Legacy

December 1, 2009
Gr 8-10-Lucas is 18 years old and going nowhere fast. Having dropped out of high school, he's decided on life as a mechanic and small-town anonymityuntil his mysterious billionaire father swoops in from Seraph City to tell him that he is, in fact, destined to become a superhero. Lucas's father is dying and needs someone to take over his work as the Raptor, a crime fighter who has spent his life trying to take back Seraph City from the thugs, petty criminals, and evil forces that have plagued it since Lucas left town as an infant. A surprise attack on the trailer park where Lucas and his mother live convinces him to take the gig, if for no other reason than to exact revenge on his now-dead mother's murderers. After rigorous training, Lucas eventually takes over as the city's resident billionaire philanthropist and hero. Action-packed and filled with gadgetry of all sorts, "Legacy" will serve well as an introduction to the superhero genre. Those already schooled in the lore of caped crime fighters may not be as impressed, as elements of the story are derivative of many classics. Some references to heavy drinking push this toward a slightly higher age group, but it is likely that middle-grade students will devour it as well."Nora G. Murphy, Los Angeles Academy Middle School"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2009
Grades 8-11 Eighteen-year-old high-school dropout and all-around slacker Lucas regularly gets too drunk to make it to his dead-end job at a garage on time the next day; he gets into fights with other guys like him; and his trailer-park mom has her own host of problems. But all this pales when a stranger shows up in town, claiming to be not only Lucas father but also rich and a superhero. Sniegoski injects just the right level of over-the-top twists and turns into a tale peopled with highly credible folks who swear, worry, plot against, and mistrust each other, and even, upon occasion, die. The superhero angle is offered with so much irony that its easy enough to swallow for the duration of this fast ride. The ending leaves open enough plot strands to make a sequel both likely and welcome. A solid genre-blender that has appeal to superhero comics fans, suspense lovers, and even those who just want a YA problem novel with a character looking for his identity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)