THE LEGACY
DANIELLE N. MCDONOUGH
THE BOOKS
The Legacy series is a coming-of-age story centered around a dystopian society. The series focuses on several children’s paths to adulthood and their struggle to discover the truth amid a world of lies. With so many unknowns, they must find out who they can trust and who is ready to betray them.
The Preparations
ISBN-978-1-950296-00-2 - Paperback
​
At sixteen years old, Myra has devoted herself to learning her people’s way of life and following every rule. Having a Clan Leader for a parent and growing up in the most prestigious village, she has always been told that The Clan is perfect.
The normal rhythm in which she lives her life changes quite suddenly when it is announced that the trials will be taking place in less than a year. Having little to no knowledge about this traditional challenge, which will determine the next Clan Leaders, Myra and the other potentials are given only six months to prepare themselves for an unknown future.
As the priorities in Myra’s life begin to shift, she finds herself losing friends and breaking rules in order to gain an advantage over the competition.
Myra starts to question her ideal image of The Clan when she meets a mysterious girl named Astra. Living far in the north, Astra has a very different view of the society in which they have both grown up. She asks questions to which Myra cannot even fathom the answers and holds secrets Myra can only guess at.
With the trials growing closer and closer every day, Myra starts to wonder if everything she’s believed about her people is true or if there are dark secrets buried beneath the well-ordered exterior of The Clan.
The Trials
ISBN-978-1-950296-02-6 - Paperback
​
As the trials begin, Myra and her team must learn to work together in order to achieve victory. They have been provided only a handful of cryptic clues to guide them through an unknown land:
1. Follow the rising sun to the east. It will lead you to the edge of the earth, and you will find the ocean: a vast expanse of water with waves that never cease rolling upon the sand.
2. Travel north along the coast until you see the great mountain crowned with eleven stone spires.
3. Climb the western face of the mountain. There you will find the writing on the rock.
4. Read the words carved in stone, solve their riddle, and all will be made known to you.
Without the protection of The Clan, the team struggles to survive as they attempt to navigate both the harsh elements and their internal conflict. What the team doesn't know is that an even greater threat may be lurking just out of sight.
​
​
​
The Return
ISBN-978-1-950296-04-0 - Paperback
​
After escaping the mountain, Astra and her team once again find themselves at the beginning of a long journey. As they struggle to reach The Land of The Clan before the winter falls, they must find a way to deal with the secrets they have learned and face the difficult decision of what they will do when they arrive.
Desperate as the team is to return to The Land of The Clan, Astra’s fear of what will happen next makes her hesitate. With everything that she and the others have learned about the history of The Clan, she wonders if they will actually be able to change the future or if their people will remain shadowed in lies forever.
Battling with guilt and haunted by dreams, Astra’s greatest fears are realized as she sees herself beginning to change. There doesn’t seem to be any path she can take that doesn’t require compromise. With her world falling apart, Astra begins to question who she should trust when she can’t even trust herself.
​
​
​
The Broken
ISBN-978-1-950296-06-4 - Paperback
​
In an unknown land, surrounded by strangers, Astra struggles to adjust as she is thrust into a new life. She is determined to bury her feelings of hurt and grief in order to protect The Clan. The task is made difficult by the presence of Todd, who she knows betrayed her and her teammates. She fears what will happen if he should ever make the existence of her people known.
​
At first, it appears that The People of the Brimming Lake have nothing in common with The Clan. However, underneath the surface, Astra finds that the core of who they are is not so different from her own people.
​
Conflicted by her desire to run away and her need to safeguard The Clan, Astra retreats inside herself to try to escape the darkness she sees in the world around her, a darkness stretching back to the beginning of time. As the last glimmer of hope fades from her life, Astra finds a new resolve to seek the truth, which has been hidden for half a millennium, and uncover the final mystery behind her people's legacy. ​