Thursday, May 17, 2012

Team Mónica #9 -- JUMPING OFF BRIDGES


JUMPING OFF BRIDGES
YA Contemporary Magical Realism
82,000 words


Query:

Everyone else is doing it—escaping—and every city has its runaways. But in Cortado, teens don’t simply skip town; they obey the call of a mysterious voice of moss and stones that beckons, “Come. Follow. Disappear.” And Eli Sage, Westide High’s former basketball star turned dropout, wants to follow. The voice echoes throughout the city, offering to erase Eli’s every mistake, from betraying his best friend, Derek, to resenting his multiple sclerosis-burdened mother. But he’s tired of trusting empty words and oaths, and attempts to quell the ever-deafening call through atonement. He caters to Derek’s every whim, each crashed party and every altercation more self-destructive than the last.

However, the voice only dims when Eli nears his newest co-McJober, a girl with creamed-coffee skin; inhales the apple-scent of Derek’s girlfriend; or smashes bottles with an 80-year-old, fairy-tale telling thief. Yet the voice returns with Eli’s every fumbled kiss and shattered promise, its offer more lulling than before, commanding him to listen, demanding him to follow. It guides him to a hungering bridge’s shadow, where he must confront the voice’s source—an ancient troll—and decide between sacrificing his escape to help mend those he left behind and abandoning them to do what everyone else is doing: jumping.



First Page:


Climbing into the Mustang was not one of Eli’s better decisions. He never should have agreed to a “ride home” from Derek, never should have ignored his father’s past warning of “That boy is trying to kill you,” never should have allowed his trust to trump his fear. But should’ves were even more worthless than a blind referee, and now he had to deal with his current situation.
He was locked inside Derek’s parked Mustang and could do nothing but stare at the exterior of an abandoned house. It was the same three-bedroom bungalow as Eli’s old home, the one he’d shared with both parents, but the similarities stopped there. Pressboard sheets filled the large bay and two smaller square windows, the glass broken and riddled with holes from rocks and bb guns. These bookended the front door, the majority of which was covered by two-by-fours, and the gutters hung from the roof like entrails. Eli shivered. It was the perfect place for Derek to hide his body.
            “Out,” Derek said.  
            Eli hesitated, circling back to the same question: Why had he convinced himself that Derek’s “ride home” was genuine? True, Derek had been his best friend, but that was Before, when Derek sported bleached spikes for hair, strong arms, and blue eyes. This was After, and Derek’s current style consisted of a gleaming skull, shriveled frame, and eyes that had gone gray. Even still, Eli preferred the new look to the last time he’d seen his friend, a gang of cuts and bruises covering Derek’s face.

22 comments:

  1. Oooh, dark and eerie and a troll under the bridge. What a brilliant concept. Go Team Monica!!!

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  2. Troll under a bridge??! So awesome!!! And i really heart the idea of a silent call, beckoning them away from the city.

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  3. Great job--love that title! I want to read more and find out if Eli jumps!

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  4. "He never should have agreed to a 'ride home' from Derek, never should have ignored his father’s past warning of 'That boy is trying to kill you,' never should have allowed his trust to trump his fear."

    Talk about a great set-up! Go Team Monica!

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  5. This has been a haunting query ever since the first time I read it and I think it's just great :)

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  6. I'm with the others. Troll under a bridge? YES. VERY cool concept ;o)

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  7. You already know how much I love this, but I had to stop by anyway and say good luck...even though you don't need it!

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  8. Dude, yes, yes, yes, I would read this in a heartbeat.

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  9. "...the gutters hung from the roof like entrails." Awesome line. It's visual, evocative, and foreboding, all wrapped in one phrase.

    Your opening line, too, is awfully good. It establishes immediacy and a very ominous tone while still giving us a subtle glimpse into your protagonist. Good stuff, sir, good stuff.

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  10. Really cool opening - I immediately want to know more about Derek and Eli and this troll under the bridge!

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  11. Excellent first page and an intriguing concept!

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  12. I love, love, love this concept, and the language in the opening is so vivid. It looks awesome!

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  13. I really like your premise and the voice here is fantastic! Good luck!

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  14. You had me at the "obey the call of a mysterious voice of moss and stones." Wow! Fabulous concept here and I really want to know what happens next.

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  15. The start of your query is amazing! Wow! Good luck!!

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  16. A troll that is a siren - very interesting.

    Good luck!

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  17. I love this concept! I also love the friendship between Derek and Eli. Great concept! I also love the line about the gutters hanging like entrails. Fabulous. Good luck to you!

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  18. I love when someone can combine genres - magical realism with what sounds like a thrilling mystery! I'm in!

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  19. I really enjoy the imagery that is present within the prose. An interesting voice I would like to hear more from.

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  20. I vote for you! Looking forward to your pages.

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  21. #9 JUMPING OFF BRIDGES

    Query:

    You present some intriguing images here, but I have to admit that I was often confused reading through this. I have no idea what a co-McJober is and read back through the first paragraph looking for a clue. I also don’t understand what the three people who dim the voice for Eli have in common (are they all female? The thief’s gender isn’t clear.). I do really like how the twist is that it’s a troll luring everyone into jumping off of a bridge—that seems like a really clever and different concept.

    I think that the second sentence of the second paragraph should start with “And” rather than “Yet,” since you’ve started the previous sentence with “However.”

    First page:

    Your description of Derek at the end of the page is pretty freaky, and you certainly pique my curiosity about how he ended up that way. Overall the writing seems solid, and you set up plenty of questions that would make the reader turn the page.

    One nitpick: The line “It was the same three-bedroom bungalow…” made me think it was actually Eli’s old house. Since it’s not, maybe “It was the same type of three-bedroom bungalow...” would work better.

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