I’ve highlighted some 2013 YA cover trends already in this post and in this post, but I’m not quite done yet. I’ve got a few more worth sharing. Again, this is only a selection of the covers that will be out next year, since not everything has been revealed yet.

If you can think of other books fitting these categories, chime in. This is a bit of a longer post because I wanted to cover all of the remaining categories I had left. As such, I’ve decided to forgo pasting the WorldCat descriptions. All of the covers here are clear enough you can catch the title and author and look them up easily. If not, let me know in the comments.

Back Side


Earlier this year I posted about covers and how they portray the female body, especially when it comes to denying the female agency. In 2013, we’re still going to see a lot of the backsides of teen girls, but we’re going to have a few guys joining the ranks, too. I still don’t think it makes some of the portrayals better, but at least there’s more out there to diversify the back sides. Also, there are more couples but the girls still mostly have a lot of long hair.

Objects, Not People


Maybe one of the trends I’m really liking is the one where there are fewer people on covers and more things representing the story. These covers stand out to me as a reader and as a browser because they’re different. Kim talked a little bit about this being a favorite treatment in fantasy novel covers, but I’m noticing it through all kinds of genres now. I know I am missing many covers in this category, so please, lay them on me in the comments if you can think of more. Note I don’t want a person or a shadow of a person at all.

Neon & Bright Lights


The brights aren’t just for your local Target clothing area (seriously — has anyone else noticed that day-glow explosion?). They’re making an appearance on book covers, too.

Pops of Red


I mentioned in the first post in this series I thought red titles might be as — if not more — popular than the purple ones I noted. But I decided not to cover those because I think the pop of red in the cover might be more interesting. So these covers feature just enough red to be noticeable.

A YA Rainbow


Since we’re on the color trend theme, I couldn’t resist. Books are getting COLOR cover treatments in 2013. I’m digging this trend of bold colors in the background. For a very visual person like me, this helps a cover be memorable.

Personal Favorites

Some of these covers made other trend categories and some have not. But these covers are a small sample of some of my favorites coming out in 2013. They all evoke something for me — either by color, treatment, or the whole package as one. Some feature people, some feature images, and some feature a little of both. But what they all do, I think, is capture mood and tone perfectly well: I know what I’ll be in for when I read one of these books (and in the cases where I have read the book, they’ve fit well). These aren’t in any order. Of course this is also an incomplete list. I’ve seen some other covers I really like for 2013, but some are ones I can’t share and some are ones I’ll share next year in other cover posts.