TITLE: YA
GENRE: secret
Why should it be the province of only men to explore and discover? An inferno smolders inside me that I cannot control, a burning to know what else there is of this world. Yet I shear ewes here in the middle of nowhere. There must be more to living than this.
The ewe squirms, her foreleg in my grasp. She must give up her wool so I can make yarn of it. Weaving is the only honest way a girl can earn money, but rows advance so slowly, one after another, always the same, building an endless horizon between done and not done. This must not be the pattern of my life.
The sheep pants while I clip. When released, she squirms away bleating, then grazes as if no one had made her suddenly naked.
I wrestle another ewe upside down.
“What of my love for this place?” I say to her face, as if
Distopian
ReplyDeleteSounds like she is ready to break free of her imposed sheep shearing
I Can't Tell
ReplyDeleteCould either be fantasy or historical.
Historical
ReplyDeleteThe language sounds historical. From the opening, I'm guessing the mc will end up breaking with traditional gender roles as the story progresses.
Historical fiction. By using the words ' province of men to explore and discover' it feels like a story which takes place many years ago. She's obviously not happy about her lot in life. Sounds like the story will focus on her struggle to escape her
ReplyDeletetraditional role in society.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteSo far it sounds like the MC is a sheep-shearer who wants more out of life than her gender is typically allowed to have. Could be a Historical Fantasy, but so far there aren't any hints of anything fantastical.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard one.
At first, I thought contemporary because it could be Australia nowadays.
But she mentions her taste for adventure and shearing is her only way to make honest money. Nowadays, we can study online and there are many jobs out there for a girls. People do not go on adventure anymore because most has been discovered.
So, this is definitely HISTORICAL.
How hard would it be to introduce little details here and there in this beginning? The way she dresses, the antique sheering tools would go a long way to make this clear.
Historical adventure?
ReplyDeleteFeels like it's set back in time because of the sheep shearing and lack of advancement for women. But surely she's going on an adventure.
Historical. Thinking adventure, but possibly fantasy though there's no hint of magic yet.
ReplyDeletehistorical based on the environment, adventure because the MC seems to be longing for it.
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ReplyDeleteHistorical
ReplyDeleteBecause she's trapped as a sheep shearer and weaver while men get to have adventures, indicating a time when women had few options.
Historical, due to sheep-shearing and archaic gender roles.
ReplyDeleteHistorical, due to sheep-shearing and archaic gender roles.
ReplyDeleteHistorical adventure
ReplyDeleteShe asks why only men are allowed to explore and discover.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteThe sheep shearing and the line about men/adventure makes me think it's from a different era.
Women's Fiction
ReplyDeleteSet in the Aussie Outback. The assumption that only men are allowed to discover anything is the giveaway. Though I'm also tempted to take 'men' in it's old-fashioned sense and to imagine that this is a disaffected non-human, say, a sensitive and intelligent yak, who is desperately trying to overcome speciesism and has managed to land his first job but is dismayed to realize that he is slowly becoming an oppressor of his fellow zoo-kin.
Historical
ReplyDelete"The province of men..." made me immediately think Historical, and the details that followed about her sheep-shearing stuck with that genre.
Historical
ReplyDeleteThe weaving details pointed me in this direction
I thought Historical like everyone else, but it seemed as though there was a hint of something else too. Maybe Fantasy, maybe Romance. Am curious to know!
ReplyDeleteHistorical.
ReplyDeleteBecause the sheep business.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteOld-world language for first-person YA narration: "…the province of only men…" and "What of my love for this place?" Also, that weaving is the only "honest" way that a girl can make a living in her environment.
I can't really tell. The beginning could lead to a historical fiction....or perhaps a fantasy is coming.... Nice start.
ReplyDeleteI can't really tell. The beginning could lead to a historical fiction....or perhaps a fantasy is coming.... Nice start.
ReplyDeleteHmm. I'd say Historical but I didn't think women did the shearing, so Fantasy?
ReplyDeleteHistorical.
ReplyDeleteGirls limited choices formaking an "honest" living, the weaving, and the place being the "province for only men to explore..."
Historical Women's Fiction
ReplyDelete"only honest way for a girl to make money"......interesting
Historical
ReplyDeletenothing fantasy happening
Hope she gets off the farm - already rooting for her
To most of you, I will have to say Bingo! Yes, Historical. Very. The story begins in 999 A.D., Viking era Iceland and the m.c. is a girl mentioned in two of the sagas.
ReplyDeleteAnd than you all for considering the excerpt's genre. This name-that-genre event has been an interesting exercise and I appreciate your, and Miss Snark's, time.
ReplyDelete