Legacy: How Much Can You Learn After You Know It All?

by Ron Underwood

Eli believed he knew it all at eighteen. Growing up in the city had taught him survival skills and selfishness, but not much else. His mom had grown up in a small town in Iowa and knew there was so much more to life than hanging out on street corners and living just for the day, and she knew she had to change the path on which she saw her son walking. She believed a summer in Iowa spent with his Grandpa could be the change Eli needed to become the good person she knew he was deep down, but he hated the idea and wanted no part of it. Could a few months spent with a man he barely knew really make a difference, or would it all be just a huge waste of time?

198 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2015

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes life’s most important lessons are conveyed with subtlety, and we’re barely aware that we’ve learned them until an opportunity arises where we must put our new skills or knowledge to the test. In Legacy: How Much Can You Learn After You Know It All?, Eli’s grandpa Carl delivers such lessons while also teaching Eli, a street-smart city boy, how to run a farm near a small town in rural Iowa. In this touching and inspiring story, written from some of the author’s own experiences and memories of his hometown, Grandpa Carl’s wisdom is relevant to old and young alike, and this story is a great one to share with teens and young adults.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of my 2015 reading challenge, I needed to read a book set in my hometown. Luckily, I found out that Ron Underwood published this book this year, and it's set in my hometown, Gowrie, Iowa. I have to admit, I wasn't positive I'd like it (before I read it). I left small-town Iowa for a reason. It just was not for me as an adult. So I was suspicious. Well, I really liked this book. The writing is good and the story and characters are pretty well-developed. And it was super fun knowing all the details mentioned in the book's setting, and even some familiar character names!