Official Review: Legacy by Melissa Goetz McCaughan

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 05 Apr 2016, 23:54

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Legacy" by Melissa Goetz McCaughan.]

3 out of 4 stars

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“Lagacy”, by Melissa Goetz McCaughan, is a historical fiction novel set in Cincinnati, Ohio. The story begins with the main character, Anna, at a crossroads in her life. She has become a very frustrated writer. She’s always wanted to write a novel since the age of eight, but has dispassionately followed where life has led her and isn’t happy with what her life has become because of the decisions she has made. She works at a “mind numbing temp job at the FedEx warehouse” to support herself and her live-in boyfriend, Patrick. He is an aspiring actor waiting for his big break. She has come to the realization that they are two people wanting completely different things in life.

Anna is trying to find herself and hasn’t given up on her writing. The place she feels most inspired is at the cemetery, however lately even the cemetery hasn’t helped with her writer’s block. Then one day she sees an apparition which turns out to be a relative from an earlier time. He has a mysterious mission for Anna.

The story evolves with the author’s use of each chapter devoted to a time in one character or the other’s life. There is well-balanced use of both dialogue and narrative to describe the characters and their situations and keep the story moving at a good pace. The story is well-written and the characters and plot are well-developed. Everything comes to a satisfying conclusion for all the characters.

This book was written for young adults and contains some adult content. That being said, the language used to tell the story seemed simple and for a much younger audience, like middle school or even upper elementary. I’m not sure if the story would hold the interest of a person old enough to handle the content of the story, but the adult content would not be suitable for a younger audience. Also, there were just a couple very minor mistakes in grammar, but they didn’t detract at all from the story.

The idea behind the story had good potential to be an exciting ghost/mystery story; however, it didn’t seem to be as much of a page-turner as I thought it would be based on the author’s synopsis. I’m not sure if the simple, day-to-day descriptions were intentional in order to emphasize how bored Anna was with her life, but the rest of the story continued with the same tone so there wasn’t really a build-up of tension. There was a nice resolution that made the story as a whole a pleasant read, but I felt like it could have been made a lot more interesting and exciting. If the story had started with a more dramatic appearance of the ghost at the cemetery to grab the reader’s attention, and then continued with a little more intensity, then I think the story would have been more exciting.

I also have a problem with the legacy that Anna was leaving. I can’t say why because it would spoil the ending, but the story gave the impression that what happened would be acceptable to have as a legacy and didn’t really explain why it was an acceptable legacy so young people might get the wrong idea about the situation. The story as a whole, for both Anna and her ghostly relative did show positive ways to deal with life situations, so in that sense it was an inspirational read.

I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was a nice, pleasant read for someone who is a young adult or older, and is looking for a short read that’s not too intense. People from the Cincinnati area might like to read this book also as it mentions places they might be familiar with in Cincinnati. This book was good in that it showed positive ways to deal with some of life’s problems, but I can’t give it 4 stars because although it is a pleasant read, it wasn’t amazing, and also because of the problem some people might have with the legacy.

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Legacy
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gali · Post by **gali** » 10 May 2016, 00:02

I enjoyed reading your review. Thank you for the great review!

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 12 May 2016, 08:59

The premise sounds very promising. Too bad about the flaws, though. Great job on the review.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 13 May 2016, 09:31

Great job on the review, Amheiser! You did a nice job in summarizing the story and pointing out the positives and aspects that could make the book better. It seems like it has great potential. I enjoyed reading your review, thank you!

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 13 May 2016, 09:36

gali wrote:I enjoyed reading your review. Thank you for the great review!

Thank you for commenting on my review. This book was a pleasant read. I like books that have a positive ending.

-- 13 May 2016, 10:38 --

hsimone wrote:Great job on the review, Amheiser! You did a nice job in summarizing the story and pointing out the positives and aspects that could make the book better. It seems like it has great potential. I enjoyed reading your review, thank you!

Thank you for your comments. I did enjoy reading this book, even though it seemed like it could have been made a little more exciting.

-- 13 May 2016, 11:21 --

kimmyschemy06 wrote:The premise sounds very promising. Too bad about the flaws, though. Great job on the review.

Thank you for commenting on this review. Although I was disappointed that this story wasn't a little more exciting, it still was a pleasant read with positive inspiration for some of life's dilemmas, and it was very well-written.

Shelle · Post by **Shelle** » 13 May 2016, 10:34

Great review! It sounds like a pleasant book, but not one you'd eagerly recommend or re-read several times.

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 13 May 2016, 12:11

Shelle wrote:Great review! It sounds like a pleasant book, but not one you'd eagerly recommend or re-read several times.

I agree. I guess I would recommend this book to someone who needs some inspiration to turn their life around in a different direction, but one read through would be enough to do that.

Post by **bookowlie** » 13 May 2016, 23:49

I enjoyed reading your thorough, balanced review.

It's nice to know that the book has just the right mix of dialogue and narrative. I have read a few books recently where there was either too much dialogue or too much narrative. I am glad that you enjoyed the story despite the issues you mentioned.

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 14 May 2016, 23:40

bookowlie wrote:I enjoyed reading your thorough, balanced review. It's nice to know that the book has just the right mix of dialogue and narrative. I have read a few books recently where there was either too much dialogue or too much narrative. I am glad that you enjoyed the story despite the issues you mentioned.

Thank you for commenting on my review. This story was very well-written and easy to read. It kind of reminded me of the Hallmark movies where everything ends up nicely.

e-tasana-williams · Post by **e-tasana-williams** » 15 May 2016, 16:04

Thank you for commenting on my review. This story was very well-written and easy to read. It kind of reminded me of the Hallmark movies where everything ends up nicely.[/quote]

Great, honest review. I'm the first to admit Hallmark-type stories have their place, like comfort food for the mind

Post by **bookowlie** » 15 May 2016, 20:16

Amheiser wrote:
bookowlie wrote:I enjoyed reading your thorough, balanced review. It's nice to know that the book has just the right mix of dialogue and narrative. I have read a few books recently where there was either too much dialogue or too much narrative. I am glad that you enjoyed the story despite the issues you mentioned.
Thank you for commenting on my review. This story was very well-written and easy to read. It kind of reminded me of the Hallmark movies where everything ends up nicely.

I like Hallmark movies, as long as I watch them occasionally. It's like very sweet desserts - if I eat them too often, I get sick of them.

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 16 May 2016, 09:52

I like the way you explained it, bookowlie. These kinds of books are like sweet desserts. They are good occasionally, especially after some reading that is very intense, and your mind needs a break or your mood needs a boost.

-- 16 May 2016, 11:01 --

Eatsleaves wrote:Thank you for commenting on my review. This story was very well-written and easy to read. It kind of reminded me of the Hallmark movies where everything ends up nicely.

Great, honest review. I'm the first to admit Hallmark-type stories have their place, like comfort food for the mind

[/quote]

I like that idea: comfort food for the mind. That's a great way to put it. After I read something that is very long and intense, I like reading something lighter for a change.

Kia · Post by **Kia** » 05 Jun 2016, 14:46

Thank you for your honest review of this novel. I just finished reviewing a book with a similar concept of the past and present coming together, and it is a really interesting method. It is strange though that the content is at a different reading level than the writing style is. That would definitely distract me.