"Meridian"

A celebrated speaker and teacher, Amber Kizer gives writing workshops for all ages.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new YA novel, Meridian, and reported the following:

Meridian is a girl who has been surrounded by death her entire life but has no idea why. Her mother has kept a huge secret from her. On her 16th birthday Meridian's world falls apart and she begins the journey to learn her truth, her destiny, and her ancestry as a Fenestra.

Fenestras are windows to the afterlife--they shepherd dying souls. Page 69 falls at the end of a chapter, is only a couple short paragraphs. Something quite pivotal is about to happen, but readers have to turn the page to find out. I think perhaps the only part of that page that is indicative of the rest of the story is the suspense and the compulsion to continue reading.

As to whether readers who only read page 69 would read the rest of the book--that's up to them! Reading is subjective and interactive with what readers bring to the table. However, I would hope that readers picking one page to judge would start with the first page of a story as it's intended--if I wanted readers to start the story at page 69 I would have cut out the first 68 pages of the book in the first place!

Read excerpts from Meridian, and learn more about the book and author at the Meridian website and Amber Kizer's website.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue