MENTOR: Molly Lee
MENTEE: Felicia Anderson
TITLE: THE SCALES ON OUR EYES
CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Fantasy Romance
WORD COUNT: 62,000
PITCH:
When Leila discovers a connection between school tyrant Hazel and her missing father, she’ll have to use new-found powers to save him from a shared fate. Trouble is, he doesn’t want to be saved.
EXCERPT:
Fox Academy’s gothic architecture loomed atop the snow-covered hill like the crown of a brand new king. Empty, frosted white grounds lay before me in its shadow, and the absence of students made me quicken my steps. A difficult task, considering my tiger-striped ballet flats. I lived in central New York long enough to know the necessity of boots, but I chose to ignore my physical need for warmth in favor of my need to break out into dance at any moment.
I tried imagining where all the groups might hang out before class, like how teens lay about in the grass of those high school movies. But, as I thought about it, I reasoned that there could only be two groups here. According to the brochure, Fox Academy was a rich kid’s school that scholarly students could test into. Or maybe it was an honors school that rich kids could buy their way into. I never asked for the point to be clarified.
“So, two groups then,” I reasoned with myself. “Stuck-up, rich kids and brains, like myself. Shouldn’t be too hard to blend in. Or fade out, preferably.”
Something ancient echoed from this building’s facade, even though construction completed on it five years ago. I reached the front entrance, greeted by a set of large double doors in dark wood and oversized hanging brass handles.
“Fox Academy,” I sighed anxiously, reading the etched letters burned into the doors.
Wrenching them open, I slid myself in before they slammed shut behind me.