I sent my pitch thingy over to my editor friend to get her take on whether the elements I have in place make my story too adult. She actually thought it could work really well to have a married teenager as the protagonist. Which surprised me!
She was concerned about the guy being older and in college since that is outside the world my target audience will know, but she didn't think it was a deal breaker. Basically, though, she is VERY concerned about the miscarriage/stillbirth element. She feels that the inclusion of something so heavy could make it a hard sell in the teen market. Also, the further along the character is in the pregnancy, the more the focus (and page content) would need to be on getting over that loss in order to keep her sympathetic.
Of course, the story I want to write isn't about a girl getting over a loss; it's about a girl being in a place where she can confront truths that were there all along, but that she wasn't equipped to see or accept before.
She asked: Is there anything OTHER than a pregnancy that could push her to feel she has to get married young, and then still have the husband's younger brother and other plot points arise that change things and help her see that she doesn't have to be tied to that life?
Er... maybe? But I sure can't think of anything!
Does anyone have any ideas you're willing to share that might help me out here?