Thanks to everyone who has responded with great advice so far! Here's some plot info about the manuscript:
* Ten years ago, telekinetic Teddy Tremaine was kidnapped in the middle of the night, snatched away from his prestigious family. His kidnapping sparked such social upheaval that it became legal for those with extraordinary abilities – Ascendants – to be legally owned by “protectors.”
In MOMENTUM, a complete 82,000-word young adult dystopian novel, seventeen-year-old Teddy has become a top fighter in the Empire Arena, a unique system intended to keep those with abilities under control by battling them against each other. Teddy is the poster child for the arenas, the ultimate endorsement for how well they work. He's content with his new life – until his best friend is purchased by a newcomer, socialite Persephone Howard.
As Persephone builds her new team, she becomes more and more determined to purchase Teddy. But as she gets closer to him, Teddy discovers she isn't the spoiled, upper-class girl she's pretending to be. Yet, if he decides to stand with her, he must confront the past he's buried and leave behind the only safe place he's known for years. If he doesn't, he'll lose the people who still care about him – his best friend, the girl he loves, and the little family he has left.
Some additional info, outside of the query: First, the fighting system isn't intended to be a death system. It's a profit-maker, so it's somewhat similar to a sport in that regard. Second, people with abilities don't have access to them unless they're fighting. And finally, the twist in the book is that the two characters we're kind of not sure if we should be trusting or not end up being Teddy's siblings who have infiltrated this whole system in order to get him out.
