TITLE: MG
GENRE: Secret
It started on a Thursday. I sat at my usual table—under the window on the left side—at Borderland Elementary School. There I was, minding my own business, doing my best to choke down the thing the cooks tried to pass off as a chicken patty on a bun. The bun was like Styrofoam, and the patty—well, I wasn't sure what it was made of. But it didn't taste anything like chicken.
Across from me, my best friend, Abigail "Big" Wolf, picked through the salad her mom sent for lunch. "My mom hates me. It's official."
"Why?" I asked.
"This, my dear, Red." She snatched a handful of wilting baby spinach leaves out of her clear plastic bowl and plopped them onto the table. "Can you believe it? Not even any dressing to make it go down better. Wait. What's that? Can it be? Ah-ha!"
Miss Snark's First Victim
Contemporary.
ReplyDeleteEvery detail, styrofoam, plastic bowl, chicken patties says it's today.
Contemporary.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I've heard that exact conversation from my students in the cafeteria.
Contemporary
ReplyDeleteIt's a scene straight out of a school cafeteria.
Contemporary
ReplyDeleteGiven the name of the characters, I have the feeling this is a red riding hood retelling in modern day.
CONTEMPORARY
ReplyDeleteThe very everyday setting, gross school lunches, casual banter about food.
Contemporary Fairy Tale
ReplyDelete"Red" and ""Big' Wolf"
I like the banter about the salad. :)
Fantasy or Mystery
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of "fore-boding" in this scene and that last line makes me think it's heading towards a quest-type story.
Contemporary - because of word choices. I didn't get a mystery or fantasy vibe, but more of an introduction to the setting and one of the secondary characters.
ReplyDeleteContemporary/Kid Lit/
ReplyDeleteContemporary.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with contemporary since the settings and names seem to be so.
ReplyDeleteContemporary.
ReplyDeleteContemporary Fantasy
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing fairytale retelling because of the references to "Big" Wolf and Red. But set it a modern-day elementary school.
Contemporary
ReplyDeletemodern day setting
Contemporary.
ReplyDeleteUnless the item Big found is magical.
CONTEMPORARY
ReplyDeleteThere may also be elements of Fairy Tale Retelling, based on "Red" and "Wolf," but I don't know if it will actually veer into fantasy or not. But it definitely starts in the real world, so contemporary.
Contemporary Fairy Tale Retelling
ReplyDeleteLittle Red Riding Hood. :)
Contemporary
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing to suggest the story wasn't grounded in the real world, although the reference to the nicknames (Wolf and Red) made me wonder if this might be a fairy tale retelling.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThe Wolf that hates spinach, the name Red. I smell a modernized fairy tale.
Contemporary Fairy Tale, yup. Like a Middle Grade version of Fables. Though if the main character is Red Riding Hood, it's interesting that Big is her friend, as well as the fact that Red's grandma didn't pack her a lunch!
ReplyDeleteFantasy - Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wold
ReplyDeleteCONTEMPORARY
ReplyDeleteA retelling perhaps?
This start feels slow. The "Big Wolf" and "Red" references aren't enough to make me wonder what's going on. I want some mystery or conflict sooner.
Contemporary
ReplyDeleteHumor, I'd guess; it has an irreverent voice reminiscent of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Elementary School, chicken patty, and Styrofoam all strongly point to a modern-day setting. Sending a spinach salad to school for a kid's lunch seems a very modern thing, too.
No clue.
ReplyDeleteIt's something contemporary, but whether it's straight-up Contemp MG or has speculative elements, we don't know yet.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteWe have Red and the Big Wolf. Something is going to go horribly awry, methinks.
Urban fantasy. That's the category for contemporary fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteContemporary
ReplyDeleteAll the details are modern. The first sentence made me wonder if it's a fantasy novel ("It started on a Thursday), but there aren't any other suggestions of fantasy in the first 150 words, so I'm going with contemporary.
Contemporary. I like the voice, but was confused about location. At first I thought the MC was in a classroom and then it seemed like the cafeteria. I'm not sure if the MC is named Red, or if Abigail is pointing to something red in her salad. Good luck, Sarah
ReplyDeleteThis was fun! Thanks everyone for guessing! It is a modern fairy tale retelling, but Red is a detective. So I've been calling it a . . .
ReplyDeleteMystery.
Guess I need to re-think my opening.
:)