The Last 8
BY laura pohlsourcebooks fire2019Query Letter
When the aliens land on Earth, Clover Martinez – a 17-year-old who comes from a family of fighter pilots – wants to prove she’s ready to fight. But after a close encounter with the invaders, Clover narrowly escapes with her life while the rest of humanity perishes in the invasion.
Six months after the attack and struggling with PTSD and suicidal thoughts in a post-apocalyptic world, Clover discovers survivors in the former Area 51, the self-titled “Last Teenagers on Earth.” Finally, there’s hope for fighting back.
What Clover isn’t expecting is their unwillingness to take on the enemy. Not a single person will stand by Clover, and worse, one of them might be one of the aliens she has sworn to fight. Area 51 piles secret on top of secret, and when she finds a spaceship hidden in the basement, Clover doesn’t know what to believe anymore. Everyone is a potential liar, and if she trusts the wrong person, she puts the last stronghold of humanity in danger. Clover needs answers, even as her mind spins with thoughts of suicide.
There’s only one thing keeping her grounded: fighting for Earth. And if Clover wants to live, she needs to spot the liar and convince her friends to fight – and, most of all, convince herself there’s more waiting for her than putting a bullet to her head.
THE LAST 8 is a stand-alone post-apocalyptic YA sci-fi complete at 90,000 words. The manuscript is “Independence Day,” but seen through the eyes of a girl who suffers from mental illness. I believe it will appeal to fans of Rick Yancey’s THE 5TH WAVE and Courtney Summers’s THIS IS NOT A TEST. This is a ownvoices novel, and my main character is a bisexual Latina who also struggles with mental illness.
About
Age Range
Young Adult
Genre
Science Fiction
Word Count
90,000
Book Link
https://www.amazon.com/Last-8-Laura-Pohl/dp/149266989X
Agent
Sarah LaPolla
Query Stats
Number of Queries Sent
47
Number of Full Requests Received
4
Number of Offers of Representation
1
Number of Months Spent Querying This Novel
6 months
Years Spent Writing Before Getting an Offer
3
Number of Manuscripts Queried Before This One
1
Publication Status of The Book Queried
Published (Independent /Boutique / Indy Publisher)