TITLE: secret
GENRE: YA secret
I can’t be sure there is something hiding out here in the backyard, lying silently in wait for my sister and me. But I’m also not sure there isn’t. This terrible feeling of uncertainty burns inside me, striking my bones like flint and sparking dread.
I unclip my pajama bottoms from the line and shake out any squatting spiders, but I freeze mid-shake. The atmosphere closes in around me. A storm. There’s no denying the hum that prickles over my skin, hisses through the trees, and brews the air to a snapping point.
The urge to run inside to the pantry and hide out with the pickle jars overwhelms me, but no, not this time. Enough. The laundry isn’t going to collect itself. Besides, I'm too old to indulge these fears, to run and hide from thunder and rain, imaginary creatures, and faded but potent memories from thirteen years ago.
I CAN'T TELL.
ReplyDeleteIt could be contemporary, and these creatures truly could be imaginary, or it could be URBAN FANTASY and these creatures are real.
PARANORMAL
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a vibe that she can manipulate weather somehow, so my second guess would be magical realism. The tone is haunting, so I was thinking a bit of horror, too, but casual references like pajama bottoms and pickle jars added that touch of lightheartedness you usually find in paranormal.
PARANORMAL
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a vibe that she can manipulate weather somehow, so my second guess would be magical realism. The tone is haunting, so I was thinking a bit of horror, too, but casual references like pajama bottoms and pickle jars added that touch of lightheartedness you usually find in paranormal.
Paranormal
ReplyDeleteI agree with the lighthearted touch. Nice!
Not sure. Definitely has a contemporary feel but whether it's paranormal, thriller or horror is too difficult to tell at this point. Great storm description.
ReplyDeleteContemporary issue book or thriller!
ReplyDeleteContemporary Fantasy
ReplyDeleteIt could be just contemporary, but words like bones, flint, dread, spiders make me thing that thin out there is real.
Contemporary.
ReplyDeleteI like the hint of a troubled past.
Paranormal; possibly Fantasy. It certainly feels like something is about to strike.
ReplyDeleteParanormal
ReplyDeleteTo me, the words say fantasy, but the tone says paranormal/horror. Nicely done!
NOT SURE
ReplyDeleteNone of the details definitely points away from a CONTEMPORARY setting, but the voice and the scene do seem to be suggesting some other element.
not sure ... it sounds contemporary, but feels fantasy
ReplyDeleteThriller/mystery
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning toward contemporary horror, and possibly historical, because of the clothesline.
ReplyDeleteHistorical
ReplyDeleteI may be reaching here, but the clothes on the line, the pantry, and the pickle jars seem old-fashioned to me. Unless I'm totally wrong and it's actually horror.
Contemporary
ReplyDeleteBased on world building and the fact the character is wearing pj bottoms
I can't tell. Could be fantasy (fear of things she knows are really there), horror (spiders, fear of monsters), or contemporary (something traumatic happened in the past making her afraid of things outside)
ReplyDeleteHorror.
ReplyDeleteThe MC is paranoid about being watched. Has been hiding from something for 13 yrs and isn't afraid of spiders. Hence whatever she does fear is scarier.
I can't tell. It might be just contemporary, but if there is really something hiding in the backyard (and it seems a little odd to start with a sentence like that if there isn't) then it could be fantasy or horror.
ReplyDeleteThe correct answer is Paranormal. Actually the novel is Paranormal Romance, but the romance aspect is introduced a bit further in for plot reasons. Thanks so much for all the guesses. This is so interesting and fun!
ReplyDelete