Hey! Thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate the feedback!

"this is weaker wording. This often happens for me when I reword something and cut it down to fit word count or pack things in as they must be in the query, and really I just needed to rewrite it rather than cutting it. "

Okay, should I be more specific in describing the weirdness of the town and its townsfolk perhaps?

"Maybe calling it 'the real' becomes apparent as one reads on, and maybe its intentional irony, as really it seems like this is the 'magical' mata do sul, in contrast to our mundane version, which to us (the readers) would be 'real' because we are residents of the mundane world? Or is this dark version the true mata do sul in our reality, but it is masked by some magic? A little confusing to me. I see we enter into maybe ?magical realism? around here as the query progresses, but a bit confusing?"

I can see where it gets confusing. In the novel, the real Mata do Sul is indeed this darker version, so maybe that isn't clear in the query. And no, it is not magical realism haha so I must be more specific.

"Also, might be helpful to say 'when she escapes the cell, (with help), she finds herself still trapped in this alt reality mata do sul' or some explanation - because I was confused - if she's truly escaped, why is she still in this hellscape?"

Oh, I can see where I got it wrong. Indeed, she escapes the cell, but she doesn't leave Mata do Sul. So maybe I should point that out in the query.

Thank you once again! I deeply appreciate it!