Poinsettia, what is the new theme?

The One Who Loves        Adapted from the Bible, which I believe is fully true.

     A king who loved and always wanted to be with his subjects once thought, I should make something amazingly beautiful for my subjects. I will make them a spectacular garden for them with running streams, tall trees, and amazing flowers. It will have everything they need. He makes his garden, hen tells his kingdom, “I have made this garden for you. Now, if you would like to enjoy it, you must never ever eat from the tree in the center. It’s to keep you guys safe. Hope you enjoy it!”

    All of the subjects are confused. “Why can we not eat those?” They thought. The kingdom goes to the tree. There is so much temptation and confusion in those subjects, that they eat a fruit from the tree in the center of the garden. Suddenly, they all become aware of what they did, and they all hide. 
 
    “Why did you eat from the tree I told you not to eat from?” Said the king, “I made this garden to be with you, but now, you won’t be able to come back to the garden. You shall be punished.”

    Then the king’s  guard escorted the subjects out of the garden never to be let in again. The king though, had a plan. He loved his subjects so much that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him, can live with him forever. His son had to die for all of his subjects to come back to him. His son came back to life three days after he died, and is now living with his father for the rest of time.

The end

If you would like to hear more of this story, read the Bible. ✝️ 😁

Loving Dahlia – YA, contemporary fiction
Dahlia has always been the girl with a sunshine personality, the reliable therapist friend, having been called “well-behaved” throughout her childhood. She is a social butterfly in parties and a “perfect” student throughout her schooling years. So when she enters adulthood, she thinks she has everything together, until as the years go on, she constantly gets into bad relationships, feels drained behind her bright plastered smiles, has growing anxiety over every little decision she made, and can never fully relax, even on breaks.

Then one day, when listening to a friend rant about work problems, the friend asks if she is okay. Unexpected tears form, and as Dahlia reflects upon her life with the help of a therapist—how no one had ever asked if she was okay, how the perpetual worries and emotional maturity she had were a result of growing up too fast. After several therapy sessions, Dahlia faces the problem—of facing her inner child.

Can Dahlia learn to love and nurture her inner child and learn to ask for help, or will she be unable to allow herself to be vulnerable after all these years?

Loving Dahlia is a poignant story about healing, reflection upon childhood, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and the most important kind of love—self love.

Rosa
YA, Romantic, Magical Realism 

Cillian and his family are the only inhabitants of the jagged mountains in the north. The touch of snow has never lifted for as long as Cillian can remember.
One day, Cillian steps outside the family’s tiny cabin, swathed in furs, and hears something unexpected. A melodic, beautiful sound. Cillian has never heard music before, and he follows the noise. He sees a glint of gold and peers behind a piles of snow-covered rocks. 
A girl about his age sits beside a harp, her fingers plucking the strings with ease, her hair tied back with a scarf. Cillian has never believed in love at first sight, but now he gets it.
He heads back to the cabin, but every day after, he listens for the music, and it always comes. It’s ethereal, the sound. 
Then, almost a month later, the music cuts off, and he hears a scream. Cillian runs to the spot he had first seen the girl. No one sits at the harp, and the scarf lies in the snow, next to footprints. Cillian sees the tag on the scarf, a name written on it. Rosa. 
Cillian decides to follow the footprints, yet they head into parts of the mountain his oldest siblings deemed too dangerous. This adventurous story, focused on Cillian’s mission to find Rosa, is full of suspense and twists and turns.

Don’t want to seem mad, but @poinsettia, I think it’s past judging date. 🤔🧐🤨

hello everyone sorryyy that I forgot about this again, things have been so busy that I completely let this slip. Huge apologies, and @Thalorwin, thank you for the reminder!

Without further ado, here’s the judging! Everyone did a great job:)

Third Place: Thalorwin! The cadence of your sentences is really expressive, creating a thoughtful and compassionate tone. And it’s an interesting take on the theme of love.

Second Place: Moon Wolf! I especially like the last two sentences, but the whole summary has such taut, clear prose that paints a good picture of your protagonist and plot. I also really like the idea of writing about self-love, that was an unexpected take! And great title:)

First Place: Amity! What I liked best about your summary was the plot, and the adventurous fantasy-romance vibe. The idea of the girl with the harp and the scarf is intriguing too – it’s one of the most vivid things about your summary. Great job, you’re the next judge!

Tysm, Poinsettia. Moon Wolf and Thalorwin, your summaries were both so cool 🙂

The next theme is hope. Submit by November 6th!

Rebuilding What’s Lost, Historical Fiction, ages 12+ (age range to find interesting)

In late June, 1945, in the countryside of England, Annabelle Keller wakes up. Today, she was going to head home. She hadn’t been home since she was young. World War II had hurt her family. Her father had to go to war. Now, they were all together again after what felt like hundreds of years. After several hours of travel, they make it. Her father and mother glance at each other, not wanting to say what horrible tragedy has happened. Then, Annabelle’s younger sister, Betsy, notices what her parents hadn’t wanted to say. Their house was destroyed. They realized that there was no home that they had come home to. Annabelle looks at Betsy, who is about to burst into tears.
Their mother reminds them that they’re all together, which is what counts. The Keller’s neighbors had gotten back soon after they had. Together, they had made a little lean too, just big enough to fit all of them. In the morning, Mr. Keller heads out to the woods, looking for food. When he comes back, he’s  got a plan and food. They’ll have to build a house. After many months of hard work, and hope that the project will get done, they have a house. They’ve now found something that can overcome losses, hope. They’ll rebuild their future again with family, friends, and the hope of a better tomorrow.

The end

Hope in the Dark, Dystopian fiction, light romance, YA

Laelynn lives in a society where darkness reigns, happiness is considered an indulgence, and everyone is born into roles that they follow their whole lives. Yet despite everything around her, Laelynn still manages to hold onto hope.

One day, Laelynn meets a girl named Chloe, who appeared to come from a place outside of their society. She realizes the amount of similarities between them appearance-wise and personality-wise, and they become fast friends. Chloe eventually warms up to Laelynn and tells her of her adventures from the outside world, and Laelynn wonders if there is a way to escape, and bring hope to everyone in their society.

She eventually makes her way to meeting Callahan, the handsome son of the leader of their society, who is captivated by how much hope she has despite her surroundings, and decides to assist her in bringing hope back to everyone once and for all.

Hope in the Dark is a beautifully captivating tale about rediscovering the past, finding unexpected family, uncovering the truth, and above all, maintaining hope amidst darkness.

Extending the deadline to November 15th :]