I was excited to see the book proposal for South of Light’s End and thought it was a really great submission. Firstly, I want to start by saying you’ve come up with a really interesting and original concept with well-drawn characters and a compelling storyline.
Most importantly, you’ve created genuinely interesting characters with fleshed out back stories and a sense of humour. I wanted to know more about everyone, wanted to follow their story. I also liked the shifting POV in the chapters. It’s a difficult style of writing to pull off and shows your confidence which is great for an editor to see. I would worry that there might be a lack of dialogue (often the lifeblood of a good YA novel as it keep the action moving forward) as Willa doesn’t talk until the end but that’s something we’d have to see in the actual writing.
I also like that even though the murder mystery/ghost story has been done before, you’ve created your own rules with the echo. I thought that was brave and original.
One of the things I really liked about this was the full fleshed out relationships of all the characters. Tate and his little sister were super charming and I really like the potential for culture clashes (I’m English and laughed out loud at the ‘blow me’ comment!) between Willa and Tate but again, that might be limited if she doesn’t speak until the end.
All in all, you’ve come up with a genuinely original take on a very popular genre and essentially for a publisher, there is absolutely room for a sequel which shows both writing talent, creativity and commercial awareness – you’re a triple threat! Can’t wait to read this once it’s finished.
Note: Since receiving this review, Willa becomes verbal much earlier in the book now.
