I proposed the idea for this novel in an assignment where we wrote practice letters to publishing agents, so I will just repurpose some of what I wrote to explain the story without spoiling it:
Colossus is a Young Adult coming-of-age novel.
My interest in blending coming-of-age struggles with fairytale undercurrents began when I was a child. Growing up, I was particularly drawn to stories such as Midnight (2004) by Jacqueline Wilson, A Monster Calls (2011) by Patrick Ness and Skellig (1998) by David Almond, all of which addressed themes of family trauma, toxic friendships and identity crises intertwined with magical elements, whether real or imagined. The idea that children deal with traumatic situations through their imaginations was fascinating to me as a child and as an adult writer. This thematic interest is integral to Colossus, where the teenage main character finds comfort in her belief in fairies to deal with the death of her mother and the increasingly strange behaviour of her best friend. I also found solace in music, and am fascinated with books that deal with the importance of music in our lives and how they can shape and reflect personal identities, such as This Song Will Save Your Life (2013) by Leila Sales or A Song For Bill Robinson (2016) by Chantelle Atkins. It was through this fascination for how coming-of-age stories can help children and teenagers understand their own lives, and how music can soundtrack your life, that Colossus was born. In Colossus, songs become myths, friendships become legends and growing up means you must choose which stories you want to continue and which you want to leave behind.
My writing has mainly focused on the Young Adult genre, but with a specific interest in narratives that explore children navigating a world or situation without adult authority. This thematic focus has encouraged me to explore questions of autonomy, vulnerability, and resilience in child and teenage characters, which feeds well into Colossus. The novel is centred around a naive teenage girl, Leonora, who is wrestling with grief, loyalty, identity, and the power of storytelling, living in the shadow of her older best friend Kit. The two form a secret music project that suddenly becomes popular not only in their school but in the entire country, and what Leonora thinks is an exciting secret is really a dark one for Kit.
Colossus is a devastating portrait of adolescence, mental illness, and belief. It explores how myth can be both a shield and a mirror, and how sometimes, the only way to survive reality is to rewrite it as a fairytale.
IDK IF IT'S TOO DEEP FOR ME BUT WE SHALL SEEEE
