A great hook has a unique narrative voice:
Chime by Franny Billingsley
I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged. Now, if you please.
We like to hear stories from people who sound interesting and unique, and great first lines introduce the reader to a character's unique voice.
There is something startling about this character. She has confessed to something huge. Huge enough to be hanged. And not only is she asking to be hanged but she is demanding it. Immediately.
What? Is she going to be hanged? Did she even do it? And if not, why did she confess?
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
I am Mary Iris Malone, and I am not okay.
OK, I have never actually read this book. I'm not a huge fan of mosquitoes, and a whole land of them kind of puts me off. But I still think this is a great first line and I didn't want to leave it out.
Why?
Because her voice is so strong. You can just imagine her coming up to you and boldly declaring her full name and not okay status with her nose stuck in the air. Superb!
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone.
By starting with the well used phrase 'All I've ever wanted,' Draanen makes us anticipate something monumental. But all Bryce wants is for some girl to stop hounding him! Straight away we get a feel for the character. We feel his frustration and his hatred towards Juli Baker, the girl who clearly refuses to leave him alone. And we wonder, will she ever leave him alone? Why won't she go away??
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure.
It starts with a fact. Which is powerful enough that I could have put it in the Facts Section. We immediately picture a man in mourning, grieving the loss of his dear mother, but then he flips this fact on its head with his shocking indifference. How can he not know which day his mother died? And why does he sound so blasé about it?
Feed, by M.T. Anderson
We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.
The carefree, young voice hits you at once. Most teens go to a party to have fun, but not them, they go to the moon! But that's not even the shocker. The shocker is that this unbelievable adventure, which is related to us in a 'yeah, no big deal kind' of voice, this incredible experience, one that most of us can only dream of, turned out to completely suck!
How can the moon possibly suck? It's the moon!
I don't know about you, but if I went to the moon I don't think it'd be half so bad!
Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher
My name, if you must know, is Franklin Delano Donuthead. Try saying that in a room full of fifth graders if you think names will never hurt you.
It doesn't take a genius to work out why Frankiln Delano Donuthead is reluctant to tell us his name! But in the very next sentence her hilariously flips the well known saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,' on its head to make us laugh. You know this book is going to be about bullying, but not in the typical style. You can feel the humor in Franklin's voice and know you're going to be entertained.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me.
...but she still did. I love this line because we get to finish the sentence for ourselves! Ella's attitude simply oozes over the line and we instantly know that Ella has been accidentally cursed by a foolish fairy and she is not impressed. The only question is-what was the curse?
(Author's note: What is your favorite hook in this chapter? Mine is Chime; it's the mix of strong character and shock value. I love it! Thank you all for voting and commenting!!)
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Hook Your Reader
Non-Fiction[ON HOLD] Nobody will ever know how incredible your book is if they don't read it. And for that you need a hook. A unique opening line that touches the core of the story, that temptingly hints to what they'll find inside, that compels your reader...
