The idea I had for this novel would be for the two main characters to fight social constructs as a rebellion rather than the government. This would appeal to the young adult dystopian novel in that it features a rebellion. However, this dystopian novel would offer a refreshing twist as today’s reality involves fighting a millennial “entitled” status and the problematic social constructs of our previous generations as well as a corrupt government, which the novel would attempt to encompass. This special scientific cosmetic line (play on words with genetic makeup) would address the idea of racial problem solving but also problem causing with the concept of “color blindness.” It would also implicitly show the uses feminism ideals have for boys since they would not use the products and would therefore be left out of the movement. Despite the feminine background of the plot, it would ideally appeal to males as much as females in that it calls to attention the ways feminism works in their favor too. Also, to fit the theme of racial identity, the characters would be described by their appearance and personality, leaving the specific race out of the storyline and up to the imagination of the reader. There would be homoerotic undertones between the two main characters as well, highlighting the importance of inclusion of LGBTQ+ representation in adolescent literature without making it the main focus of the novel.
Characters: (As I said in the pitch, their physical descriptions are left entirely up to the reader)
Tania – Student government president. Activist, but also feminine in that she loves makeup and cosmetology.
Shai – Tania's best friend. Competitive but supportive to represent the ideal relationships between women (and people for that matter).
Gerard – Tania's childhood friend. Somewhat of a flawed character in that he does not deal with Tania's intelligent superiority well.
Daymond – The supervisor of student government. He has good intentions, but ultimately becomes the one Shai and Tania need to sneak around in order to make and reverse the makeup.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteI still love the title of this novel, and the cover is striking and targets market trends. This novel would have a predecessor in The Giver in its warning against the dangers of color blindness, even when it is well intended. I, of course, have some questions about how exactly this makeup would erase the physical appearance of race. And I do think that you could still give the characters some descriptors without necessarily labeling them in any way (a la Lumberjanes).