Blurbs Are So Hard

 

I would bet that almost all of the writers reading this blog agree that writing the blurb for you book is a daunting task. Sometimes it feels like it's harder to write the blurb than it was to write the book. I've been working on the blurb for Through This Together for several weeks and I'm still not happy with it. Partially because I have to decide which audience I want to target. The book is mostly about a family's challenges that they face because of the coronavirus shutdowns and the racial tensions caused by George Floyd's death. But, there's also a deep family story about a young woman being rejected by her family for being gay, and another young woman's fear of being rejected by her family for the same reason. The story is about friendships, relationships, and a sweet romance that blooms. So how do I put all of that into three hundred word advertisement?

Here's the most current blurb for Through This Together. I would love to get some comments and thoughts. 

Seventeen-year-old Natalie Weatherby, like most teenagers, didn’t give the news about the flu-like virus in China much thought. It wasn’t something that affected her life, and then the virus began to spread worldwide. Soon after, Kentucky, where Natalie lives, saw its first in early March, Natalie’s world turned upside down because the nursing homes stopped allowing visitors, and the school went virtual-only. 

Natalie loves school, and she and her mother visit her Grandma Tremmel in the nursing home every day. Like many people, Natalie assumed that things would be back to normal after a few weeks, but things continue to spiral out of control.

Being forced to work with her nemesis, Jill Harper, on a virtual school project and developing a crush on Jill is just the beginning of Natalie’s problems. Her grandmother has Alzheimer’s. After not seeing Natalie in person for several days, she starts thinking that Natalie is her sister, Bertha, a sister Natalie’s mother, Jennifer, didn’t know existed. 

And then, the racial tensions in the United States explode after the death of George Floyd while in police custody. Natalie didn’t think anyone in her family was prejudiced, but the protests bring out a side of Natalie’s brother, Ben, that she never knew existed.

   

The truths revealed during these family crises will have lasting effects on Natalie and her family. Are they strong enough to get through this together?