PW #233: YA Contemporary: CHASING CHAUCER

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Marty Mayberry
Mentee Name: Becky Dean
Title: CHASING CHAUCER
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Word Count: 84,000

Pitch:

After an injury ends Britt’s soccer scholarship dreams, her college future depends on winning a new competition. In a literary-themed version of The Amazing Race, she must overcome her lack of book-related knowledge and outwit three devious classmates in a scavenger hunt across England.

Excerpt:

Dreams were like knees—you didn’t realize how fragile they were until something ripped them to shreds.

I sank onto the first row of bleachers overlooking the school athletic field. One hand rubbed the massive brace gripping my leg, which was tight after my cross-campus trek. The other clutched the strange envelope I’d found in my locker but hadn’t opened in my rush to arrive.

Arrive, so I could leave before the game started.

Girls in royal blue jerseys and blue and white striped socks sat on the grass, stretching. I’d made it in time. Warm-ups, I could handle. Games, however, were more torture than physical therapy, which could’ve been used to crack terror suspects.

If I’d happened to schedule PT during the three playoff games the past two weeks…well, it was purely coincidental.

Several of my former teammates waved from the field. One shouted, “Miss you, Britt. Can’t wait to have you back.”

My heart stutter-stepped as I returned the wave. They’d be waiting a long, long time. But they only knew about the knee, not the rest of it.

When the soccer ball made its appearance, a shot of pain kicked through my chest. I shifted my attention to the cream-colored envelope. Handwritten letters across the front spelled out my name: Brittany J. Hanson. A round, raised seal on the flap displayed the monogram PCM. The card inside read:

The honor of your presence is requested
Today, May 20, at 15 minutes past three in the afternoon
In classroom A-6.
A Unique Opportunity Awaits.