QK Round 1: Worth vs. Delicious Vicious Cycles
Title: WORTHEntry Nickname: WorthWord Count: 83,000 wordsGenre: YA Contemporary
Query:
All her life, seventeen-year-old Kayen has been unfavorably compared to her twin sister Arabel. She craves the love of her father, who adores Arabel and considers Arabel’s boyfriend Garrick the son he never had. When a school experiment has students install Worth, an app that measures social media popularity and assigns each student a score, it’s scientific proof Kayen doesn’t measure up. But as students pin on the nametag-sized scoreboards and obsess over Worth, Kayen discovers an opportunity to get what’s rightfully hers.
Kayen might not have Arabel’s looks or athleticism, but she knows math. She cracks Worth’s algorithm, empowering her to manipulate scores and make Arabel feel what it's like to be Worthless. Arabel becomes a drag on Garrick’s Worth. He dumps her, which diminishes Arabel in her father’s eyes. Kayen maneuvers into an alliance with Garrick and her Worth rises. She’s almost Worthy enough for Garrick to make their relationship public. Then her father will finally love her.
But Kayen’s mathematics can’t predict Arabel’s comeback. Free from her father’s oppression and dismayed at the suffering Worth causes, Arabel launches a grassroots movement promoting compassionate self-worth. She challenges Garrick for the class presidency to end the Worth experiment, threatening everything Kayen treasures as the source of her esteem. But Kayen has come too far to let that happen. She’ll do anything to protect her Worth.
First 250:
From The Law Offices of Hillman & Meisel, PLLC
Dear Ms. Hillman,
About your shoes. They’re Emprezz, right? About $500? Why spend so much on shoes? Do they make you happy? Or are you trying to create an image for the judge and jury, to inspire confidence and trust? Well it doesn’t work for me. You don’t look happy. And I don’t trust you.
I know, I know. I’m one to talk. I obviously lied about why I wanted this paper. I’m not using it to write my mother. She still won’t visit me or attend the trial, and I doubt my begging would make a difference. She’s not strong enough to handle the truth.
It’s the same between us, Ms. Hillman. You said you didn’t want to know if I did it, that I should dress nice and cry for the jury. You won’t put me on the stand because you’re afraid I’ll talk. You’re not interested in truth.
I’ve watched you these many weeks. You never wear the same outfit twice. You’re always on social media checking coverage of the trial and to see if that guy you text with liked your hot pic. You’re a lie, Ms. Hillman.
I won’t take part in your deception. Unlike you, I am happy. And the jury must hear the truth: I did it. I’m 100% guilty.
I did for my sister.
I did it for every girl who lives a lie.
I did it for you.
VERSUS
Title: VERA WITH A VENGEANCEEntry Nickname: Delicious Vicious CyclesWord count: 74KGenre: YA Contemporary, Own Voices
Query:
Teenage entrepreneur Vera Davis starts a business to sell revenge in VERA WITH A VENGEANCE, a 74,000-word young adult contemporary novel. Vera and I are both Jewish and sexual assault survivors.
When a car accident paralyzes Vera’s basketball-star brother and kills her parents, she's suddenly in charge of the medical bills, the mortgage, and her own anger and helplessness. Vera's always been good at getting back at people who hurt her, but she can’t exactly get revenge on the curve in the road where her father lost control of the car.
Meager insurance payouts leave Vera desperate for money, so she starts a business: when the traditional justice system fails her clients, Vera wrecks wrongdoers’ careers and cars, relationships and reputations. She revels in taking down racists and sexual assault perpetrators, but her crush--her brother’s best friend--thinks her style of vengeance is morally wrong.
Then, while helping a client get payback for a leaked nude picture, Vera finds new evidence about her family’s “accident.” Turns out there is someone for Vera to blame, but the perpetrator had her own very good reason to seek vengeance.
Now Vera must decide whether getting revenge is worth getting blood on her hands.
First 250:
This creeper keeps staring at me with this little half smile, like he thinks I want his eyes undressing me. His face, all chin and cheekbones, reeks of always getting what he wants—women, money, free drinks in first class en route to Ibiza. I want to walk away, but his wife is shopping for an evening gown, and I need the commission to pay the energy bill.
I focus on her, and hold up a green dress to hide my body. “This would look great with your eyes.”
Her eyes are blue, but the green dress sells well, and if she buys it, I’ll hit the monthly quota for a higher commission percentage. I can only work so much after school, and I have to make the hours count.
She turns to Creeper. “What do you think?”
“I’d like to see more.” His eyes flicker down to my calves and back up to my chest. For all his wife can tell, he’s checking out the dress, but his gaze burns my skin.
I hold the dress higher to cover my breasts and look at my boss for rescue. He mouths work it. If I didn’t need this job so badly…I force myself to smile.
Creeper’s gold smartwatch buzzes, and he glances away from me. Those watches cost ten grand. Ten grand would keep the lights on and pay for three months of the mortgage. Ten grand could keep Levi and me from losing the house our parents raised us in.
Query:
All her life, seventeen-year-old Kayen has been unfavorably compared to her twin sister Arabel. She craves the love of her father, who adores Arabel and considers Arabel’s boyfriend Garrick the son he never had. When a school experiment has students install Worth, an app that measures social media popularity and assigns each student a score, it’s scientific proof Kayen doesn’t measure up. But as students pin on the nametag-sized scoreboards and obsess over Worth, Kayen discovers an opportunity to get what’s rightfully hers.
Kayen might not have Arabel’s looks or athleticism, but she knows math. She cracks Worth’s algorithm, empowering her to manipulate scores and make Arabel feel what it's like to be Worthless. Arabel becomes a drag on Garrick’s Worth. He dumps her, which diminishes Arabel in her father’s eyes. Kayen maneuvers into an alliance with Garrick and her Worth rises. She’s almost Worthy enough for Garrick to make their relationship public. Then her father will finally love her.
But Kayen’s mathematics can’t predict Arabel’s comeback. Free from her father’s oppression and dismayed at the suffering Worth causes, Arabel launches a grassroots movement promoting compassionate self-worth. She challenges Garrick for the class presidency to end the Worth experiment, threatening everything Kayen treasures as the source of her esteem. But Kayen has come too far to let that happen. She’ll do anything to protect her Worth.
First 250:
From The Law Offices of Hillman & Meisel, PLLC
Dear Ms. Hillman,
About your shoes. They’re Emprezz, right? About $500? Why spend so much on shoes? Do they make you happy? Or are you trying to create an image for the judge and jury, to inspire confidence and trust? Well it doesn’t work for me. You don’t look happy. And I don’t trust you.
I know, I know. I’m one to talk. I obviously lied about why I wanted this paper. I’m not using it to write my mother. She still won’t visit me or attend the trial, and I doubt my begging would make a difference. She’s not strong enough to handle the truth.
It’s the same between us, Ms. Hillman. You said you didn’t want to know if I did it, that I should dress nice and cry for the jury. You won’t put me on the stand because you’re afraid I’ll talk. You’re not interested in truth.
I’ve watched you these many weeks. You never wear the same outfit twice. You’re always on social media checking coverage of the trial and to see if that guy you text with liked your hot pic. You’re a lie, Ms. Hillman.
I won’t take part in your deception. Unlike you, I am happy. And the jury must hear the truth: I did it. I’m 100% guilty.
I did for my sister.
I did it for every girl who lives a lie.
I did it for you.
VERSUS
Title: VERA WITH A VENGEANCEEntry Nickname: Delicious Vicious CyclesWord count: 74KGenre: YA Contemporary, Own Voices
Query:
Teenage entrepreneur Vera Davis starts a business to sell revenge in VERA WITH A VENGEANCE, a 74,000-word young adult contemporary novel. Vera and I are both Jewish and sexual assault survivors.
When a car accident paralyzes Vera’s basketball-star brother and kills her parents, she's suddenly in charge of the medical bills, the mortgage, and her own anger and helplessness. Vera's always been good at getting back at people who hurt her, but she can’t exactly get revenge on the curve in the road where her father lost control of the car.
Meager insurance payouts leave Vera desperate for money, so she starts a business: when the traditional justice system fails her clients, Vera wrecks wrongdoers’ careers and cars, relationships and reputations. She revels in taking down racists and sexual assault perpetrators, but her crush--her brother’s best friend--thinks her style of vengeance is morally wrong.
Then, while helping a client get payback for a leaked nude picture, Vera finds new evidence about her family’s “accident.” Turns out there is someone for Vera to blame, but the perpetrator had her own very good reason to seek vengeance.
Now Vera must decide whether getting revenge is worth getting blood on her hands.
First 250:
This creeper keeps staring at me with this little half smile, like he thinks I want his eyes undressing me. His face, all chin and cheekbones, reeks of always getting what he wants—women, money, free drinks in first class en route to Ibiza. I want to walk away, but his wife is shopping for an evening gown, and I need the commission to pay the energy bill.
I focus on her, and hold up a green dress to hide my body. “This would look great with your eyes.”
Her eyes are blue, but the green dress sells well, and if she buys it, I’ll hit the monthly quota for a higher commission percentage. I can only work so much after school, and I have to make the hours count.
She turns to Creeper. “What do you think?”
“I’d like to see more.” His eyes flicker down to my calves and back up to my chest. For all his wife can tell, he’s checking out the dress, but his gaze burns my skin.
I hold the dress higher to cover my breasts and look at my boss for rescue. He mouths work it. If I didn’t need this job so badly…I force myself to smile.
Creeper’s gold smartwatch buzzes, and he glances away from me. Those watches cost ten grand. Ten grand would keep the lights on and pay for three months of the mortgage. Ten grand could keep Levi and me from losing the house our parents raised us in.
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