Archives for April 2013
Hardcover to Paperback Switches: 6 to Consider
Let’s have another conversation about cover changes. I love these posts, and I love thinking about the way that covers really do impact the audience to which a book is sold. Some of these changes are for the better, but some of them make me scratch my head a tiny bit. As usual, the hardcover is on the left and the paperback is on the right.
Jennifer Miller’s The Year of the Gadfly isn’t a young adult book, but it was one of the titles on this year’s vetted nomination lists for the Alex Awards. It might be described as a cross between The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks and The Mockingbirds. The hardcover on the left is, how to say, not appealing. It looks like an unmemorable literary tome. It says nothing as to what the content may be. I would say that there’s no hint this could be a book with great teen appeal either.
But oh that paperback. That paperback is one of my favorite covers in a very long time. This is a book that looks like it has appeal to teen readers. I love the use of the plaid for the entire girl. I love the way the yellow contrasts with the blue, but there is then the coordinating yellow stripe to tie it together. I love that she’s off centered. I love that the girl looks like she’s ready to take charge, too. She’s not crossing her arms and she’s not hiding. She’s standing proud and with confidence. Not to mention the font choice for the title and for the author’s name is so much better. There’s also the addition of a blurb for the paperback, which calls the book part Dead Poet’s Society and part Heathers, which again, hits some mega appeal factors for teen readers.
This is the kind of cover I can’t stop staring at. The Year of the Gadfly will be out in paperback on May 28, and I hope someone is kind enough to gift me a copy of this fine looking book. I’ve got a hardcover, but I want the paperback so bad.
Like Jessica Brody, Susane Colasanti is a regular to the change in cover looks when she goes from hardcover to paperback. In the case for Keep Holding On, I think it’s a hugely positive change. The reason is pretty simple though — it’s way less about the styling (which I like the handholding and the spots of red and pink giving just enough of a romantic feel) and more about the fact it’s much more timeless than the hardcover. The hardcover plays into the fashion trends of today. There are the skinny jeans. There are the Chucks. It feels very contemporary teen, whereas the paperback edition feels much more like the kind of book that won’t date.
Worth noting is the new tag line on the paperback: “Sometimes love is worth the risk.” Although this book certainly has some romance in it, the real meat behind the story is the plot about bullying (and this bullying comes through issues relating to social class). When the book first came out, that was the biggest selling point. So it’s interesting with the new tag line that the selling point’s changed to being more about the romance. I suspect had I read it with the new cover, I may have liked it more, since I found the bullying storyline weak.
Keep Holding On will be out in paperback on April 23. Interesting to note this might be the only paperback change for Colsanti’s books that actually doesn’t include a couple on it (just their hands).
I wish I could make the spacing on this pair less weird, but I can’t. On the left is the hardcover edition of Michelle Gagnon’s thriller Don’t Turn Around. Kind of creepy, with the hand coming out of the book, but the effect is also neat. I am a fan of orange covers because I think they’re pretty different (there are so few). But I really dislike ombre styling, which this cover is a major victim of in both the general cover and in the font coloring, too. The tag line for the hardcover is “Just keep running.” That doesn’t tell us a whole lot, but in conjunction with the title, I do think it says quite a bit. Also, I don’t want that hand after me.
The paperback version of Don’t Turn Around is nice and blue. I love the way the title has been played with quite a bit — I like the change in sizes there. This cover is, for the most part, very plain, but I think that plainness might be a huge advantage for the book. The cover reads as a thriller to me. Interestingly, the tag line also changed a little bit: “Off the grid. On the run.” Both of these covers are fine with me. I don’t necessarily think one is better or stronger than the other, nor do I think one will appeal to a different readership.
Don’t Turn Around will be available in paperback July 9.
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
I think I have a thing for graphic novels about food because as I read Lucy Knisley’s Relish, I couldn’t help but remember how much I loved reading Sara Varon’s delightful Bake Sale (which Kimberly and I joint reviewed — with taste testing — here). But where Varon’s book is a fictional tale with a strong narrative arc, Knisley’s is a memoir of foodie told through vignettes.
Lucy was born to two parents who appreciated the finest of foods. They established a fine palate for Lucy at a young age, and throughout Relish, we’re reminded not only of this familial influence, but we’re forced to think about the role that food has for us on a very personal and on a very social level. When Lucy’s parents divorce, and her mother takes her from their apartment in New York City to a home in upstate New York — Rhinebeck, specifically — it impacts Lucy not only because of the shift in her life, but it changes the way she thinks about and eats food.
It’s a little bit challenging to explain what this book is really about, since it’s a series of short moments within Lucy’s life that illustrate a greater point: food is important. And where this is a story of a die hard foodie who grew up around the finest, the freshest, and the best sorts of food possible, it’s not at all the sort of book which reads with an upturned nose at the reader. In fact, this is the sort of book anyone who has an appreciation of food and the art of eating and enjoying it.
After learning about how Lucy’s upbringing in upstate New York and about how much she learned about the way food is grown and produced, it would be easy for this to be the sort of book that judges the types of foods we eat. But, Lucy chooses instead to offer us up a vignette about how much she loves fast food, despite the feelings her parents have toward it. Rather than judge it or judge people who eat it, Lucy instead notes that the reason people eat fast food is because it tastes good and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s this vignette, in fact, that made me laugh out loud and made me realize how down to earth this graphic novel is, as well as how accessible it is to not only adult readers, but teen readers, too.
My favorite vignette, though, takes place in Mexico, when Lucy is twelve years old. Her mother and her mother’s best friend decided to take a trip there, bringing Lucy and her mother’s friend’s son, Drew, along with them. Lucy’s mom and mom’s friend became quite ill early on in the trip, and as a result, the kids were left to their own devices to explore the small interior arts community they were vacationing in. Both kids were given cash, and that cash was then used by them to buy all kinds of sweets at the local market. It wasn’t long, though, before Drew discovered how much easier it was to purchase pornographic magazines in Mexico than in the states, and as a result, his petty cash was being spent accumulating plenty of dirty magazines. In the midst of this, Lucy gets her first period, and now she has to figure out how to purchase feminine products in Mexico without speaking the language. This entire series was laugh out loud funny, and at the same time, it was an incredibly authentic and sweet exploration of the tricky things that come with emerging adolescence. More, the way that this foreign experience of growing up tangled with the experience of trying foreign foods in a foreign place just worked well without ever coming off as trying too hard.
Interspersed with the stories are actual recipes. There’s one for sushi, one for huevos rancheros, one for sangria, pasta carbonara, and many more. But rather than lay out the recipes in a manner that’s step-by-step, what Knisley chooses to do instead is illustrate the ingredients and then give a very loose set of instructions for assembly. As someone who cooks regularly, I loved this approach not only because that’s precisely how I cook, but I think it tied into the greater message of the book which is that food is an experience, that it’s individual, and it’s something that you mold to make your own. The image below is from the publisher’s website, and it’s her recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie (which I have to take some issue with since it includes coconut, but you get the idea of how the recipes look from this one):
Relish is a sensory experience. Aside from the food itself, the way that Knisley describes and illustrates the book grabs every aspect of the reader’s senses. There’s a scene in the book where Lucy is riding her bike in Chicago, and she passes the Blommer Chocolate Company. I could smell the semi-sweet chocolate through the pages. When Lucy describes the way that her grandmother made the perfect mushrooms — a food that I have always found repulsive (despite how much I really want to try them) — I could not only smell them, but I could taste them. I could hear the way they whistled on the pan, too. In addition to the sensory experience and the recipes are the small insights on food straight from someone who has clearly dedicated much of her life to learning about it on a very intimate level. There’s an entire section, for example, on different types of cheeses that I absolutely loved. It’s not presented in a pretentious way, either: Knisley offers it up with plenty of humor, making it accessible even for people who simply like to eat cheese.
One of the pages from “Europe/Croissants.” |
There’s a real love and passion for food of all types pouring from the pages of this book. I was invested in this from the first page, and even long after closing the book, I’m thinking about it. This is much more than simply a memoir of Lucy’s life in food. It’s a story about the way food impacts us on every level and how much we forget to step back and think about and appreciate the role it plays to us in both a social and personal level. Food nourishes us for a reason, and it’s not simply because of nutrients. It connects us to other people, to other cultures, and to ourselves. Food and life are about experimentation, about being imperfect, about savoring, about exploring and returning to things that are comforting when it’s most needed. Over on Knisley’s blog, you can read a perfect example of how these ideas intertwine in the vignette titled “The Craver.” And after reading that, if you aren’t craving spinach with garlic and olive oil, I’m sorry!
The art in Relish never outshines the prose, as the prose never drowns out the illustrations. In fact, I think that they work together in a way that the tangling story lines of adolescence and food do: they work together to give a whole and complete story. Without one, there wouldn’t be the other. I loved the full-color illustrations. This is the kind of graphic novel that will appeal to those who regularly read the format, but I think, too, it’s the kind of graphic novel that’s extremely accessible for those who may be reluctant to give the format a try. Hand this book off to readers who are diehard food lovers, as well as those who love graphic novel memoirs. It’s got easy appeal to both teenagers who will get everything Lucy is going through, and it has mega appeal to adults who can reflect upon the foods and meals that, too, remind them of both the significant and less significant moments of their lives. This reminded me a bit of a cross between Julia Wertz in terms of humor and Sara Varon in terms of style (and Varon, too, has a bit of that humor to her writing, too, even when her characters aren’t human). Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home, blurbs this book, and I think that readers who have read and appreciated Bechdel will find plenty to like in this book, too.
Relish is a real winner. Just don’t read it on an empty stomach.
Relish is available from :01/First Second. Review copy received from the publisher. If you want to sample the book, make sure you check out the galleries over on Knisley’s website.
Twitterview: Karen Healey + Giveaway of When We Wake
Karen Healey is the author of the 2010 Morris finalist Guardian of the Dead, the 2011 Cybils finalist The Shattering, and the recently-released When We Wake, which I reviewed here. She joins us for a Twitterview this month, where she discusses her fictional future in When We Wake, writing advice, favorite dystopian reads, and upcoming projects.
We’ve also got a finished copy to give away to one lucky reader, courtesy of Little, Brown.
Pitch When We Wake in 140 characters or fewer.
Girl dies on best day of her life; wakes up 100 years later. Then everything gets worse.
What inspired you to write the book?
I wanted to write a Sleeping Beauty story! A sci-fi version that deals with climate change and politics worked for me.
How would you describe Tegan?
Passionate, persistent, honest, and so stubborn that she’d batter down stone walls with her head.
How would you describe the future world Tegan finds herself in?
Complicated! Much like our own, really – but with new ethical and environmental issues to face.
How realistic do you think that future is?
Well, the general social tolerance is realistic! But as for the worst aspects, I’m really hoping it’s not realistic at all.
The future setting is full of interesting details. What research did you do to determine what 2127 would be like?
I must admit the truth – I’m secretly a time traveller.
Would you volunteer to be cryonically frozen?
Volunteer, yes! Pay for it, never – it’s a terribly expensive process, with very little hope of success.
Tegan is a big Beatles fan, and you thank them in your acknowledgments. What’s your favorite Beatles song?
I rather like “Revolution”, “Here Comes The Sun” and “Blackbird”.
The end of the book seems purposely open-ended. Is there more to Tegan’s story waiting to be told, or do you feel it’s complete now?
There’s a sequel on its way! While We Run should come out next year. But Tegan won’t be telling that story – Abdi will.
When We Wake comes amid a YA dystopia craze. What do you think sets it apart from other books with a similar concept?
It’s actually a pre-dystopia! The world hasn’t collapsed yet – but it’s certainly on its way.
What are your three favorite dystopian reads?
I love Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan, Taronga by Victor Kelleher, and George Orwell’s 1984.
[Kimberly’s note: I loved Winter of Fire too, and am so glad I am reminded of it now. I highly recommend it, if you can find a copy.]
What was the most fun part of writing the book?
Definitely all the free running research! I got to sit there and watch these parkour vids and be super impressed.
Your first book, Guardian of the Dead, was a Morris finalist. How has that impacted your writing career?
It’s certainly helped get my work to librarians, and from there to readers, which is terrific!
Who do you think is breaking ground in YA right now?
Sarah Rees Brennan – she has a massive range, and an excellent take on familiar tropes.
What did you like to read as a teenager?
Masses of big map fantasy, and anything by Sherryl Jordan, Gaelyn Gordon, and Margaret Mahy.
Describe your writing process.
Let an idea sit at the back of my head and have tons of idea babies. When the idea family is too big for the space, get it out in words!
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
Keep writing – Gaelyn Gordon said that of an early thing she read of mine. And I did.
What’s your best writing advice to give?
Keep writing! It’s the only way you’ll ever produce and improve your work!
Outside of writing, what do you do with your free time?
I’ve heard of free time. It’s a mythical beast, right, like a unicorn?
Tell us a little about your next project.
While We Run takes place six months after When We Wake. Abdi has a lot of things to say.
So You Want to Read YA? Guest Post from teacher Jillian Heise
Jillian Heise has been teaching middle school language arts for eight years giving her the opportunity to discuss thoughts and insights about books with real teen readers. She is currently teaching 7th & 8th graders at a K-8 school near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her students have access to her classroom library of over 1,300 books, and are used to her sharing her reading life, the importance of making reading a habit, appreciation for rockstar authors, and love of fictional characters with them. She also shares her book recommendations with a wider audience on her blog, Heise Reads & Recommends. Jillian is a voracious reader and self-admitted book pusher and does not feel the need for a program to change that. On twitter, she is @heisereads and is always happy to recommend a book to any reader in need. For this reason, among others, her TBR stacks are always towering.
Although I have always been a voracious reader, my teen years were not during the golden age of YA that we are currently experiencing. When thinking about what really got me into reading YA, I think back to my undergrad middle grades language arts methods course. Our whole class read was The Giver by Lois Lowry, the grandfather of YA dystopians in my opinion, and we had to choose ten other books to read on our own. That was it for me; I went beyond those ten and never stopped as I got into teaching every day. My goal is to help every student find that one book that will hook each one into reading. Now, nine years and I’ve lost count of how many books later, I still read voraciously, share my reading life with my students, and share book recs with a broader audience through my blog.
When asked to write this post, I started brainstorming a list of books right away. But how best to put out there the books I would want to share? I looked around at my classroom library organized around topic bins, struggled to start a new book because I wasn’t in the mood for a few I picked up, thought about the 40 book challenge for my students to read across genres, realized that the way I often recommend books is by asking “What are you in the mood for?” or “What was the last book you read that you liked?” or “What do you like to do?” and it struck me that the way I needed to share my titles was with a list arranged around topics/genres. And, of course, since my whole focus on teaching reading is choice, choice, and more choice in order to engage readers and motivate teens to read more, there are quite a few books on this list…because everyone needs choice in order to find the just right book that will be the gateway into reading. I hope one (or more) of these will speak to you.
This is my personal canon of YA lit that I think would make a great starting point for adults wanting to jump in, and a good guide for recommending to students/teens as well. It includes books that have been highly lauded by others, as well as books that just happened to be that right book at the right time for me in my own life. Many of these have also been well-loved by my students. You will create your own canon as you read more and more which may include what I have here and what others in this series have shared, but all have value because each reader’s voice and choice has value. So…what kind of book are you in the mood for?
*Denotes series books – so if you love it, you can read more.
The New “Classics”
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Speak by Laurie Halse Andersen
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins*
The Dystopians
Divergent by Veronica Roth*
Legend by Marie Lu*
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld*
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi*
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
The “Literary”
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater*
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor*
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi*
The “Emotionals”
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer
If I Stay & Where She Went by Gayle Forman*
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney (June 2013)
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman (poetry)
The Contemporaries
Five Flavors of Dumb by John Antony
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga*
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landeau-Banks by e. Lockhart
Peak by Roland Smith
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge (graphic novel)
The Fantasticals & Supernaturals
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin*
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride*
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer*
The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima*
Pivot Point by Kasie West*
The Romances
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Just One Day by Gayle Forman*
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles*
The Middle Grades that are Worth Your Time
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (Yes, the Newbery Award winner)
Wonder by R.J. Palacio