Hi Joyce,

Thanks again for sending Lambs for Dinner. Your voice sounds strong and confident, which is no surprise since we already knew that from Red December Skies. Skye is definitely a unique character too - an obsession with superstitions is a fresh concept in a YA.

Though we enjoyed your writing very much, I'm afraid we still encountered a few issues. Certain passages, for instance, seemed too slow since they were bogged down with details and actions the reader didn't necessarily need to know. Some of Skye's and Drew's diction also sounded a bit odd coming from the mouth of a teenager. Their kiss on page 21 also struck us as too abrupt and maybe even unconvincing - it didn't seem like something a real teenage boy would do. The kiss, along with their many chance encounters, made their romance feel a bit too obvious and heavy-handed to us, as well.

In short, Lambs for Dinner is a very strong YA, but we don't feel it's quite ready yet. It looks like we're going to have to pass, but again, this is only our opinion. It's a very subjective industry and we have no doubt that another agent will feel differently about Lambs for Dinner. Thank you very much for sharing your most recent work with us and we wish you the best of luck.

Kind regards,
Judith

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Judith Engracia
Literary Assistant
Liza Dawson Associates
350 7th Avenue, Suite 2003
New York, NY 10001
(212) 465-9077
http://www.lizadawsonassociates.com/