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Paula Danziger: A Cover Retrospective

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It’s been a long time since I did one of these posts, but the So You Want to Read YA? series got me thinking about classic/timeless YA titles, and I thought it about time to talk about vintage covers and their more modern incarnations. While looking around for the right cover to post of Paula Danziger’s The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, I knew I had to share what her style has looked like past and present.

I can’t find the exact dates for each of these covers, so I didn’t include that information. I haven’t read any of these books, so my comments are based solely on the cover. Also, there’s no way I can hit all of her books, so these are a handful of my favorite titles and cover changes. If I’m missing editions you know of, I’d love a link to the image.

First up: The Cat Ate My Gymsuit

The first three covers for The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (and the next batch) feature a girl sporting a long-sleeved pink shirt — two being sweatshirts. I like how the first two covers give us a girl who has rolled up the bottoms of her jeans and the second one just has her in flood waters. Also there was a change in shoe color from brown to pink. Notice how she went from a long-haired blonde to a medium-haired blonde to a long-haired brunette? In the first two covers, she’s not getting up to play at all, but in the last one, she looks like she’s straight up annoyed to have to be involved in a game. Actually, the first cover suggests the girl isn’t moving for anything, while the second one suggests she’s not being allowed to play and she’s disappointed. What’s consistent across the covers, aside from the pink shirt, is the use of green. There is a lot of it all over the place. Also consistent is that the girl looks like a typical girl — she’s not tiny! She’s not overly made up! She looks like any high school girl would look . . . in those time periods, at least.

The next two incarnations of the cover also bring us a girl in a pink shirt, but this time they’re both illustrated. The girl on the left gets the long-sleeve sweatshirt effect while the one on the right gets the short-sleeve treatment. Both are doing something with paper or a petition and neither of them seems to have anything athletic on their minds at all. Both are brunette, but the girl on the left has the shorter look while the one on the right gets the long hair. And interestingly, here’s where it seems to me the shape of the girl changes: she’s average on the left, but she sure looks tiny on the right. I know it’s illustrated, but it’s still noteworthy given how these two covers are definitely later versions than the ones above. We also only get half of their bodies in the image, so I can’t tell if they’re rolling the bottoms of their pants or what color their shoes are. Also interesting is the cover on the right is our first visit by a cat.  


More half-body shots! I think all three of the girls in these covers look pretty similar to one another, despite being quite different looking from the girls in the prior covers. All three are donning glasses (how often do we see that on covers anymore?) and they’ve all got long blonde hair going on. Likewise, all three girls appear to be sitting in some sort of classroom or school setting — the girl on the far right might be in a cafeteria or library, I can’t quite tell — and none of them look even close to being on an athletic field. None of them are wearing pink and in fact, they’re all sporting very different looking shirts. I dig how all three have very round faces and they all look like typical girls of the time, though maybe the girl on the left looks like she might be really young. Note, too, how Danziger’s name is so much larger on the left and right covers than on the one in the middle, as well as the ones further up. There are no cats to be found in any of these covers.


The last two covers don’t feature a girl at all but are illustrated and, I believe, the two most current renditions. I like the one on the right — yes it has a cat, but I really like the use of the chalk-style font for the title. It’s simplistic but it stands out to me because of that. On the right, we get another cat, as well as paw prints, and we’re given an image of gym shorts. Another step up from the rolled up jeans and the flood waters. The girl has disappeared, though, and in both instances, she’s been replaced by an object. More notable, though, is that both covers seem to appeal to a much younger readership than the prior ones. These covers scream middle grade to me, and even though I haven’t read this book, I’d classify it as much more middle grade than YA. This better reaches that readership and it gives a more timeless look than the covers featuring a girl (because all of those girls were showing their age).  

Did you know there was a companion to this book, too? It’s called There’s a Bat in Bunk Five (which also has some amazing covers worth looking up).


Next up: The Divorce Express

Let’s start with the series of covers that have something similar in common: they feature a white character and a character of color. Also common among all of these covers is that the characters are either waiting for or are on a bus. Beyond that, let’s talk about how many differences there are. How about in the left cover, the girl looks destroyed and upset (presumably about a divorce). Looks like her friend is maybe trying to comfort her, but she is having none of it. And why would she in such awesome cowboy boots? The sign behind them says “Sandwiches.” I don’t know about you, but that touch really ties everything together for me.

Okay, so that middle cover. I can’t tell the gender of the person on the left. It could be a girl or it could be a guy. It’s not entirely clear, and that Cosby-era sweater isn’t doing him/her any favors. More noteworthy is that s/he is clearly not upset. Just confused (me too, buddy). The closer you look, it seems like they might be smiling, even. And their friend, who is clearly a girl, is really engaging them in conversation; the hands are out and talking. Is the guy/girl wearing a collared shirt under that sweater? All I can say is that cover really has a lot to digest so please, take your time to appreciate it.

The cover on the right is about as far from the other two as possible: just the heads of the girls, and they both look quite delighted to be on that bus, don’t they? I dig the blonde girl’s headband. For one of them experiencing the effects of a divorce, they sure don’t look too upset about it.

This cover stands alone for a reason: here we lose the person of color on the cover and instead get two white girls. It’s unclear if they’re at a bus stop or just hanging out with some baggage. Check out the girl on the right’s vest, too. Classy. 

Then we get these, where we don’t have two girls at all anymore. Instead, a lone white girl. In the left hand cover, we get our first stock image, and like the ladies modeling for The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, she gets the long-sleeved sweatshirt treatment AND jeans that are a tad too short. But she’s on the bus this time, and she looks pretty reflective about it. Our middle cover and our right cover take away anything real and give us covers that, again, look much more middle grade appealing than teen appealing because of their illustrative style. The cover in the middle is clearly part of the same series as the illustrated cover from Cat above, and I like how the bus is incorporated in this one. Because that girl doesn’t have a bag nor does she have a sad look to her, so were it not for that, I’d think she was just hanging out looking cute. The girl on the left at least looks packed and ready to head out. Note what’s in her hand: a bus ticket. Smart way to include that.

So I guess if we’re going to lose our friend of color, then we’re going to lose our friend all together, at least we kept the bus (almost) consistent throughout these covers.

Let’s look at It’s An Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World, which is the companion to the book above. Also, is it just me or did Danziger get to have the best titles for her books? Worth noting is that most of these covers carry similar trends in their design as Divorce Express since they were repackages or sold together specially with the new look.

So all of the covers for It’s an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World feature two girls and the bulk feature a white girl with her friend of color. But these three stand out to me because they definitely appeal to the younger readers. The cover on the left is definitely of middle school girls, rather than high school girls, and the same can be said about the illustrated girls in the middle. For me, the girls on the right are pretty unremarkable, but they still look young. And doesn’t that cover have a very Juno feel to it? Also, long-sleeved sweatshirt on the girl there, even though it’s illustrated. Oh, did you notice the vest on the girl in the first cover, too?

It’s good to see some things are consistent.

In both of these covers, the girls are hanging out on the swing set. Looks like they’re having some intense conversation, too. I find it interesting that in the left, the girls are both white and in the right, it’s possible the one girl is of color. Possible.  I’m impressed that the girls on the right have pants that appear to fit them, too. Overall, though, these covers aren’t that much to write about. Our real winners are the next two.

It appears to me that if you want to be on a Paula Danziger cover, you best own a long-sleeved sweatshirt and only in a solid color. But more importantly, spend a minute checking out the blue shoes on the girl holding the boxes in the left cover. Between those and the orangey-pink pants the other girl is wearing, it’s almost as if this cover is modeling today’s fashion trends. I love how messy the room is and I love how it looks like one girl is doing all the work while the other is laughing. And is that garbage all over the floor?

I spent a long time thinking about the cover on the right. It’s the embodiment of a perfect cover to discuss but the problem is there are so many things worth noting, I’m afraid I’ll miss something. Is it the belted dress shirt with magenta leggings? Or that old-style phone? The hair on both the girls? The fact they’re doing precisely the opposite of the girls in the cover on the left, since they appear to be decorating, instead of packing? And is it me or do those girls look way older than the girls who are in the first cover I posted of this book?

Last title to look at: Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?
That TITLE!

It looks like the covers on the left and the middle are the same image, but if you look carefully, they’re slightly different. It’s the same couple, but the image is shifted a bit so that you can see more of the school doors behind them. Also, it might just be me, but the girl in the middle image is definitely giving that boy much more of a seductive look than in the first one. Either way, it’s a nice looking couple, isn’t it? Definitely straight out of the late 1970s or early 1980s. They even coordinated their red-and-white striped shirts. Now check out the cover on the right: looks like our lovely male model got the long-sleeved solid color sweatshirt memo. Which is good seeing the girl has quite the design going on with hers. He balances her for sure. Is it just me or are their legs really weird looking? It’s definitely an odd illustration. Of note in all of these covers is that the couples are standing outside the school.

We have couples in both covers this time, and what I find interesting is that even though the cover on the right is illustrated, it makes the pair look like high schoolers. If anything, I’d say the cover on the left makes the couple look older than high school. Maybe it’s the outfits, in that they’re way more put together and prep looking than the other couples have been. What’s got me a little confused though is that neither of these covers even fit the title. Are they the parents? The couple on the right looks downright thrilled, like maybe they just started dating and are still in that stage where they like one another. And the couple on the left are holding hands. How and what does this have to do with their parents? Let alone malpractice.

But just in case you were worried we wouldn’t get there, here’s this cover:


Here’s a couple doing some research in a library, presumably about what it takes to sue your parents. Well, at least she is doing some research. He looks like he might be researching her more than the book. Also: her vest.

And here is where the malpractice comes in. Look at how those teens are treating the books! Look at how loud she is clearly being in the library! I mean, I’m glad they’re so happy to have found what they needed, but good grief. Tone it down a bit. Also, is it me or is that desk flush with the stacks? More malpractice, as the ADA wouldn’t be too thrilled with that library’s set up. Those shelves also look like they’re very tall, don’t they?

Exciting News

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Remember how I talked about how I was going to attend Kid Lit Con this year? And how I had submitted a proposal to present with someone who I would love to present with?

If you’re planning on going to Kid Lit Con, I hope you consider attending the presentation that I’ll be giving with Nova Ren Suma.

Before I share what we’ll be presenting, let me give a little back story. When the call for proposals went out, I spent a long time thinking about what I’d learned a lot about over the last year in terms of blogging. I thought about last year’s conference and about the things I walked away with that ended up being the most valuable to me. The longer I pondered what would be worth presenting on, the more it became obvious that the topic of collaboration in the blogging world was one worth pursuing. I feel like in the time between last year’s Kid Lit Con and this year, I’ve learned a lot about what does and doesn’t work when it comes to working with other bloggers and those who work with bloggers (i.e., authors or publicists or editors who don’t necessarily blog for themselves but may have a presence elsewhere on the social web). 

Then it hit me: some of the most successful and exciting projects I’ve worked on over this last year involved series posts that required extensive collaboration. I loved putting together the So You Want to Read YA? series, as well as the Unconventional Blog Tour, and in the midst of working on it, I figured out many best practices for coordinating such a project. I then thought a bit about other bloggers who are active in putting together series — especially series posts I love reading and sharing — and it seemed beyond foolish not to approach Nova about presenting.

We’re calling the presentation “Getting Series-ous: How Blog Series Can Engage, Inspire, and Grow Your Audience,” and here’s the presentation description:

This program will discuss what goes into developing a successful blog series and hopes to inspire others to explore series posts as a means of widening their own blog content. The experiences of an author and a blogger will provide insight from two different sides of the kidlit blogosphere while also showcasing how authors and bloggers can work with and benefit one another through a blog series. 

Did you know KidLit Con is FREE this year? If you can go, you should. I know I’ve mentioned it time and time again, but it is my favorite conference because it’s run entirely by and for kidlit bloggers. It’s intimate, meaning you really get to have great conversation with other people who love kid lit as much as you do. All of the details are on Betsy’s blog, including how to register. If you’re curious what last year’s event was like, I blogged about it here (and I know most of the photos are gone — technology!).

Links of Note

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Another two weeks, another batch of interesting links. I think I’m lacking an infographic of some sort this time, but perhaps someone could point me to a good one that popped up over the last couple of weeks (and not the one about librarianship). In the mean time:

  • This Tumblr cracks me up. First, the url is amazing; second, the name of the Tumblr is perfect; third, it’s an image of donuts and a famous literary quote. Brilliantly simple. 
  • Ever wonder about how the questions they ask on Jeopardy are properly researched and sourced? What happens if there’s an incorrect fact? This article covers it all. How cool would it to work for Jeopardy as a question creator? Hello, dream job for Jen! 
  • Lots of (unfortunately necessary) disclaimers on this post, but it’s one that you need to bookmark and refer to: YA science fiction and fantasy novels with protagonists of color. I cannot tell you how happy I am this exists and how much I plan on referring to it in the future. What a piece of work and also incredibly important.  
  • Pittacus Lore is my favorite “author.” Because he keeps being presented as “an author,” rather than a collaborative effort out of the creepy James Frey enterprise. However, this article suggests that maybe there really IS a new guy behind Lore now. I also didn’t realize the Rachel Carter book was associated with this fiction factory, either. I need to pay more attention. Related: part of why I hate this Pittacus Lore business (besides the obvious) is because I have had to disappoint a teenager before. He really wanted to find Lore on Facebook and become a fan. Guess what? Couldn’t do it (at least then) because, well, fake! 
  • This has nothing to do with books and reading, as well as everything to do with it. Are we becoming a culture of braggers thanks to social media? Honestly, I’d rather listen to people talk about their accomplishments on social media than many other things. Also, really?  Maybe I don’t follow enough people who are willing to brag about their good news. 
  • Easily my favorite post in a very, very long time: a professional assessment of Twilight Sparkle as a librarian. What I love about this is everything. It so perfectly encapsulates all of the things librarians actually do in a manner that anyone can grasp. No, it’s not a quiet place. Yes, it requires using a brain. No, it involves no reading books at the desk. And so forth. 
  • Actually, I lied twice in this blog post. First, it’s not the last history-of-reading-culture link. Second, this is really my favorite link. Let’s look back at the legacy of The Babysitter’s Club with The Atlantic. It doesn’t mention Abby except in passing and — after Stacey — she was my favorite of the girls. I know. That’s something like sacrilege but it is what it is. Hey, did you know I met Ann M Martin? I was in second grade, and my friend Lauren’s mom took us out of school early to go meet her. Photographic evidence to the right. I was so nervous to meet her that I couldn’t even ask her to take the picture with me so I just stood close to her and smiled.

This month’s Audiosynced will be here at STACKED and it’ll likely be a couple days late. I’m in the midst, too, of organizing a really fun series to run at the start of November — stay tuned (such a tease!)

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

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Monstrous Beauty is a story set in two time periods. In the late 19th century, naturalist Ezra falls in love with mermaid Syrenka. Their romance sets off a chain of events that ends in tragedy. In the present day, 16 year old Hester decides to investigate the curse that has plagued her family for generations – each woman gives birth to a daughter and dies immediately afterward. The book alternates between the two time periods, and it’s slowly revealed how the past story informs the present one.

The paragraph above greatly simplifies what is actually a very complicated novel. Hester’s family’s curse has its roots in Syrenka’s story, which involves her desire to live as a human with Ezra, the prejudice of the local people in the small Massachusetts town, and the other mermaids, who won’t let Syrenka have her happiness without paying a price. (There are also ghosts, but that didn’t negatively impact my enjoyment of the novel.)

The writing in Monstrous Beauty is mature and lovely, making it the book’s standout feature. It’s clear that Fama took great care in deciding which words to use and when. She’s written a moody, immersive story that creates terrific atmosphere without sacrificing plot to do so. When you combine that level of writing with the complex and layered plot, you’ve got a book that is leagues beyond others of its kind in terms of craft.

The mythology here is something to be celebrated. It’s complicated and usually not very pretty. Some of Fama’s mermaids may be beautiful, but they’re also deadly, with immense physical power (plus sharp teeth and fins that kill). The magic they hold is powerful but also frightening and gruesome, with repercussions that echo for decades. It makes for a pretty dark story (and I mean that in a good way).

Syrenka is an especially intriguing character. She is simultaneously gentle and brutal, not adhering completely to either the mermaids’ sense of morality or that of the humans. Her story is so beautifully tragic that it sometimes overshadows Hester’s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does make Hester’s story the less interesting of the two. Additionally, since the reader gets the past story before Hester figures it out in the present, Hester occasionally seems a bit slow. This is really my only quibble – sometimes Hester’s ignorance went on a bit long and I just wanted her to figure out what I already knew. But otherwise, this is a completely engaging and unique novel.

This book won’t be for everyone. Readers who enjoy fluffy paranormal romances will be disappointed. Monstrous Beauty is not full of happily ever afters, and it’s got some pretty dark stuff in it. But for readers who crave something a little different in their fantasies, who yearn for beautiful writing and a plot that makes them think, Monstrous Beauty is just what they need.

(It is impossible for me to review Monstrous Beauty without mentioning its original cover, which is just a travesty. Suffice to say, Fama’s mermaids would never submit to being photographed for Sports Illustrated. The current cover much more accurately represents the book’s contents.)

Review copy provided by the publisher. Monstrous Beauty will be published September 4.

A pile of contemporary reviews

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I’ve hit a weird reading slump this summer. It’s been really hard to get into anything, and it’s been slow going when I have started something (even if I’ve liked it). I’d say I average between 10 and 15 books a month, but I think in the last two months combined I’ve maybe read 10 books. Since I’m not reading at my usual pace, I’ve also not been reviewing at my usual pace, meaning the things I finished back in early July are still sitting in a pile to be reviewed. Rather than try to write lengthy reviews for each of those titles, I thought I’d tackle a bunch of them at once. All of these are contemporary stories.

Joelle Anthony’s sophomore novel, The Right & The Real tackles one of my favorite topics head on: cults. When Jamie’s father marries Mira, he signs himself over to the church of The Right & The Real. But when Jamie is faced with the decision to sign herself over, she can’t do it — she’s not ready to make the commitment to the church and their beliefs. Even though joining the church was originally her idea, her father’s commitment has her worried and for good reason. Now that she has chosen not to commit, he’s kicked Jamie out of her house.

Jamie is entirely on her own to figure out her life now without her dad and without the church to back her up. Not to mention her long-time boyfriend Josh, who got her into the church in the first place, has also ditched her. As much as Jamie believes that she can go this on her own and make it work, she also misses her father terribly and worries that the church is ruining all they had as a family.

The Right & The Real was a great premise, though I didn’t necessarily find the execution as strong as I wanted it to be. The challenge for me was that the story begins immediately, with little exploration into the cult itself or what makes it such a bad place to be (aside from being a cult, that is). Because I couldn’t know what the threat was from within, I couldn’t place what the threat was externally, either. It was challenging for me to develop an emotional connection with Jamie or for me to understand her fear and terror. So while I was on her side and worried about her well-being — particularly because she was in a desperate place figuring out basic means of survival — it was hard for me to grasp what it was that worried her about her father, about Josh, and about the ramifications of being cast out from the group.

More frustrating, though, was Jamie’s insistence upon entering relationships and being saved by someone other than herself. Jamie is a strong female character — she has to be in order to make such a life-altering choice as to not join the cult — but she is fixated on the broken relationship she has with Josh. But it’s not just that; she quickly develops a relationship with another boy, Trent, who ultimately is the hero in the story. And when they share a moment near the end, it felt to me like it was his ownership of her and of the situation that brought resolution to the story and Jamie herself is secondary.

Anthony’s writing in the story is good, as is the pacing and there is no doubt that despite the flaws that kept this from being a knock out for me, there will be a great readership for The Right & The Real. Fans of Holly Cupala, particularly Don’t Breathe a Word will enjoy this, as will those readers who enjoy other cult-centric stories, such as Carol Lynch Williams’s The Chosen One and Michele Green’s Keep Sweet. What was maybe most interesting to me about Anthony’s book is that unlike other books that explore the cult culture, The Right & The Real is a story from the outside, rather than from the inside. Even though it made for challenges I talked about earlier, it stands out from the crowd because of this. Anthony’s book is available now.

One of my all-time favorite novels is Jenna Blum’s The Stormchasers (reviewed here) and when I saw the description for Lara Zielin’s The Waiting Sky, I noticed immediate similarities and was sold.

Jane’s mother is an alcoholic, and after a particularly horrific incident involving her mother, a car, and Jane’s best friend, Jane knows she needs to get out and away, at least for a short time, to reassess what it is she needs in her life. Yes, she’s 17 and even though it sounds somewhat absurd for her to have that sort of maturity about her own life, it makes sense. Jane’s brother left years ago, moving from their home in Minnesota down to the southern plains to become a tornado chaser. She’s going to spend the summer with him, learning the skills of the trade. It’s her opportunity to feel like she has some sort of control over her life. I probably don’t need to explain the metaphor there, but it is there, and it’s not some sort of hypothetical. Jane really becomes a storm chaser, but this is a story that’s light on the storm chasing and a lot stronger on the rebuilding a world that’s collapsed beneath the weight of a storm.

After a particularly strong tornado in Nebraska, Jane and the crew stick around to help clean up the damage. Of course, there’s also a budding relationship between Jane and a guy from a rivaling chasing team, Max. What I appreciated was that their interactions were short, were meaningful, but ultimately, both of them knew there wasn’t a whole lot more that could emerge between them. Here’s where I can employ another reference to the metaphor of the storm and how it can cause for high emotions in short bursts and leave people with what they need in the end.

As much as I liked Jane in the story — and let me say that she’s likeable but she is a deeply flawed character who makes a lot of questionable choices that really hammer that home — I found myself more invested in Victor’s story. He’s one of the fellow storm chasers, but he is terrified of storms. The only reason he keeps doing it is for his brother’s sake. Zielin weaves in a nice thread here, in that Victor’s dedication to living in fear/worry about storm chasing to make his brother happy is similar to how Jane herself gave up her freedoms and ability to live for herself in dealing with her alcoholic mother. But I do question how the heck Victor can hate the movie Twister. It’s a classic.

The Waiting Sky will appeal to readers who love contemporary stories, particularly those delving into families, friendships, and the meaning of each and both. There’s a lot to appreciate in this and it felt very different and fresh in approach, though I found some of the writing and references to be a little stilted and dated. For the plot and for Jane as a character, I was willing to overlook those issues. The ending is a little convenient, but it did not kill the rest of what made the book work. Anyone who enjoyed Twister or enjoys the idea of storm chasing will want to track this one down. The Waiting Sky is available now. Readers who dig this one and are looking for something similar and/or something more literary will be eager to then look into Blum’s The Stormchasers.

Hannah Harrington’s sophomore novel, Speechless, has one of the coolest covers, I think. It’s so stark that it ends up being very bold and I think it’ll stand out because of that. Apologies for how vague this review is going to be, but I don’t want to spoil the big reveal.

Chelsea Knot was part of the popular crowd, and she enjoys her time at the top. But when she stumbles upon a situation at a party and tells her friends, the person at the center of the situation becomes a victim not just of Chelsea opening her mouth, but of an attack initiated via her loose lips. The moment Chelsea realizes her gossiping is the reason for the violence, she takes a vow of silence. Except it’s not just a vow of silence she ends up taking — Chelsea becomes outcast from her popular friends and finds herself completely alone and without anyone to confide in. If she had anything to confide, that is (she does — she just won’t).

Speechless follows as Chelsea learns who she can and cannot trust, and as could be expected, it’s not who she thought it was. Everything she thought she knew about the cool and the not-cool kids ends up being untrue and Chelsea finds herself befriending new people who are truly there for her. In the end, she has the chance to face the person whose entire life changed because of her decision to talk at the party and it’s then she comes to realize how important those issues of trust and friendship are.

It sounds like a sweet story, but it’s not. It’s rough and gritty, and Chelsea is subjected to torment and bullying. Relentlessly, even. The problem for me, though, was that this was never once Chelsea’s story. It was Noah’s — he’s the guy at the center of the secret she divulges. His story is so lost in the book because the focus and attention is on Chelsea, and maybe it’s because I’m an adult reading this, I felt like she didn’t deserve the attention of the story because she’d already gotten too much attention anyway. In fact, Chelsea’s vow of silence and behavior following the horrible thing she did felt like a huge cry for more attention and pity, where I felt like Noah, the real victim here, deserved it way more than she did. That’s not to say she ever deserved the bullying she got — she didn’t — but I was much more invested in Noah’s well-being than Chelsea’s. For me, she got in the way of the story, despite being the catalyst for it.

Harrington knows how to write teens, though, and there’s no doubt in my mind this book will appeal to them. While reading Speechless, I was reminded of Courtney Summers’s Some Girls Are in terms of the bullying/abuse inflicted upon characters, of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, in terms of the hows and whys of Chelsea’s silence, and maybe I was reminded most of Molly Backes’s The Princesses of Iowa in terms of how the issues of sexuality and popularity and rumor-spreading all interweave. Readers who appreciated those stories will want to check this one out, though I think it pales in comparison to any and all of those. Speechless will be available August 28.

Review copies of all titles provided by the publishers.