Title: Maze (@wocalich )
Audience: Juvenile
Young adult was specified on the application, but the age range 13-17 aligns more closely with juvenile fiction, in my opinion.
Genre: Fantasy
Initial thoughts: No thoughts, head empty, ready for the found family of witches and kitsunes.
Hook - This is your basic outcasts-turned-found-family trope so say hello to me and every other fluffy fanfic reader out there. It's warm, it's angsty, I love it. And if the promise of a trope I like wasn't enticing enough, the twist at the end of chapter two certainly got my attention.
Characters - Mm, yes, I love the smell of the outcast, bullied, and teased underdogs in the...
It's midnight, so not morning but close enough.
On a more real note, clearly a lot of effort went into developing the characters and having them interact within an equally developed world in a way that demonstrates both who they are and how the world around them operates. Plus, what I got to see of the character designs was fun.
Syntax - This does border on the manga-style writing but not too closely. In fact I might just be getting those vibes from all the kistune references and the fact that I'm reading and writing this review late at night. In general the writing could be a little cleaner, a little clearer.
This writing style also aligns more with juvenile fiction than young adult fiction, which might be something to consider in the future when you're deciding what category to put your book in, or what category you want your book to be in.
Technicality - It's not perfect but there weren't any glaring problems.
Formatting - Personally I favor double line breaks as scene dividers, rather than asterisks or designs. But the double lines don't always translate well on Wattpad and there's nothing wrong with asterisks, so I can't fault your choice there.
Final thoughts:
8/10 It could use some cleaning up and I think it falls under juvenile fiction rather than young adult, but I might venture to read some more when it comes out.
