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Thursday, April 9, 2015

Name That Genre #16

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

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29 comments:

  1. S.D.KingApril 9, 2015 at 11:44 AM

    Distopian

    Sounds like she is ready to break free of her imposed sheep shearing

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  2. 1000th.monkeyApril 9, 2015 at 11:58 AM

    I Can't Tell

    Could either be fantasy or historical.

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  3. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 12:24 PM

    Historical
    The language sounds historical. From the opening, I'm guessing the mc will end up breaking with traditional gender roles as the story progresses.

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  4. SusanApril 9, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    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
    traditional role in society.

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  5. AnonymousApril 9, 2015 at 1:33 PM

    Historical.

    So 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.

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  6. SussuApril 9, 2015 at 1:45 PM

    Historical.

    This 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.

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  7. Michele HelselApril 9, 2015 at 2:20 PM

    Historical adventure?
    Feels 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.

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  8. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 2:37 PM

    Historical. Thinking adventure, but possibly fantasy though there's no hint of magic yet.

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    Replies
    1. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 5:43 PM

      historical based on the environment, adventure because the MC seems to be longing for it.

      Delete
  9. Rocket Ma'amApril 9, 2015 at 2:38 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 3:08 PM

    Historical

    Because she's trapped as a sheep shearer and weaver while men get to have adventures, indicating a time when women had few options.

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  11. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    Historical, due to sheep-shearing and archaic gender roles.

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  12. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    Historical, due to sheep-shearing and archaic gender roles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. LanetteApril 9, 2015 at 4:45 PM

    Historical adventure

    She asks why only men are allowed to explore and discover.

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  14. KathleeaApril 9, 2015 at 4:49 PM

    Historical.

    The sheep shearing and the line about men/adventure makes me think it's from a different era.

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  15. Eisenman SoftwareApril 9, 2015 at 5:06 PM

    Women's Fiction

    Set 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.

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  16. Bonnie StaringApril 9, 2015 at 5:17 PM

    Historical
    "The province of men..." made me immediately think Historical, and the details that followed about her sheep-shearing stuck with that genre.

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  17. Tracy GoldApril 9, 2015 at 10:58 PM

    Historical

    The weaving details pointed me in this direction

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  18. HeatherApril 9, 2015 at 11:37 PM

    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!

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  19. RickApril 10, 2015 at 12:19 AM

    Historical.

    Because the sheep business.

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  20. shelleyApril 10, 2015 at 10:44 AM

    Historical.

    Old-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.

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  21. cindy norrisApril 10, 2015 at 11:31 AM

    I can't really tell. The beginning could lead to a historical fiction....or perhaps a fantasy is coming.... Nice start.

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  22. cindy norrisApril 10, 2015 at 11:31 AM

    I can't really tell. The beginning could lead to a historical fiction....or perhaps a fantasy is coming.... Nice start.

    ReplyDelete
  23. sbjamesApril 10, 2015 at 4:37 PM

    Hmm. I'd say Historical but I didn't think women did the shearing, so Fantasy?

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  24. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 8:45 PM

    Historical.

    Girls limited choices formaking an "honest" living, the weaving, and the place being the "province for only men to explore..."

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  25. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 9:24 PM

    Historical Women's Fiction

    "only honest way for a girl to make money"......interesting

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  26. AnonymousApril 10, 2015 at 11:18 PM

    Historical

    nothing fantasy happening
    Hope she gets off the farm - already rooting for her

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  27. JAZApril 11, 2015 at 10:44 AM

    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.

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  28. JAZApril 11, 2015 at 10:46 AM

    And 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.

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