TITLE: MG
GENRE: SECRET
It began with the fireflies, as magic often does. Jenny was in the field behind her grandparents’ house with her younger brother, chasing fireflies. She spied a good one, low-flying and lackadaisical, and followed it past the shed and into the darkening woods.
“Jen-ny,” Billy’s voice echoed through the trees. Jenny smiled. He was worse than Gran. That night, though, Jenny wouldn’t be bothered about Billy and his fretting. Or about her grumpy grandparents and their boring old house, or her always arguing parents a million miles away in Evanston. She scanned the woods like a prowling jaguar. She wanted that flashing light, and she was going to get it.
The light flared to her left. Jenny crept up to it. She had her blue jar, the one her dad gave her right before she left, tight in her hands. She lunged for the firefly, but it darted past a thin beech.
Miss Snark's First Victim
MG Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteNice first and third paragraph. I think you could lose the second, or at least save it for later. Everything after "Jenny smiled" gets in the way of what we need to know by telling us stuff that matters only once we know more.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling she is going to meet an Elf or a Leprauchan.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteMagic in the first line :)
Fantasy
ReplyDelete...because 'as magic always does...'
Fantasy. "It began with the fireflies, as magic often does.' I'm assuming the fireflies possess a kind of magical power to transport Jenny to another realm or dimension.
ReplyDeleteFantasy.
ReplyDeleteMagic is mentioned in the first line.
Fantasy. or MAYBE Magical realism, although if it is the latter, you'd have to lose that beautiful first line because Magical Realism doesn't state magic in direct terms.
ReplyDeleteBe careful of too much backstory right away. I'd focus on the firefly chase without all the parents info right here.
Fantasy, but feeling a portal coming on.
ReplyDeleteMagic is mentioned right away, and MC is wandering off and something is about to start
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ReplyDeleteFantasy in a real setting.
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ReplyDeleteFANTASY.
ReplyDeleteFantasy
ReplyDeleteFairies+magic=fantasy
Magical realism. Despite the use of the word "magic," I get the feeling that this will mostly continue to be a contemporary work of fiction with just the barest hint of fantastic elements. There just isn't enough to indicate fantasy yet.
ReplyDeleteMagical realism. Despite the use of the word "magic," I get the feeling that this will mostly continue to be a contemporary work of fiction with just the barest hint of fantastic elements. There just isn't enough to indicate fantasy yet.
ReplyDeleteFantasy
ReplyDeleteI'll bet that firefly is actually a fairy.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteIt seems too literal for magical realism, at least so far. If the fireflies sang or emitted fireworks, indicating an exaggerated fascination on her part maybe. So far, it looks like the fireflies are luring her into something not realistic.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteIf the fireflies are just the beginning of how magic starts, you know there's going to be much more in store for Jenny.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteMagic begins with fireflies. :)
Contemporary or possibly magic realism.
ReplyDeleteMG contemporary books often have a hint of magic in them and that's the feel I'm getting here, with a young MC chasing fireflies on a summer night. Of course, maybe the mention of magic is actually a foreshadowing of a fantasy adventure, but I'm guessing not.
Magic realism
ReplyDeleteMagic is in the first line.
Magical realism.
ReplyDeleteBecause the first sentence says so. :-) I don't see any Fantasy elements, since this is a real-life setting ("Evanston") with real-life kids and family.
Young girl going off alone into the woods. Anxious Granmother. Use of the word magic. I say Fantasy though it could be Magical Realism.
ReplyDeleteMagical realism. Feels completely realistic, but there's that mention of magic.
ReplyDeleteFantasy.
ReplyDeleteDue to use of the phrase "as magic often does" while chasing fireflies.
Is "lackadaisical" a word MG readers would recognize, or would they stumble and need to look it up?
Magical realism
ReplyDeleteAt least I hope so.
Thanks, all, for reading and for sharing your guesses and input! I call this contemporary fantasy, meaning magic in the real world. My understanding is that to be magical realism, the magic needs to be unsurprising to the characters, and my girl is definitely surprised by the magic. Thanks again!
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