Thursday, September 1, 2016

Name That Genre #39

TITLE: SECRET
GENRE: YA SECRET

The fall of my senior year in high school, my mother brought a kitchen knife into the bathtub with her.

She didn’t cut deep enough, not nearly, they said. But she’d been drinking, and she lost enough blood to pass out. Her head slipped under the water, and if her neighbor hadn’t found her, she would have drowned.

I wasn’t with her. No one was. My parents divorced when I was in seventh grade, and I moved away with my dad.

We sat in the hospital waiting room, my dad and I, soaking in our guilt.

They said that after Mom was released from the psychiatric ward, it might be a good idea for her not to be alone. My aunt Laura moved in with her for a while. But Aunt Laura couldn’t stay through the summer, on account of the fact that my cousins would be home from college.

24 comments:

  1. CONTEMPORARY. The voice, primarily. It has a modern feel to it. Great first line too!

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  2. Horror
    It seems like starting off with blood, it would continue as such.

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  3. Contemporary. Modern setting, voice.

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  4. Contemporary.
    Real life world and conflict.

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  5. Paranormal - I'm sensing mom passing a hard to deal with gift off to her daughter.

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  6. Contemporary.

    Realistic everyday drama.

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  7. Contemporary

    realistic stuff in a realistic setting

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  8. Contemporary. No supernatural details, no historical references.

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  9. Contemporary, due to the real-world setting and problems.

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  10. Contemporary/problem novel

    Everything seems modern. My thought is the MC and Mom will go through trials and tribulations together and come out with a stronger relationship.

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  11. CONTEMPORARY

    mentions highschool and mental-health / family conflicts

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  12. FICTIONAL BIOGRAPHY

    Everything sounds like it could be happening here, on Earth, right now.

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  13. contemporary
    no clues otherwise

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  14. Contemporary -- definitely real-life world with real-life problems

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  15. Contemporary...and you hooked me.

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  16. Contemporary, right from the first sentence. Dark/gritty realistic themes. Could be YA, but isn't clearly identified in this section, as the high school reference is in the past, not that that's a bad thing.

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  17. Contemporary

    Nothing to suggest it isn't here and now, plus the focus on dysfunctional family relationships.

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  18. Contemporary

    Given the setting and talk of a hospital and divorce, I'm guessing this takes place in current times

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  19. Contemporary. Modern issues, divorce, hospital, suicide.

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  20. Paranormal.
    Sounds to me like a setup for a ghost story. Since the aunt didn't stay, I'm led to assume mom finished what she started and then went on a haunting spree.

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  21. Contemporary. Setting seems realistic and modern.

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  22. This one is mine and it is YA Contemporary, as many people guessed! No hauntings (unfortunately?) and no blood past this first chapter for the most part

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