Unfortunately, [book] isn't what I'm looking for right now, so I'll be passing with regrets. (Your opening pages drew me in, but I worry that the concept won't stand out in a crowded market without stronger hooks.) Thank you for considering me, and very best of luck with your other queries.

Seems like she takes issue with the letter and synopsis more than my writing, unless I'm reading it wrong. Guess I get to be the exception to her detailed rejection feedback. Oh well.

Queried: 6/20/2025
Rejection: 6/20/2025 (about two and a half hours later)

Sent a personalized rejection, however it reinforces what I dislike about this whole process instead of offering encouragement. I can break her response into two parts. 1) She offered the advice of "You could even introduce other POVs, even just snippets of other POVs, to create more layers and/or tell the story in a nonlinear way", which I do. In fact, the latter half of the novel gets quite wild with non-linearity. However, she couldn't have none that from the first three pages. 2) She said the novel is too "nihilistic" to be YA. Now, while I did query it to her as YA, I don't really consider it YA. Since an agent at a conference said that the protagonist's age is what determines if a novel is middle grade, young adult, or adult, though, I figured I'd try (nothing to lose, right?). Still, this agent's response about the novel being too nihilistic brings up the question: Why? I personally find the nihilistic elements darkly comedic, and convey the message that people, especially impressionable youths, should be wary of toxic positivity. Making grand decisions about what is essential and what is disallowed for a genre that is defined by age range reinforces my prejudice that agents simply want "the same but different" rather than something completely different.

Q: 6/20/25
Rejection on the same day with personalized message and a few advices.
58k YA fantasy

Q: 6/18/25
form rejection: 6/18/25
~80K YA fantasy with LGBTQIA+ rep

Form Query: 6/6
Full Request: 6/6
Personalized Rejection 6/8

She gave such a thoughtful and detailed personalized rejection that was really helpful. And she added some really kind words, so the rejection actually quite encouraging. It amazed me how fast she read my submission as well. I think she'd be a great agent for anyone to work with.