Hibiscus Awards 2023

.+*Teen Fiction Results*+.

Judged by mmjayoh

8. Friendship Love by Amelia-Law

Title: [8.5] I appreciate the play on words, and it's suited for the premise of the story. However, it's not the most unique title, but it serves the purpose!

Cover: [8] The image is intriguing, and the title font reminds me of early 2000's movies. But, the image is a bit dark.

Blurb: [6] The blurb is concise and does get the premise across. However, there are many typos and grammatical errors. For example, the first two sentences should say 'understands' instead of 'understand.'

Plot: [8] The premise of childhood friends falling out and reuniting is engaging. But, it took awhile to get to the story since it started out with them as kids, and then it was a bit repetitive with Jayden being rude.

Characters: [8] Characters have distinct personalities and an interesting dynamic due to their childhood history. At times, their dialogue is a bit too harsh and reads as forced for the given circumstances.

Grammar/spelling: [6.5] There were a number of typos and grammatical errors. Also, there is error in the grammar/punctuation of the dialogue.

Story flow: [8] The story jumps from first person POV to third person narration, which feels jarring and confusing at times.

TOTAL: 53/70 OR 75.71%

7. Not Your Average Fairy Tale by malwritesstories

Title: [9] The title fits the premise, but could be more unique.

Cover: [9] The cover appears very professional, but looks more like a fantasy novel than those in the teen fiction genre.

Blurb: [7] The blurb does not convey the premise of the story, but it is intriguing.

Plot: [6.5] There is a lot of repetitive set-up, so it took too long to get to the main premise.

Characters: [7] The characters' personalities are hard to distinguish between. At times, their dialogue reads as unnatural. And, they are often referred to by different names (Bella and Elora), which makes it hard to follow.

Grammar/spelling: [9] Minor errors in regards to tense usage within the text.

Story flow: [7] The switching points of view caused repetitiveness that bogged the story down.

TOTAL: 54.5/70 OR 77.86%

6. Rich Kids by ghodeypesawarx

Title: [9] The title is catchy and to the point.

Cover: [9] The cover image is clean and perfect for the story premise.

Blurb: [8] It's brief, but explains the premise of the story clearly. There is one comma which is out of place.

Plot: [6.5] This story contains a lot of drama, which is fun. However, most of the plot is told passively–there is a lot of 'telling' where there should be more 'showing.' There is almost too much happening, and the pacing is a bit too fast.

Characters: [8] There are a lot of characters and they are first introduced through 'telling,' which makes it difficult to keep them straight. But their distinct personalities become more apparent further on.