NoQS YA Contemporary: LOTUS ISLAND

Title: LOTUS ISLAND
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Word Count: 70,000

My MC and MA (main antagonist) are dressed as:

Despite having the huge desire to repeat her Ms. Frizzle costume from last year (her favorite ever), Lucy would be talked into a team dress-up with her best friend, Rachael, who comes up with the more daring costumes. It would take some cajoling for her to put on the miniskirt and push-up bra, but she’d be Twilight Sparkle to Rachael’s Apple Jack of My Little Pony. Calvin would channel his desire to be a journalist and go as Clark Kent in mid-undress as Superman.

 

Query:
Lucy Chen grew up dutifully aware of her dad’s expectations to join the family business, but for nine short weeks working solo on a remote island her fate is her own. 
Before she leaves to study her father-approved major at her father-approved college, Lucy takes a summer job on Lotus Island—a vacation resort that takes “away-from-it-all” to the extreme with no internet or cell phone service. It is her last chance to figure out her own future and hone her writing skills at the island’s weekly paper, The Lotus Reflection.
Unfortunately, the work is far harder thanks to her militant boss who discourages her every word, and Calvin, a charming reporter who keeps landing the Page 1 articles over Lucy. As tempting and encouraging as Calvin is, Lucy’s not looking for distractions like romance—despite those exchanged kisses.
With summer racing to a close, Lucy must decide whether she’s ready to leave the island behind and claim the life of her father’s legacy, or risk it all for her own dreams, which have blossomed as clearly as the island’s famous lotuses.
First 250 words:
This day was far too important for Lucy Chen to hurl into the ocean from a boat nicknamed the Salt Air, No Care.

“The words mean while on a seaside vacation, worries are left behind.” Her father pointed to the sign.

“I might leave my lunch behind. Will that be good enough?” She clutched her stomach as it sizzled and popped like the beat-up rice cooker back home. 

“I don’t understand.” Her dad blinked. “You’ve never been seasick before.”

Sure, the forty-minute trek of warp-speed skidding across the Atlantic Ocean, punctuated by sudden plunges from the choppy surface was a possible culprit. It also could be nerves of being away from her family for nine weeks on an island with not an iota of internet service.

But it was more the fact she’d been lying to her dad’s face for two straight weeks about her job on Lotus Island and today was the last and most crucial day. If he got wind of her being there for something other than the innocent hanging out with the bff before college, she wouldn’t put it past him to force her back on the boat heading to the Georgia coastline.

She sank into her seat. “Kill me.”

“If I do that, you won’t be able to see the island. Look over there.”

“Not a good idea right now, Dad.” 

“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” He patted her back. The thumping cadence forced her to sit up.
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