Legacy: the next big thing by V. Vokken

After the murder of her insanely wealthy and powerful parents in September of 1994, Sam Staten should have stayed home and mourned in private. or she could have drowned her sorrows in her parents’ liquor cabinet, or better yet, another one of her infamous parties, complete with spiked fruit punch and other shenanigans. 

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She definitely should not have created an elaborate plan so crazy that it just might work to find the person responsible for the (presumably) gruesome deaths of her mom and dad. And she most certainly should not have enlisted five other kids from her senior class in high school to help her: her hippie best friend Danny, Jordan the writer and his crush (shhh!) Alex-the wannabe rockstar, delinquent drama queen Morgan, and Jessica, a teenage genius with a dark past. They have very different backgrounds and relationships, but they all have one thing in common: an ax to grind with different people–some of whom are known criminals–around their coastal New York town who all seem to be far more connected than they originally thought. 

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Sam’s plan takes them into the seedy underbelly of New York City as she pieces the mounting number of mysteries together until she finds herself standing face to face with Enzo Cambiano, the underboss of the Cambiano Family, one of New York’s legendary Five mafia Families. She learns her parents were not who they said they were, the mafia has been at the center of her life for years and she never knew it, and most importantly, she better run and hide before another Staten bites the bullet–literally. 

 

Of course she does the complete opposite, despite her friends’ warnings, dragging them all further into the tangled web of the Cambianos. After a series of increasingly tragic disasters caused by Sam’s reckless determination, she’s ready to call it quits; she’s been to hell and back, and most of it’s her own fault. She’s got blood on her hands in the name of revenge and guilt on her conscience—life’s not much of a party anymore. But her friends, who have all been changed by having to overcome past grudges, dealing with romantic feelings, and battling internal conflicts, refuse to give up on her. This brings the story to one of self-discovery, maturity, and hope as Sam and her friends come to terms with their pasts and gain the power to shape their futures. So, with her friends by her side, the Cambianos on her trail, and the city's pulse pounding beneath her feet, Sam embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, determined to reclaim her rightful place in her world as it teeters on the edge of darkness.

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The explosive and gripping plot of Legacy, packed with highs and lows (and hopefully a few laughs, so we don’t all go nuts) is sure to make it an emotional rollercoaster; it also showcases the good, the bad, and the ugly of friendship, revenge, ambition, and love. It's about finding strength in each other when life kicks you down. It's about laughter through tears and standing tall when everything's falling apart. Most importantly, Legacy highlights how our lives are all intertwined and how being there for one person may not change the world, but it can change the world for that one person.

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Fasten your seatbelts, folks.