See you then.
If you can’t stand the thought of no posts here for the next couple of weeks, then may we interest you in revisiting some of our most popular posts from 2014?
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See you then.
If you can’t stand the thought of no posts here for the next couple of weeks, then may we interest you in revisiting some of our most popular posts from 2014?
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Cybils season is almost over. I really enjoyed participating in Round 1 this year, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about a few of the nominated titles each week. As it does every year, the Cybils force me to read books I never would have read otherwise, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by many of them. That said, it’s going to be really nice to kick off 2015 reading books that I’ve been so eager to dive into but have neglected due to Cybils duties (The Winner’s Crime, I’m looking at you).
Here’s my last roundup of Cybils titles for the year.
Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
I generally don’t read short story collections. They’re usually uneven, with some stories that are fantastic, some that are awful, and most that fall somewhere in between. Monstrous Affections is no different, though I’m glad I got a chance to read the standouts.
Out of the fifteen stories in the anthology, I really dug two of them: Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind) by Holly Black and Wings in the Morning by Sarah Rees Brennan. Black’s story is set in outer space and has a sort of Firefly feel, but it’s a touch darker and uses the second person perspective in a clever way to great effect. Plus it has aliens! Brennan’s story is set in a world populated with humans, harpies, elves, and other magical creatures who must keep their border safe from invaders. It opens with our protagonist’s mother telling him he’s half-harpy because she has needs when his father is away and she hooked up with a harpy once because she’s rather adventurous and well wouldn’t you know, the harpy is his biological father and not the human man who raised him. It’s done in such a funny way, I was hooked immediately – there’s so much character and voice in the story. The bulk of the story is a romance between the main character and his best (male) friend/enemy, but there’s also some interesting stuff with the elf culture, whose gender roles are the opposite of humans’ traditional roles. I would definitely read a novel-length book about these characters and their world.
Honorable mentions go to Patrick Ness and Joshua Lewis, whose stories I liked but didn’t love. Also of note is the Introduction, which may be my third favorite “story.” It includes a fun, funny little quiz that sets a great tone for the collection. The book itself is beautiful, slightly oversize with a unique cover and designed with ample white space. It would sit very pretty on your shelf.
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Sixteen year old Ava narrates this book, telling first the story of her grandmother, then her mother, focusing mainly on the way love has destroyed their lives. This family has always been foolish when it comes to love, and Ava – a girl born with wings – is perhaps no different. The events of the story, beginning with Ava’s grandmother and her doomed siblings, all lead up to a terrible tragedy hinted at by Ava’s brother in cryptic language that becomes clear much too late.
This is a beautifully-written book, using magical realism in a way that makes you hurt. It’s also a tremendous downer. It’s certainly unique and ambitious – it tells a three-generation story in about 300 pages, and it feels fully developed. I think it’s successful in what it tried to do, but it also gave off a very strong adult feeling to me rather than YA. Perhaps that’s because the teenage narrator never felt like the main character – she has an omniscient POV and narrates in a somewhat detached way. It’s her mother, whom we see as a child, then a young woman, then a middle-aged woman, who feels like the most central character. She’s also the one who seems to grow the most. The Goodreads description is a little misleading since Ava herself (as a character, not a narrator) doesn’t enter the picture until pretty late in the book. This is a Candlewick book, which doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Death Sworn by Leah Cypess
Ileni was a magical prodigy, brought to a magic school that promised to sharpen her talents. Key word: was. She’s been losing her magic steadily, trying to hide it from her teachers. Ileni supposes they’ve suspected this, because she’s sent to be the new magic tutor for a group of assassins with whom the magicians have an uneasy alliance. The last two magic tutors died mysteriously, and Ileni figures they were probably murdered. Though Ileni figures her assignment is a death sentence, she’s determined to survive as long as she can, and hopefully figure out what happened to her predecessors.
This is a high fantasy novel with a very strong sense of place. The assassins live in a set of caves, giving the book a claustrophobic feel and enhancing Ileni’s sense of being trapped. It also features a complicated backstory, with shifting alliances, exiled magicians, assassins who may be rebels, and lots of political maneuvering – off the page and on it. What is said is not always what is meant. Ileni must learn to listen for subtext; her life depends on it. She also must learn to defend herself without the aid of her magic, and hide the fact that her magic is disappearing as long as she can. As a reader, I felt Ileni’s persistent danger keenly, and I appreciated that Ileni showed fear and didn’t always know how best to protect herself. There’s a minor romance here, but the real highlight is the plot, whose pieces fall together so neatly and brilliantly at the end. I’m a sucker for a well-plotted book, and this one fits the bill. This is a great read for fans of high fantasy – it’s got magic, kingdoms, royalty, war, and all the other good stuff we love so much.
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Did you catch the Morris Awards shortlist announcement a couple of weeks ago? Of the five finalists, I’ve only read Gabi, A Girl in Pieces. I’m hoping to read another title or two before the end of the year. It’s a nice mix of genres represented, and most interesting to me, none of the five titles are from big publishers — everything is from a smaller or independent press. Kudos to the work of those on the committee for giving those “smaller” books a real close eye. I am eager to see what title is the ultimate winner when it’s announced at ALA in a little over a month.
Since November and December have the fewest number of book releases and thus, the fewest number of debut YA novels coming out, I’ve combined the two into one post. As always, debut is defined as first books published, period. I don’t include titles that are under pseudonyms or that are the author’s first YA book if they’ve published elsewhere before.
As always, if I’ve missed a title from a traditional publisher, let me know in the comments. All descriptions are from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted.
Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie: When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby deserted town called Purity Springs, but in the morning they see the town is populated with a deadly cult and find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins.
Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman: When the revered leader of her settlement, a dark, isolated land with merciless winters and puritanical rulers, asks Emmeline for her hand it is a rare opportunity, but not only does she love another man, she cannot ignore dreams that urge her into the dangerous and forbidden woods that took her grandmother’s life and her family’s reputation.
How We Fall by Kate Brauning: As first cousins, seventeen-year-olds Jackie and Marcus know their love is taboo, but living in the same house, working at the family’s vegetable stand, and especially seeking Jackie’s missing best friend, Ellie, keep drawing them together.
No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown: Sixteen-year-old Amber Vaughn dreams of attending the North Carolina School of the Arts to gain confidence in using her amazing singing voice, but her family’s falling apart and she’s torn between two boys.
Zodiac by Romina Russell: When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens, Rhoma Grace, a sixteen-year-old student from House Cancer, must convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac against Ophiuchus, the exiled thirteenth Guardian of Zodiac legend, who has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy.
Love & Other Theories by Alexis Bass: Seventeen-year-old Aubrey and her three best friends have perfected the art of dating in high school, but their theories on love will be put to the test when gorgeous senior Nathan moves to town.
If you’re getting started on planning your 2015 reading, may I suggest having the following debut YA group blogs on your radar? This is where I pull a lot of my information for these posts, and I know they offer more than book lists. If you dig debuts, you can’t go wrong here:
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This week over at Book Riot. . .
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On Monday, I highlighted some of the trends showing up in the 2015 YA book covers that have popped up so far. Because there are so many, I had to break them up across two posts. Thus today, welcome to part two.
This round-up of trends features some that are obvious and some which are simply interesting or fun coincidences that emerged when looking at tons and tons of covers. All links will take you to the Goodreads page for the book, so you can read the description and add it to your to-be-read list. When you click through, see if you’re as keen on the most popular comparison title of the year as I am (spoiler, it’s We Were Liars — so many YA books are being compared to it this coming year).
If you know of other 2015 covers that fit any of these trends, feel free to let me know in the comments. If there’s another trend popping up I’ve missed or not talked about here or in Monday’s piece, I’d love to hear about those, too.
Turn Your Back On The Reader
This isn’t a new trend, but it caught my attention this year after looking at so many covers. It’s mostly females, but not without a male or two or three, and it’s when the model on the cover has their back to the reader. It’s a way to avoid putting a face on a book cover. Note how much long hair there is on the girls, too.
After the Red Rain by Barry Lyga, Peter Facinelli, and Robert DeFranco
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
The Bargaining by Carly Anne West
Better Than Perfect by Melissa Kantor
The Boys of Fire and Ash by Meaghan McIsaac
A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd
Deceptive by Emily Lloyd-Jones
The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
The Eternity Key by Bree Despain
Etherworld by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam
The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Infected by Sophie Littlefield
Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers
The Leveller by Julia Durango
A Matter of Heart by Amy Fellner Dominy
The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett
Polaris by Mindee Arnett
Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills
The Remedy by Suzanne Young
Rogue Wave by Jennifer Donnelly
Scripted by Maya Rock
The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen
Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin
A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes
The Heir by Kiera Cass
Unmade by Amy Rose Capetta
Until the Beginning by Amy Plum
Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel
When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez
Carnivals
Who doesn’t enjoy a good carnival scene, complete with a ferris wheel, on their book cover?
Our Brothers at the Bottom of the Sea by Jonathan Kranz
Undertow by Michael Buckley
Butterflies
We’ve seen birds and planes, so it almost makes sense there’s also quite a few butterflies showing up on covers in 2015. I prefer to this to the insects that were showing up in past years.
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Dream A Little Dream by Kerstin Gier
Note that both of these feature the Blue Morphos. Are they coming back?
Hold Me Like A Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent
Illustrated Covers
This trend won’t be going away any time soon. I’m still not sure it’s one I love, though many of these are pretty great. The challenge is that after a while, they sort of blend into each other, even when they’re all original designs.
7 Days by Eve Ainsworth
The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak by Brian Katcher
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat
Breakout by Kevin Emerson
Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Eden West by Pete Hautman
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
Hold Tight, Don’t Let Go by Laura Rose Wagner
If You Were Me by Sam Hepburn
Invincible by Amy Reed
The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee
Everybody Knows Your Name by Andrea Seigel and Brent Bradshaw
Little Bit by Alex Wheatle
Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond
Love, Fortunes, and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp
The Nightmare Charade by Mindee Arnett
Pretending to be Erica by Michelle Painchaud
The Prom Goer’s Guide to Interstellar Excursion by Chris McCoy
Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George — Not sure why I can only find a draft cover, but it’s gorgeous and I hope that’s what they go with for a final look.
The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek by Seth Rudetsky
The Truth Commission by Susan Juby
Valiant by Sarah McGuire
Vanished by E. E. Cooper
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Eyes
We’ll get to see some more big eyes this year. Oh, and I’m putting in one that’s a little harder to pull out but they’re there. Watching you.
5 to 1 by Holly Bodger
City 1 by Gregg Rosenblum
Reawakened by Colleen Houck
Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott
Skandal by Lindsay Smith
Purple, with Spools of Thread
This is just a two cover coincidence, but strange that they’re purple covers with spools of thread on them. I think Fig‘s cover might be my favorite so far of 2015, though I don’t think it’s a YA book cover at all. It feels more like it’s either middle grade or adult (and to be fair, I think Valiant may be a middle grade book, not YA).
Valiant by Sarah McGuire
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Fractured Pieces
Or maybe in some cases, it’s more like a collage than fractured pieces. These all kind of have an Instagram-y feel to them, too.
99 Days by Kate Contugno
The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Duplicity by N. K. Traver
Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu
Tracers by J. J. Howard
I
Hearts. Are. Everywhere. Not only are there a ton of hearts on the covers as part of the image, but there is more than one book where the heart image is used in place of the word “heart” in the title.
Alive by Chandler Baker
The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher
Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan
Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway
Encore to an Empty Room by Kevin Emerson
Flirty Dancing by Jenny McLachlan
From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan
Killer Within by S. E. Green
Love, Fortunes, and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Not After Everything by Michelle Levy
Play On by Michelle Smith
Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold by Katie Finn
Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin
Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby
We Can Work It Out by Elizabeth Eulberg
Bows & Arrows
While there are still a lot of daggers on YA covers — a trend I noted last year — I thought the look of the bow and arrow being on covers was more eye-catching this year.
Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Ignite by Sara B. Larson
The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace
Gold Objects
The reason that the bow and arrow covers caught my eye was because I’d initially seen a lot of golden objects appearing on cover images. So why don’t we look at the gold objects? There’s nothing connecting the objects but their color and how they stand out on the cover because of it.
Ignite by Sara B. Larson
Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins — Another cover that’s on my short list of favorites for 2015.
Woven by Michael Jensen and David Powers King
Into the Woods
Since I’ve looked at plenty of objects on covers, how about settings on covers? I haven’t read these to know, but I have a feeling that the woods here aren’t going to be a great place to be heading.
Andreo’s Race by Pam Withers
The Bargaining by Carly Anne West
The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes
The Eternity Key by Bree Despain
The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl
Renegade by Kerry Wilkinson
Strange Skies by Kristi Helvig
Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton –Add this to my favorite covers short list, too, and it reminds me quite a bit of Amy Reed’s gorgeous cover for Invincible.
What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott
Girls Behind Words
Another way to obscure the face of a cover model is to put her behind the text for the book’s title.
Damage Done by Amanda Panitch
Dead to Me by Mary McCoy
The Notorious Pagan Jones by Nina Berry — I hope this is a mistake about being YA because, while it’s fitting with the time frame of the story, that cover model is older than me, which is older than a teenger.
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Four Teens, Just Hanging Around
I’m not sure what’s special about the number four, but I have noticed more covers with multiple people on them seem to have groups of four. Even better if they’re in groups of four and in the distance and shadow-y.
The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
Get Dirty by Gretchen McNeil
The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi
Promposal by Rhonda Helms
A Bright, Fully-Saturated Color Palate
To wrap up this post, let’s look at the color trend for 2015: bright, bold, saturated colors. These are covers that are standing out because they’re using so many colors on them.
All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder
The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow
Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
City Love by Susane Colasanti
The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
Dreamfire by Kit Alloway
Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips
Fire Fall by Bethany Frenette
First There Was Forever by Juliana Romano
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart
Parallel Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller
Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills
Rogue Waves by Jennifer Donnelly
Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Survive the Night by Danielle Vega — Such a neat cover!
Three Day Summer by Sarvenaz Tash
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton
What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi
The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne
You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison