To ask if you would view this as suitable/buy for a teen?

[aspiringyetshite]

I'm working on a novel plotted around a woman who joins a socialist paramilitary group in an United Kingdom engulfed in unrest and lawlessness.

On the day of the dictatorial Prime Minister's assasination, she finds her comrade (I'll call her K, and her dead comrade I) shot outside in front of the barracks, with a swastika painted on the front door in her blood.

The bullet is very quickly traced to an Oswald Moseley style fascist (who I'll call P for this post's purposes) angry at K for stopping a massive car bombing during the Civil war.

Instead of killing K, he goes after her comrade I mainly to do mental harm to/break K, as he sees a broken, terrified K who will betray the cause as the end goal.

However, K quickly learns P is the uncle of J, a young teen sent by his mother to a New Red Army boot camp to 'toughen up'.

K volunteers at the boot camp with only one end goal - getting close to J's family to avenge I.

However when a massive attack is planned on that very boot camp, K must defend the children, herself and her comrades with her life, and her goal takes a complete turn.

This book would be targeted towards 12-16 year olds, have no sexual content (relationships such as marriage or boyfriend-girlfriend are existent, but only with two of K's comrades having a marriage and K herself falling in love with A, another female soldier, however the romance only exists to show K's attitude towards those she feels obliged to protect, even in her current mental state, and the relationship is largely platonic - nothing more than a peck on the cheek and discussions of future marriage)

It would however have quite a bit of violence, with K's end goal being the death of P, and a few scenes more.

I unfortunately think so far it a bit glamorises K - I'm doing my best to portray her as a fallible human being but my mind is far too obsessed with K to massacre her personality.

This is a very niche market (& I would have fallen in it), but still....
I would say the main issue is fascist/socialist doesn't seem very current. Thrillers are good, but the causes aren't generally that important and this one seems a bit of a barrier to interest.

Militant environmentalist/malignant capitalist might resonate more with current politics, but even that is probably more than many teens would want.

Also, the plot does sound very convoluted. I loved reading, still do, but despite really enjoying things like 1984, We, spy thrillers etc, I'm not sure most plotlines are that complex and would grab someone's attention in the quick flick through/reading the blurb that you do in your buying decisions.

I think you should just write it as you feel it without worrying about the eventual readership.
Your agent can advise you on marketability.

If you wouldn’t read it now as an adult, and enjoy it, then you shouldn’t be writing for a YA audience. What would stop you enjoying it now? That’s more than likely going to be what your potential readers feel too - don’t make the mistake of underestimating younger readers.

It definitely sounds YA not teen, btw (‘teen’ in publishing usually means mature 11+ to 13/14, and YA mature 13+ to adult).

I read the Handmaid's Tale when I was 12 and loved it, so I don't think this is too much or too complex for a teen at all.

I remember reading Jean Ure's Come Lucky April at primary school age and that was fascinating to me then.

Lots of revolutionary movements have involved teenagers in the past so it's not unrelatable imo.

Good luck op sounds like it'll be an interesting read!

Plus, at this age whether the adults would buy it is less relevant than whether the teens want it - the relevant adults you need to worry about are agents, editors and reviewers, if you’re aiming for traditional publication. And from your current description you’ve got work to do to make the plot (and how you pitch it) acceptable - as others said, having your protagonist K fully focused on the death of someone else is problematic but if she changes her mind during the book might be OK. But then is that a satisfying conclusion? All depends on the writing.

I read a lot of fantasy/zombies/UF/space opera so I would say my reading tastes are not very “grown up”. However anything with religious or political themes is a massive turn-off for me and may be a hard sell for many teens. UF is a great genre for kick-ass female characters by the way. Elise Kavanagh as written by SM Reine (in the first few books of The Descent series) was particularly great, and a character like that written for teens would be great. The books did eventually go down an overly religious/mythological rabbit hole unfortunately. I know you said it’s an alternate UK but the violence can sit easier in a completely alternate location/reality, in my opinion…like an off-world colony.

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch ,,@aspiringyetshite was what popped into my head this morning. I was trying to remember what book reminded me if your query and it's this one.

Both me and my 16 year old son liked it. It isn't the same genre. There is a YA version but mine just read the adult version. In my opinion it has echos of where you want your book. Not sure if you are familiar.

I unfortunately think so far it a bit glamorises K - I'm doing my best to portray her as a fallible human being but my mind is far too obsessed with K to massacre her personality.

Work on that, otherwise it sounds good. Lisbet Salander for teens.

I was worried the plot was going to be overcomplicated -

Prime Minister is a Kim-Jong-Un style dictator who only cares about himself and has caused massive amounts of distress to the country.

Teenager is part of a socialist paramilitary group who orchestrated the prime minister's assassination.

When he dies - they take over the country.

Fascist is not powerful - he is a supporter of now-dead PM, who killed I, another part of the paramilitary.

Gosh more plot confusion!

She isn't trying to kill them - she's trying to get close to them so she can work out how to target P.

However, bigger problems emerge and she finds herself realising that if she wants to eliminate P and his little group of bombers, she'll need to protect the camp with her life from things much bigger then she can reasonably handle.

P is also trying to bomb the boot camp - in which his nephew is.

Protagonist is not trying to kill anyone innocent.

If the character was younger -say 15/16 it would probably appeal more as a YA novel. The character being an adult would seem odd.
The books Naughts and Crosses - while not overly violent - deals with terrorism and (the readers) being on the side of the terrorists.
Naughts and Crosses is studied in schools at the age of around 14.

I might modify her age - however a 12 or 11 year old in a paramilitary group (since a large amount of things happened over 4 years) would be a bit strange to say the least - and this being an army boot camp which she uses to get close to P - it would be a bit strange for a teen to work in one.

With the alternate UK - it's mainly done so she can have some form of link to what teens are seeing now with Reform UK and all that.

Essentially what happens when you vote in the wrong person.

Depends on the level of violence and how graphic it is - look atbThe Hunger Games. If you described that plot to someone it would seem horrifically violent.

My advice would be - write it. If your writing and story are good enough and you get an agent and/or editor then they will guide you to making it appropriate to YA level.

You will get away more with violence that swearing or sex ( even consensual sex) which I think is a bit rubbish but that’s the way it is.

An editor will also help with the plotting, if it’s too convoluted but you need to get your manuscript as good as you can get it before approaching an agent.
If you’re serious, I would pay for a copy edit yourself once you have finished and edited yourself.

I quite like the sound of it.
I like a bit of alternative society/dystopia.

Your characters age is fine for YA - she’ll need to be at least 18 for US audiences if there’s a romance/suggested sexual element anyway but your books sounds as if it’ll be at the 15/16 readers age rather than the 12/13 age anyway.
Some 12 year olds read adult books,
some are still reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid - it’s a huge range.

I'm doing my best to avoid any sex regardless - It's not a romance in any way.

To me it all sound pretty par for the course for YA fiction so the problem I would anticipate is making it distinctive. Doesn’t seem too convoluted to me. How does it end?

most reminds me of How I Live Now in terms of setting

That's what I'm aiming for - her marriage which will eventually become very important can't be done unless she's 18 or older.

There won't be any sex at all - I don't really think her character will develop from that and she's in a terrible state regarding trusting others - the only reason she marries A is because they know each other from the early days of the revolution.

Her marriage then ends up to be a terrible idea - as she keeps on panicking and worrying about P killing A just to torment her.

It ends with P and his little gang of terrorists laying dynamite at the foundation of the barracks used for the boot camp.

K learns of this planned attack from J, and manages to evacuate the children.

She then goes into the basement, locking P in there.

When she realises J run back into the barracks, hoping to stop P, she runs in, saves him, by lowering him through a window, in which she cannot fit herself, as the building collapses, and she is presumed dead.

The barracks collapsed with the rubble 'tenting' above two foundations.

This effectively saved her, and she manages to crawl out.

Battered and bruised, she goes to the nearest New Red Army barracks, and is patched up.

She is later on awarded multiple medals for the saving of the children, which she feels she does not 'deserve' - as her only reason to even be at the boot camp was to get close to J - giving her the opportunity to finish off P.

She goes to visit I's grave, laying the Order Of Personal Courage awarded to her for saving the children on the grave of I who taught her everything she knew, and gave her the courage to run in and save J.

Now living as a civilian, K turns on the television in her house, seeing an announcement that the conspirators in the bombing will be executed by firing squad later that day.

I was trying to work out an ending in which P ends up dead - not killed by K though - that would be far too boring and end up never really developing K's character, and K now at peace with I's death leaves military life, and has a form of happy ending.

@OPforgotherpassword plot spoiler 😂
(seriously.....I do like the sound of it)

Thanks XD

Hopefully some day in the not so distant future you pick up a book that looks interesting, and get deja vu