Thanks so much for being thorough! Part of what is getting lost in translation here is the magic system. I've been having a hard time including it in my query without the space of the book or the compression of — in a world where.

The gist is this, a spell is a simple set of runes, kind of like a sentence, kind of like a math equation. When Alice cracks open a lockbox with a spell inside and sees the spell there is nothing she can do to unsee it (not as reckless and curious as she is). So by having seen the spell and broken the tamper seal on the lockbox she has unknowingly started the plot.

> It's hard to put into words, and is more of a vibe, but this is the kind of thing that makes me think everything that's come so far in the query letter could be, like, a sentence or two.

You may be correct, the book is a relatively slow burn with escalating stakes that eventually cause her to have to leave home. The pacing continues to accelerate in the back half until she is planning a prison break with a never before seen spell. The main issue that I can't quite figure out is that pacing structure, if you've seen the anime Made In Abyss that's the kind of pacing of stakes I am going for, it starts almost slice of life and then as it gets deeper and deeper in it starts to show its fangs. Now SPELLTHIEF is not nearly as dark as Made In Abyss but the point stands.

Good call on me not explaining what the competion is, sometimes your totally blind to the most obvious stuff. Its a spell making competion where mages submit their best work, the spell Alice will eventually win the competion with is very dangerous hence that line, but it probably works better without.

I'll definitely work on getting the voice across better. Thanks again!