not necessarily the reasons why I loved the book. Something about this one just spoke to me, and I can't really put into words why that is.

My only complaint is the abrupt ending - I wish we knew what happened to Alison next! I think we were given enough context to figure it out ourselves, but I do really want to know if she ever talks to her mom again and heals that relationship.

[Danie Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been so satisfied and disappointed that I've finished a book in one night. If I didn't work in a few hours, I'd already be hiking through the woods. I can't quite place the emotions I'm feeling because there are so many but I know that I've never wanted anything more than to pause the world, hug my mom and climb a tree. This immediately became my favourite book ❤️

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably won't appeal much to high school readers because of the focus on protesting in the woods.

[Whitney Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I love coming of age stories.

[Daniel Alley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legacy is about a teenage girl who ventures out to the woods, throwing away her life in the process and stopping loggers from cutting down a forest

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read and a straightforward story line. The main character frustrated me a lot at times, but that is part of her character development. The ending is satisfying and overall I enjoyed it

[Brittany✈️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to get into at first but once I got into it was hard to put down! Has me wanting more though.

[J.A. Hoyt · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I believe I've figured out why I've been having such a tough time with YA recently: I keep choosing fantasy over rl and thrillers. We all know how hard it is to successfully word-build, and to not fall into overdone tropes and plots. Nowadays I feel like all of the ya fantasy I've been picking up has been exactly that- obvious, overdone, and obsequious (big word, but I have to go for the alliteration over here). You get my drift, drifty?

Meanwhile, I pick up books like Legacy (provided as an ARC through the publisher and my fellow teen librarian), and I'm in love. This felt real, and raw, and it made me think, reminding me of growing up and all of the crazy 90's punk and grunge things I was so enamored with (but never actually did, because my ma would kill me haha).

Legacy is set in the early 90's, and the main character is *for sure* 90's grunge allllllll the way. SHE PAINTS HER NAILS WITH WHITE OUT Y'ALL. Who else did that? Ok, maybe that's not totally grunge, but Allison is definitely the type of character who will make you smirk if you're a true 90's baby such as I.




After her boyfriend gets in a fight with his dad and gets kicked out, the two (and a tagalong named Dirtrat...yes. You read that right...) find themselves on a trek up to Cascades National park to join a group of radical environmentalists trying to stop loggers from clear-cutting the old growth up there.



What ensues is classic character growth and self-discovery, as well as a description of the woods that makes me want to run away and go live in a tree top.




In short, between the heavy dose of nostalgia and wanderlust, I appreciated this book and how different it's been from what I keep picking up.

[Debi]

On the one hand, I was fully invested and living this story as I read it. This is likely because it involves a path I could easily have taken: environmental activism and alternative colleges magnetized the teen me.

Elements of the writing style did pull me out of the story from time to time. For instance, the narrator sometimes refers to characters as "kids," and the late teen characters certainly would not have thought of each other in that way. There are also a few anachronisms, like the slang "cool cool." Likewise, there are places when the narration slips from first to second person: "I know what to say: I don't have to think about it every time. You just tell the truth, over and over, until it doesn't scare you anymore...Nobody taught me this. I taught myself."

As far as the language and behavior, none of it seemed out of the realm of realism. People act out. People seek comfort. If anything, the main character is surprisingly straight and narrow among those who revere deviance as a substitute for strength.

[Anna Smithberger]

I don’t know what to rate this book yet since my thoughts about it are all over the place. I think it tells an interesting story well, but it also swells in some places that pulled me out of the story. Overall, glad I read it.