I'd be very grateful for any advice on the following pitch...
12-year-old Lily can talk to animals, but all she wants is her dad back. When a dangerous man imprisons him on a faraway island, she and her friends must cross jungles and seas to reach him, but the island hides a deadly secret that threatens everyone she loves.
This is good. You've got character, goal, obstacle, and stakes. If you want to play with it, I think you could get a little more specific on a couple of the things. 'Hides a deadly secret' is something that can apply to tons of books...it's generic, right? If you can make it more unique to your book, I think it's a bit stronger. It's kind of a toss up. You sometimes don't want to give stuff away...but in this case, you need something to hook an agent in a huge field, so it's probably worth it to spill a bit of what makes your book special. In a query, you would *definitely* want to be more specific. Also, if we can get more clarity on what the real story is, that would help. She has to cross jungle and seas...is that the conflict? Like is it a travel adventure story? Or is the story more about the dangerous man? Whichever it is, if you could give us more about that one aspect...something specific...I think it would help. Remember, you can make more than one pitch, so doing one thing in one and another thing in another is an option.