BOOKS

Welcome back to Chloe’s Book Club — a community for book lovers from Chloe Lukasiak and Girls’ Life magazine.

If you're new here, hello and welcome, book lovers! Here's how this works: Each month we read, discuss and obsess over a new book; so if you haven’t signed up already, be sure to click this link and officially join the club. We’ll email you with Chloe’s Book Club updates, reading guides, special contests and giveaways, event invitations and more.

Here's a quick list of everything you'll find inside this post (and beyond). Just remember, *major spoilers* are ahead, so look for the spoiler ratings before you read!

LEGACY AND THE QUEEN — THE BOOK CLUB AT-A-GLANCE
+ Buy the book
+ Quick-Read Recap
+ Chloe's Commentary
+ The Playlist
+ Chloe's Discussion Questions
+ Details on how to participate
 

The September installment of Chloe’s Book Club stars Legacy and the Queen, a creative blend of sport (tennis anyone?), magic (ancient stringing crafts), fantasy (winged, fire-breathing horses) and finding your true self. To get 15% off your copy, head over to Barnes & Noble and use the code chloereads at checkout (offer available through September 30, 2019). Or, if you're shopping in store, CLICK HERE to snag a coupon. Psst: Be sure to share the discount with all the friends in your book club!
 

Ready to get started? Read on...

Spoiler level: High

Legacy and the Queen is a magical, fantastical dystopian story that starts out in a poor province. After a bad fire, Queen Silla has seemingly saved the country. Enter Legacy Petrin, a 12-year-old girl who helps her father run an orphanage. It’s just the two of them caring for a house filled with children because Legacy’s mother left the family—and we don’t know why.

Legacy has an old wooden racket that she loves to play tennis with—the handle is soft and worn with her prints. She practices against a wall whenever she can, even late at night. One of the kids, Van, is her age, and they’re very close friends. He notices that Legacy never misses a shot—even when it’s pitch-dark outside. He thinks Legacy has a grana—a special power reserved for only a select few.

Van encourages Legacy to leave the province and join the trials—a competition for kids from the provinces to attend the academy. At first, Legacy resists, but then her father demands that Van go work in the local mines to earn money. Legacy comes to realize that if she leaves, Van may be able to avoid those awful mines. If Legacy gets into the academy, she can keep winning at tennis. And maybe even be the best in the country. And then she’ll be able to earn the money her father needs for their orphanage.

Here’s the spoiler: Legacy wins the trials and attends the academy. But she doesn’t get along well with other attendees, who judge her for her burlap sack dresses and old wooden racket. But Legacy soon meet her people and finds friends in Pippa and Javi. With their help, Legacy gets her pyrus (winged horse), upgrades her racket and learns about her grana (special super power—which is glowing!).

Javi becomes Legacy’s builder, or trainer, and together with Pippa, the three of them overcome evil obstacles. Legacy uses chants that work like spells from The Book of Muse that Van found and gave her before she left home. Her powers help her defeat the reigning champion, Gia, in a tense match. This is a huge threat to Queen Silla—who turns out to be not really a force for good after all.

Legacy uses her powers and bands together with her friends to win the championship. She also finds out that her long-lost mother is Amata, Queen Silla’s sister. Her mother actually left Legacy the spell book—but we still don’t know exactly where Amata has gone…we just know she’s been banished. We *do* know that Silla was afraid of Legacy’s powers all along and had pulled some strings (um, magic strings) to try to keep her talent and influence down. Clearly, Silla’s plans failed, and Legacy wins more than just money from the championship: She discovers who she is and takes pride in her strength. She goes back to her father, Van and the orphanage with Pippa and Javi. They continue their training—and the fight for the provinces—in a magic field near Legacy’s house. 

Spoiler level: Medium

Hi guys, it's Chloe here!

I couldn’t help but read Legacy and the Queen super quickly. It’s so fun. What an empowering and unique story about tennis and magic! The main character, 12-year-old Legacy, faces many obstacles, both family and financial.

But no matter what difficult challenges lie in front of her, she forgets it all when she plays tennis. Her passion burns so brightly that the world seems less horrible—her problems seem smaller when she picks up her racket and hits the ball.

It’s crucial for everyone to have something they care about so deeply. Our passions allow us to deal with negativity and difficult circumstances because they can all be erased—or at least eased—when we are doing that special thing.

For me, that special thing was dance (and it still is), but I enjoy writing as well. When I feel particularly emotional or dealing with heavy problems, I find I can handle it all when I can lose myself in words or dance it all away. It happens all the time—you get so consumed in the task that it’s startling when your focus breaks and you’re brought back to reality. But I feel so grateful for those few moments where I was able to just be passionate about my hobby. And for Legacy, that’s tennis.

Legacy leaves her life behind to pursue tennis. She is forced to make sacrifices. And the people she cares about, like her father, Van and the “little ones,” have to make sacrifices as well.

I know what that feels like. My family is so supportive of my dreams and goals. They always have been—and I constantly feel guilt for the sacrifices they’ve made for me. While I appreciate it, I feel a huge pressure to succeed. My family isn’t pressuring me—I’m doing it to myself. It’s scary, and I feel that if I don’t do well, everything will have been for nothing.

Legacy risks it all for her own dream of winning and of helping other people. The character of Legacy really resonates with me because I felt like she and I are going through the same thing. You know a book is really powerful when it makes you feel less alone.

I really loved watching Legacy grow as a person. Her journey, although challenging, forces her to become stronger and more confident. It was inspiring to see her transform in this book. I felt like I watched her go from a young girl to a confident, powerful woman who is capable of anything. She shows us that we are all capable of doing whatever we set our minds on doing.

Spoiler level: Low

Sometimes, all is takes is a stellar playlist to make you move. Maybe you’ve found your own sports super power like Legacy did. (I feel amazing when I dance!) Maybe your jam is running, biking, walking, gymnastics or lifting. Whatever you do to sweat, this playlist will help you get into your body and—even better—into a good mood. Even better if you have a crew around like Van, Javi and Pippa: You can get the workout party started together!
 

 Spoiler level: High

1. Legacy feels a huge responsibility to help her father take care of the kids in their orphanage when the story begins. Have you ever felt responsible for a pet, sibling, grandparent, schoolwork or something else that’s super important? Would you have trouble leaving them—even if it meant you’d have a better opportunity and maybe even help others? How would you make that kind of difficult decision? Do you think Legacy should have left her province? Why do you think she should have stayed, or why is it better that she left?

2. We learn about the tennis star named Gia, whom Legacy really looks up to. Gia has crazy talent—and really cool style. Has any sports star influenced you? What do you admire most about that person?

3. The kids at the academy don’t seem to like Pippa—and they don’t let her sit with them in the cafeteria. Why do you think Pippa’s stone is black compared to their glowing red ones? And Javi! Why do you think the three of them hit it off so well? Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in with one group, but you found your people eventually?

4. You find out the details about Legacy’s grana. What is *your* grana? What do you really shine at? How do you feel about your own strengths—shy, unsure or proud? How can your own special skills help you in your home and school life?

5. Legacy learns about her family, her friends, her talent and her enemies by the end of the book. “But it’s who I am,” she tells her father about her tennis skills. What are you still learning about yourself? How are you still transforming and growing? And did you like the ending of the book? Why or why not?

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So you've read the book and you're ready to talk all things Legacy and the Queen? Wondering *exactly* how Chloe’s Book Club works and what it means to be a member? There are so many ways you can get involved—whether it’s solo, on social media or with your whole squad. Here's a quick list…
+ SOLO. Take your personal reading game to the next level by using Chloe's discussion questions as a guide for your own journaling and personal reflection. If you love to read, it could be fun to start a special book diary where you keep track of all your favorite novels—and the personal musings they inspired.
+ ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Share your thoughts on Legacy and the Queen using the hashtag #chloesbookclub on Twitter and Instagram. (Just remember: You have to have a public account for us to be able to see and respond to your posts!)
+ WITH YOUR SQUAD. Host an IRL book club party, of course! Check out the playlist for music ideas and Chloe's discussion questions for convo starters — then be sure to tag us in your snaps so we can share them.

by Chloe Lukasiak and Chloe's Book Club | 8/26/2019