There is a lot of advice about how to start a book. Action, no dreams, someone's on fire, conflict from the first pages, a mystery in the first few sentences.
I like conflict in the first pages. And mystery. But a big bonus is creating a character who is unusual enough to make me want to know more about her.
Characters make books, and plots keep readers reading, but only if they care about the characters or are so intrigued by how unusual they are, they just have to keep reading.
