Book Jacket:
Who—or what—is stalking the students at Oakhurst Academy?
In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic.
All the students at Oakhurst have magical powers, and although Spirit’s hasn’t manifested itself yet, the administrators insist she has one. Spirit isn’t sure she cares. Devastated by the loss of her family, she finds comfort with a group of friends: Burke Hallows, Lachlann Spears, Muirin Shae, and Adelaide Lake.
But something strange is going on at Oakhurst. Students start disappearing under mysterious circumstances, and the school seems to be trying to cover it up. Spirit and her friends must find out what’s happening—before one of them becomes the next victim…
Review:
If this series improves, it’s going to be really interesting. If it stays at this level, I’m going to throw it on the floor and stomp on it.
As you can tell, I have very mixed feelings about Legacies, the first book in the Shadow Grail series. There are a lot of reasons to be dissatisfied with this book, but it still drew me through to the end. There’s definitely something here, it just falls painfully short of its potential.
The premise certainly has an air of familiarity – a boarding school for kids with powers, a la Harry Potter or X-Men. But there is a darkness about Oakhurst that I really like, a tantalizing lack of safety – there are unknown enemies within and without, and some serious questions raised about what exactly the true purpose of the school is, and how much of what they’re being told is lies. The faculty even seem to have designs to keep the students from becoming friends. I love the mystery, the paranoia, and the sense of danger Lackey and Edghill have given this school.
Where the story falls flat on it’s face is in the characters and the emotional arc. Spirit’s loss of her family and how she deals with it is all utterly cliche. Her friends – with whom she bonds at ludicrous speed and why she trusts them I have no idea – feel vague and indistinct. Yes, I know what they wear and how they talk, but I never got a good idea of what made them – or frankly any of the characters in this book – tick. No one felt substantial or real.
The investigation into the disappearing students is the most interesting part of this book and why I saw it through to the end, but I was disappointed by the ultimate reveal of what the supernatural threat was. This might be my UF familiarity working against me, but to me it felt, again, cliche – though it did have some fun modern touches. And while I liked all the action at the end, Spirit’s big finale, her emotional moment, left me scratching my head. It came from nowhere, it didn’t make sense, and it didn’t work. It again brought home my frustration with how the characters in this book are lacking.
Despite everything, I still find myself vitally interested in all the unanswered questions about the school and the faculty, and intrigued by the hints Lackey and Edghill have sown throughout this book about the larger picture of what’s going on. I want to know!
Still, as a Mercedes Lackey fan, I was disappointed – frankly I expect more of her than this. But because I know what she can do, and because I like the premise and the mystery, I’m hopeful that this series could grow into its potential. So I will be picking up book #2 from the library, admittedly with some trepidation. And if you’re a fan of Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers series, or Rachel Hawkins’ Hex Hall, go ahead and give this one a try.
Byrt Grade: B
As Levar Burton used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it…
Unfortunately for Spirit, Legacies suffers from a surplus of neat ideas that never really bear too much fruit. While the mystery elements of the novel work well enough the world that the characters inhabit never manages to feel real. The characters themselves consistently manage to feel a bit flat with the rebellious teen (Muirin), the prim and proper young lady (Adeladie), the honorable jock (Burke), and the affable and near unflappable teen (Lachlan) never manage to really do anything to define themselves as individuals…In the end I felt that Legacies was more notable for what it failed to do rather than what it managed to accomplish. There are enough hints at something interesting and wondrous that the derivative plot and occasionally stiff “teen” dialogue feel more disappointing then I suspect they rightly deserve…I won’t be rushing out and grabbing a sequel mind you but Legacies was a breezy read and I’d give the series another shot with the hope that there is more world building and character development then the very little seen here.
The book drags in spots, e.g., when the authors go on and on describing the school and later when the kids seem slow to figure out exactly which mythological force is menacing students. Still, it’s a pretty good read. There’s a little romance, a lot of suspense, and a likable heroine. Legacies is the first book in the new Shadow Grail series, and fans of Kelly Armstrong and Stephenie Meyer will enjoy following the adventures of Spirit White and her friends.
Putting aside the obvious comparison to Potter, the first Shadow Grail teen fantasy is an exciting thriller in which the locale, creepy Oakhurst Academy brings the freshness with its foreboding sort of gothic ambience. Spirit is a terrific lead protagonist while the rest of her inner circle of BFFs comes out of the DC Teen Titan handbook. Still with a bit of romance, a lot of suspense and a young adult investigation into missing students, teenage fans will want to attend the dances at eerie Oakhurst Academy.
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