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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Name That Genre #7

TITLE:
GENRE: Secret



The day after her grandmother died, Ivy Jane sat alone in the back yard breathing in the unexpected lilacs. The scent was jarring. Lilacs weren’t supposed to bloom in August, when it was too hot to move and the sky was just a blank space overhead.

“Dude, you trying to get a suntan or something?”

Ivy rolled her eyes at the Q-tip shaped shadow of her favorite cousin.

“Ha ha. Yeah. Cause I need one so bad. And since when did you start calling people ‘dude’?”

“Since I hardly ever see you, I guess there’s a lot you don’t know about me anymore.”

“What do you mean, ‘hardly ever see you.’ Wasn’t I with you yesterday?”

“You know what I mean.”

Hunter was right, thought Ivy sadly. He – and all the rest of her cousins – had changed a lot since she’d last visited, including the fact that he was now much taller than she was

26 comments:

  1. Realism and Coming of Age

    I like this, but it is hard to get past Lilacs in August. Unless that is key to the plot, it might just be too bothersome.

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  2. Contemporary.

    Didn't seem to have any specific markers of other genres.

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  3. Contemporary
    Possibly contemporary romance or a coming of age tale, but I didn't have enough to hazard a guess.

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  4. Contemporary realism.

    Word choices: dude; suntan; Q-tip. Plus nothing to indicate historical, sic fi or fantasy.

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  5. Contemporary: sun-tan, q-tips, backyard, dude.

    Just a note: one breathes smells, not entire plants. ;)

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  6. Contemporary: sun-tan, q-tips, backyard, dude.

    Just a note: one breathes smells, not entire plants. ;)

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  7. YA? Contemporary. Realism. But beyond that, no idea.

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  8. YA Contemporary

    The language indicates it's today (or maybe recent past).

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  9. Realistic Fiction.
    Seems like a YA set in current times that will explore death/change.

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  10. Realistic Fiction.
    Seems like a YA set in current times that will explore death/change.

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  11. I can't tell.

    I think it's a Contemporary, based on the dialogue with the cousins, but the lilacs in August and "the sky was just a blank space overhead" made me wonder if it was Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or even Dystopian.

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  12. YA contemporary.

    The feel from the dialogue makes it seem YA with a realistic feel.

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  13. MAGICAL REALISM.

    I have two lilacs trees in my backyard. They are magnificent trees and the great scent is strong. I know they cannot bloom in the summer (no way!) and they bloom just a few days. So, there's something unusual going on here.

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  14. YA contemporary

    The tone of the conversation and focus on growing up and growing apart sets this one clearly into YA, but beyond that...I'll go with contemporary because nothing jumped out at me to contradict the hypothesis.

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  15. Contemporary YA. Maybe Multi-Cultural. Coming-of-age maybe.
    The sarcasm about the tan makes me wonder if her skin is naturally dark? The lilacs may have something to do with the grandmother's death - a sort of metaphor?

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  16. Magical Realism
    Mainly because of the lilacs blooming in August. That shouldn't be happening.

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  17. YA Magical Realism

    Lilacs blooming right after her grandmother's death suggests something slightly magical.

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  18. Contemporary

    Dude, q-tip, the lilac blooming at the wrong time after her grandmothers death hints at magic realism, but elements like this can also be a part of contemporary, so that's what I'm going with this.

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  19. Magical Realism. Lilacs blooming in August. Otherwise realistic and contemporary.

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  20. Paranormal.

    Grandmother died and will come back to protect her from the other side.

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  21. Contemporary. The bits about them not seeing each other so much anymore and him having gotten so tall would hint of coming of age romance to me, if he weren't her cousin, but the hint/joke about her skin color makes me wonder if maybe she's adopted? It makes me think she's different from him anyway.

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  22. Contemporary YA. Implied age pf character; coming of age possibilities.

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  23. Contemporary Coming of Age.

    MC notices changes in her cousins' looks and actions. Dialogue suits fairly modern times.

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  24. Contemporary

    A summer with cousins - I could see it going romance or coming of age
    but could take a turn and be a mystery or thriller too. But whatever, it's contemporary

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  25. Thanks everyone for your guesses!!
    This is an Upper MG Ghost Story.
    Some might call it Paranormal but I've been advised by several agents to be more specific about its being a ghost story - so I'm following their advice!!
    Those of you who caught the lilacs-blooming-out-of-season thing were right on target!!
    Thanks again, and good luck to you all.

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