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books

Dystopia Double Take

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Here’s an interesting double take. Both of the books are dystopias, and their covers are very, very similar to each other.The first book is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Never Let Me Go is a dystopia for adults, a book I read for an undergraduate class and fell in love with. It’s set in the 90s in an English school called Hailsham, but of course, the school isn’t your normal school, and the students have a purpose very different from learning writing and math. I think the cover is spectacular. It’s a close-up of a young woman’s face, her eyes gazing somewhere in the distance. While the book was marketed to adults, it’s a book young adults would also enjoy, and it won an Alex award in 2006.

The second book is The Unidentified by Rae Mariz, a dystopia for teens to be published in October. (Apologies for the size, I couldn’t find a larger photo.) This book is also set in a school that is more than what it seems. Despite this parallel with Never Let Me Go and the book’s eerily similar cover, The Unidentified seems to much more closely resemble MT Anderson’s Feed, so much so that I couldn’t help but compare Mariz’s book with Anderson’s as I read the first two chapters of The Unidentified. (Judging from the first two chapters that I have read, I have a feeling Feed will win this battle handily.)

There are probably other covers out there that resemble these two. Do you know of any? Which of the two covers above is more effective? I have not yet finished The Unidentified, but I like the cover for Never Let Me Go better. Despite the flat affect apparent on the woman’s face (which is integral to the book), her eyes are focused on something in the distance and seem to indicate some emotion or depth. The eyes of the cover model are clearly intended to be the focal point for the reader. The cover model’s eyes in The Unidentified are partially obscured by the title text and it’s more distracting than it is arresting. Still, the cover is what led me to pick the book up.

More Fake Fat Girls

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I realize I bring this up a lot, but this is an issue that really needs to be addressed. This spring and fall will be bringing us more stories of accepting yourself as a fat person — or in some cases, getting in better shape so you can accept yourself as you are. But as you probably guessed, we won’t be seeing any fat girls. Check out the new selection of young adult titles that will bring you more of less.*

Fat girls love ice cream!


Fat girls can be stylish, like Veronica who loves vintage, but we can only show you the dresses while they’re on the hanger.


We can only see the Designated Ugly Fat Friend’s face, and she’s actually quite attractive and doesn’t feature anything fat about her. Oh wait for the new cover design for this one …


YES! We have a face AND food (I’m classifying gum here as food). I love the girl’s freckles, but seriously. She’s still not a. ugly or b. fat.


I think that Bookshelves of Doom covered this one better than I can.

SERIOUSLY? Can we not put a fat girl on a cover, ever? I do not understand why this is so tough and unrealistic. Let me remind you of this and this. As has been shown with the covers of and Liar and Magic Under Glass, we can make a difference. We need people to speak out and speak up. This includes with our wallets.**

* Let me also add this: when we get into these conversations about fat girls on cover, we are also prodding an issue of thinness, too. Inadvertently, thin models and girls are going to feel attacked because of their body. It’s unfair and not right on any level. There IS NO PERFECT, but this is misrepresentation or lack of any representation. It is a lose-lose situation for everyone. If we want to write the books about being ok with yourself, we should also show that fact.

** It’s really a bummer to the authors, too, who work SO HARD to write these books. I’d be curious how they felt about the issue. We shouldn’t punish them since they are trying to do something important.

Cover spotlights: Lurlene McDaniel

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One of my favorite authors when I was a teen was Lurlene McDaniel. Yep, the overly sentimental, medical dramas* featuring teens who were dying or near death and, of course, in love. I was a teen during her heyday, though she’s far from slowing down. Like Richard Peck, her covers have changed a lot over the years. What always seemed to work for her, though, was that her series books featured very similar cover styles — and boy was she ever the series writer! I loved them.

I though it’d be fun to take that walk down memory lane:

Six Months to Live 1985

Hold Fast the Dream 1985. Nothing speaks 80s romance like the sepia tones, the big hair, and two dashing men, one clearly good and one clearly evil.


Why Did She Have to Die? 1986. Perhaps this is one of the first covers featuring the “things being held” theme that is so popular now.


A Time to Die 1992


If I Should Die Before I Wake 1992. I’m afraid that still wouldn’t apologize for the shorts…


Reach for Tomorrow 1999 (and book #12 in the “One Last Wish” series, still holding onto the similar cover theme)


Angels Watching Over Me 1996 (book #1 in the series featuring an Amish family – my favorite series of hers)


Angels of Mercy 1999

The Girl Death Left Behind 1999

Journey of Hope 2004. This combines two novels, Angel of Mercy and Angel of Hope. This is the first of her books starting to change direction in cover art.

Angels in Pink: Kathleen’s Story 2004


Angels in Pink: Raina’s Story 2005 (the hair in the face!)


Briana’s Gift 2006. Things in hands again.


Prey 2008. I LOVE this cover. It is so creepy and yet so perfectly gives an idea of what the book will be about.


Breathless 2009. Interestingly, my co-booktalker talked this book in the winter. She didn’t know Lurlene McDaniel was a pretty prolific writer for teens prior to reading this. It’s so different looking from her other titles.


Heart to Heart 2010. Reminds me of an adult romance for sure.

What do you think? Are you a Lurlene McDaniel fan? Any cover favorites?

* This doesn’t mean they’re not good books; they’re definitely of a specific drama that has such appeal to teens. I still like her books, since they’re quick reads with at least one strong and memorable character. And some aren’t even medically-related. Those were the ones that I ate up like crazy, though.

A favorite blog you MUST check out

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One of the best things about blogging is sharing other favorite blogs. Since it seems our cover-related posts get so much traffic and discussion going, I must share with you the greatness that is Melissa Walker’s blog. Yes, this is THE Melissa Walker of Lovestruck Summer and Violet in Private fame.

Her blog, located here, features regular “cover stories,” which are opportunities to talk about the design process of many of the well-known covers young adult readers see. Some of my favorites include the story of Cracked up to Be (which we featured as a double take), Kayla Perrin’s Spring Break (the story of race on a cover), and Claire Zulkey’s An Off Year. She also wrote up a really cool interview with Michelle Zink on the make over of her Prophecy of the Sisters series.

So if you haven’t, head over there and add it to your RSS. Besides this fantastic feature, she’s an interesting read and always offers a good photo or two.

Who wrote this one?

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When I took my first actual class on young adult literature, I learned the name Richard Peck. Know it? If not, don’t fear: I didn’t either. But when you hear about a book called Are You in the House Alone and see the very, uh, amusing covers for what was one of the first true adolescent novels (and horror ones at that), you remember the name.

So since then, I haven’t thought too much about him, but I know his name well now that I work regularly with his books. I noticed something really interesting, as he’s always been easily identified as a classical young adult writer. You can kind of get that idea from his book covers. Check out this non-comprehensive gallery from the 1970s to 2008. His books hit all genres and since these cover a wide range of time in design aesthetics, it’s interesting to look at:









Not always the highest of design or appeal, but the author’s name alone can sell the book. Imagine my surprise when his forthcoming title was on more than on “Waiting for Wednesday” post. “What?” I thought to myself. I don’t remember people ever getting that excited about a new Richard Peck book (kind of like they don’t get excited about a new Gary Paulsen book or a new Ann Rinaldi book, since these are standard authors who ALWAYS do very well). But look at the cover and tell me what you notice:


Ah, how refreshing: it’s like every other paranormal-looking cover on the market now. And to me, it seems like his name is no longer the center stage to sell the book. It’s the cover.

Interesting marketing technique or genius? I’m not sure. I like the cover and find it really appealing. I think this will get a new generation of readers into his wide catalog of titles. Moreover, what an interesting perspective on how the young adult book market has changed, seen simply from the changes in covers of one perennial author.