Christopher Staskel

Six by Christopher Staskel

Cris Montenegro went by a different name in the sixth grade. He was a different boy altogether before he was framed for the ritualized torture of a fellow classmate. And no one—not the Dean of Students who expelled him, not his parents who moved him cross-country, not even the therapist who made the next five years of his life a living Hell—absolutely no one believed Cris was innocent.

But now it’s senior year, and the prestigious Caulston Abbey Boys’ School has a fresh-faced transfer student. Armed with a brand new identity, Cris has until graduation to exact his revenge on each of the six boys who betrayed him back in middle school. Only then can he permanently slash out their yearbook photos and move on with his life.

What Cris wasn’t counting on was a self-proclaimed best friend who won’t leave him alone, an overly involved guidance counselor who’s a bit too “hands-on” with her students, and a secret brotherhood that would sooner kill one of its members than be exposed to the school administration.

And as if that weren’t enough, someone at Caulston knows Cris’s true identity and doesn’t seem too keen on keeping it a secret.

Arielle & David: In this pitch, you really make us believe that we know what’s inside the pages of this book. Whether that’s actually true or not isn’t important—you’ve made us trust your narrative abilities and we feel certain that we’re in for an entertaining and exciting novel. You leave us at the precipice and we want to know more! What can be improved: We need a little more about Cris. Who was he before in a word or two? And who is he now? Do you want us to have any doubt that he committed this terrible crime? Or do you want your readers to know from the outset that he definitively didn’t do it? That’s not quite clear. Also, we also really need comparative titles here. We’re quite sure this is YA, but does it have the new adult feel of Donna Tartt as well? Is this all plot-driven or are the words as important as the plot?