Mason jars have been showing up more frequently on YA covers these days (at least to my eyes). I particularly like the image of a tornado held in one (see below), but I’m surprised none of them hold the most natural thing aside from food: fireflies. I like how the six below are a nice mix of contemporary/realistic and genre fiction. Once again, book descriptions are from Worldcat and links go to Goodreads.
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire: Travis Maddox, Eastern University’s playboy, makes a bet with good girl
Abby that if he loses, he will remain abstinent for a month, but if he
wins, Abby must live in his apartment for the same amount of time. (This book is actually an adult title, but since Abby is in college, I think it’s got cross-over appeal. Whether the idiotic premise will hook anyone is another story…)
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo: A fifteen-year-old Australian girl gets her first job and first crush
on her unattainable university-aged co-worker, as both search for
meaning in their lives.
on her unattainable university-aged co-worker, as both search for
meaning in their lives.
Surrender by Elana Johnson: In Freedom, where Thinkers rule and Rules should never be broken,
Raine, daughter of the Director, is expected to spy on her roommate, Vi,
and report back to him in case heavy brainwashing is not enough to
prevent Vi from remembering the secrets he is anxious to keep hidden.
Raine, daughter of the Director, is expected to spy on her roommate, Vi,
and report back to him in case heavy brainwashing is not enough to
prevent Vi from remembering the secrets he is anxious to keep hidden.
Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky: In the year 2060, when people hardly ever leave the security of their
houses and instead do everything online, Madeline Freeman, the
seventeen-year-old daughter of the man who created the national digital
school attended by all citizens, is wooed by a group of radicals who are
trying to get people to “unplug.”
houses and instead do everything online, Madeline Freeman, the
seventeen-year-old daughter of the man who created the national digital
school attended by all citizens, is wooed by a group of radicals who are
trying to get people to “unplug.”
The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin: Minnesota seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister has devoted years to
helping her out-of-control, alcoholic mother, but joining her brother in
chasing tornadoes for a summer gives her a fresh perspective, new
options, and her first real romance.
helping her out-of-control, alcoholic mother, but joining her brother in
chasing tornadoes for a summer gives her a fresh perspective, new
options, and her first real romance.
A World Away by Nancy Grossman: Sixteen-year-old Eliza, an Amish girl, goes to work for an “English”
family as a nanny to two young children, and must then choose between
two entirely different ways of life.
family as a nanny to two young children, and must then choose between
two entirely different ways of life.
What ones have we missed?
Why do these covers give me a sudden urge to make jam? LOL.
I'm especially intrigued by the description of Awaken–where the home-everything movement mixes with cyberculture. Must add to the TBR pile!
Most of them are even working metaphorically (according to the blurbs) so that's something. Love an Other Perishable Items has a hint of wit that I find lacking in the others.
How about "The End of Alice" by A.M. Holmes. Not really YA, I suppose….