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.

I'm trying to keep it at game of thrones level - I mainly think it's not such a violent book - it has some disturbing undertones however IMO.

Deffo am writing detail in - just no gore along the lines of someone being disemboweled or raped - I've seen far too much of that in 'Young Adult' books.

I think my dd 14 would read it.

Thanks!

What sort of books does she like?

With respect it's there because the audience is there. At that age tolerance and exploration is really high. I remember being fascinated by serial killers and my now 16 is too.

It's the age I think when we really pull apart nature v nurture.

Something to look forward to so (mum of 12 y/o) 😂

I think it sounds interesting. I am not a teenager though so not at all the target audience! Whether it's any good would depend on the character development. I hated violence as a teenager and still do. I think that's unusual though.

Just write the thing then worry about it. The best laid plot will develop with writing and editing so worrying too much about it now is silly imo.

Your description IMO is hard to follow. Is it a dystopia? Where’s the coming of age element? Where’s the character arc?

From the description you’ve offered, it might be suited better as an adult crime thriller / dystopian novel rather than for young adult. But maybe I’ve just not caught the gist of it. Any excerpts ?

Sounds pretty niche!
Good luck though

That being said if it’s a sapphic thing then it already has its own selling point. What about putting it on Wattpad? Big sapphic fic scene over there.

I don't really think it would be interesting to teens, they like that kind of plot in more of an apocalypse or fantasy setting and with characters their own age. Prime Ministers are a bit too real, more of a James Bond audience so much older.

She loves all sorts...mysteries, murders, adventure etc. She loved the Hunger Games... if there is an element of something to solve, it will capture her attention.

I struggled to follow your plot outline... and the lesbian bit you mentioned in a later post sounds bizarre and out of place. (Although I must admit that I get fed up of any gay film for teenagers being aimed squarely at boys.)

As others have said, the characters are too old for audience. Why not just write the book and worry about the audience later?

Your description made me think of Tomorrow when the war began - aimed at a similar age group and also has violence and death, with a female narrator.

Though it sounds like it might fit a bit more with 'new adult' age groups than young adult?