Now that's a great cover! The colours, font, title and tag are all set to draw the reader in.
I'm not quite so taken with the content. There are so many barriers to a non-American. Firstly, gun culture - American writers may not realise how familiarity with guns (especially for children) is anathema in most of Europe. The US system of grades without any other indication of the ages of the characters is a little frustrating, together with such elitist concepts as 'legacy scholar' and the status of sports. The names of brands without mentioning what type of product is involved seems another unnecessarily opaque technique, and one which will date the novel.
OK, rant over! The pace of the writing is good, the descriptions of settings and people are interesting and sufficient without ever getting tedious. The plot promises to be exciting but far too dark for my taste.
I'm not quite so taken with the content. There are so many barriers to a non-American. Firstly, gun culture - American writers may not realise how familiarity with guns (especially for children) is anathema in most of Europe. The US system of grades without any other indication of the ages of the characters is a little frustrating, together with such elitist concepts as 'legacy scholar' and the status of sports. The names of brands without mentioning what type of product is involved seems another unnecessarily opaque technique, and one which will date the novel.
OK, rant over! The pace of the writing is good, the descriptions of settings and people are interesting and sufficient without ever getting tedious. The plot promises to be exciting but far too dark for my taste.