Hardcover to Paperback YA Book Cover Makeovers, Wow There Are A Ton Coming! Edition

July 18, 2016 |

As I’ve gently suggested in the title of this post, there are a lot of hardcover YA titles getting new looks — and new titles — in their paperback editions. A handful of these are available now, but most will be hitting shelves in the near future. This isn’t even a comprehensive look at the ones I’ve noticed lately; I picked the ones that seemed like they had a lot to talk about or think about in regards to design and the changes made on the covers.

Some are winning looks and some are far less so. As always, I’d love your takes on these redesigns. Which ones are working for you? Which do you think appeals more to a teen readership? Which nails the content better? Tell me your thoughts and if you’ve seen any recent cover makeovers that are worth looking at, leave me those titles, too.

A Step From Heaven won the Printz award in 2002 — one of the first books to receive the honor. It’s been in publication since then, but it’s had the same cover. It’s not at all a bad cover; it’s pretty straightforward and clearly a girl of East Asian descent. There is a real timelessness about the whole package, in that it doesn’t use a fancy font-driven style nor use illustration or a full stock image of a girl in clothes that could date it. It seems pretty clear there’s a reason this book’s cover has been around as long as it has.

This month, a reprint of the book is coming and it’s getting a makeover. Much as I think the original is a real solid cover, the redesign is beautiful. There’s a celebratory feel to it, and in many ways, the teen rendered in this image looks much older than the girl in the original image. The font selected for the title is really pretty and dreamy, which, along with the floral design surrounding the model, does give the book a contemporary, moody feel. I have a feeling this new package will absolutely introduce the book to a new generation of teen readers, and I think it’s the kind of repackage that might make librarians and teachers look at the conditions of their current copies and consider replacing.

I’m also a big fan of the lack of blurbs or praise on the new cover, aside from the obvious medal honors. That makes it feel timeless, too.

I remember reading the description of Sundberg’s debut All We Left Behind last year. It was compared to Courtney Summers and Ellen Hopkins, suggesting it’s a gritty and raw contemporary YA. I never got around to picking it up, since it was a big read — if I’m remembering, it was 400 or so pages, which is a big investment for a contemporary YA novel (I’m really picky about that, as anyone who has been around here a while will know). So imagine the surprise with that image of the book in my mind when I saw the redesigned cover.

The paperback is so light and airy. It reminds me of a summer-y, light read, even with the title — or maybe even because of that title. It’s an entirely different feel than the original cover which, while pretty generic, has some of those gritty elements going for it. Look, for example, at the fact we actually see an exposed bra strap on the hardcover. It skirts the line of sensual and sad in a way that doesn’t feel gross but instead really gives a sense of the content inside.

That paperback, though, might be the most generic thing I’ve seen in a while. It’s not bad, but it certainly tells me nothing of the book, and in a lot of ways, it looks like a cover that could be swapped onto any number of other books with the same forgettable effect. If this book really is raw and gritty, imagine the surprise readers, especially teenagers, will find picking up this cover and expecting a lighter book. I’ll take the hard pass on this one.

All We Left Behind will be available in paperback December 6. The original, if you’re interested, published in December of last year, which may be why it sort of fell off the radars of many readers.

Now for the first book in this list that’s not just getting a cover makeover, but a title makeover as well: Alexandra Adornetto’s Ghost House, aka Lament in paperback.

First, the hardcover: it’s not bad, but it’s also not especially remarkable. There is a nice eerie feeling to it, conveying the fact this is a horror novel. The guy in the center of the image is dressed a little bit like he’s a member of an elite class, perhaps maybe even of a slightly different time period than the present (though the long hair may be what keeps that from reading 100% that way for me). The font for the title and author’s name are pretty standard, though the purple hues of the cover are nice. There’s definitely a spooky tone set by this cover. And of course, the title Ghost House helps that along.

The paperback goes for ye-old paranormal romance standards. In fact, I initially thought this was a new Lauren Kate book, since it takes the same white girl in a dress with a one word title with some swirly styling motif. No longer does this book read horror; it reads as straight-up paranormal romance. Good on the designer to note clearly that the book has been retitled, but the thing I cannot get over is the girl’s face. It’s a weird “come hither” look to it, which doesn’t showcase any fear or trepidation, despite the fact she’s alone in the woods in a fancy ballgown. Not to mention the fact she certainly doesn’t look like she’s lamenting anything. I don’t get it — there’s a big disconnect going on.

But if the goal is to get it into the hands of Lauren Kate fans, well, then that paperback is a big winner. Otherwise, it’s absolutely forgettable.

Lament will be available in paperback on August 30.

The most interesting thing to me about the paperback redesign of Patrice Kindl’s A School for Brides is the tagline modification. The hardcover on the left originally notes that these are girls looking for husbands in a town without any men. The paperback? No longer are they looking for husbands, but rather, they’re looking for eligible bachelors in a town with no men.

I have no idea which of those I think is “better,” per se, especially to a YA audience, but I think the change is noteworthy nonetheless.

And I think the reason I’m uncertain is because this book is the right book for the right reader, meaning that the readers picking this up know exactly what they want in a historical fantasy novel, and whether it notes these are girls looking for husbands or eligible bachelors (which sure makes it more contemporary than historical) doesn’t matter a bit.

From a design standpoint, both books deliver what you’d expect tone and topic wise. I love the use of white space and the various different blue and purple-y hues. There’s a nice moodiness with that sort of minimalism. The paperback might fall more on the fun side, though — I love the various images of the girls at this particular institution wearing different dresses, enjoying tea, writing letters, and so forth. If I had to pick one as more along my taste preferences, it might be the paperback, but because this is a book with a clear sense of readership and audience in design, I don’t think one is better than the other.

You can pick up the paperback edition of A School for Brides right now.

Wildlife

This is a two-for-one makeover, and if I could say that both of these redesigned covers are among some of my favorite YA covers currently on the market, I will. Wildlife and Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood were originally published in Australia and they were brought to the US in the last two years. Overseas, they were published in this order: Six Impossible Things, followed by Wildlife. In the US, they flipped the publications, since these are companion novels that can be read either way without losing anything. Rather, it’s one of those situations where you read one and when you see the recurring characters, you get excited, rather than feel you need more backstory.

The hardcover editions of both books feature couples. They’re stock images, and in both sets, the models look like actual teenagers (which is surprisingly refreshing). It was a little disappointing to see the stock image choice for Six Impossible Things focus on the girl, since this book is 100% from a male point of view, something that could be easily missed with a cursory glance of the image. The font stylization for both the hardcovers, though, are fabulous — there’s a nice ombre effect with natural settings being the background to them.

But those paperbacks!

I love the use of real images on them, as well, and I love how they give such a unique feel to each of the books. Wildlife has a lushness and a crispness to it, and it really captures the nature setting of the book (it’s set in a school outdoors trip). Using the same leaf shape to include the title and author’s name was a smart way to break up the repetition and make them stand out. The use of different colored keys for Six Impossible Things also makes it stand out, in addition to being a way that doesn’t put a girl at the center of the book’s cover. The use of one key as a drawing to mimic the same idea from the title/author styling of Wildlife is smart. But perhaps the smartest part of these two redesigns is how neatly they’re connected without screaming “series” to readers, since this isn’t, in fact, a hard series — both books make use of that textured white background. The top one being a piece of notebook paper (think trees, school) and the second being a piece of wood (which does have a tie in to the attic scenes in that book).

Both of these books are great contemporary YA, and without doubt, I’ll be adding both of the paperback editions to the hardcovers on my shelf — and I don’t feel like it’s being repetitive, since my hardcovers are the Australian originals. Wildlife is available now in paperback, while Six Impossible Things will be available September 6.

Here is the second book on this round-up that features not just a cover redesign, but a title makeover as well. Amy Alward’s Madly was a debut last fall, and it featured a cover that, while eye-catching, really didn’t offer anything about the book at all. Is it magic? Is it contemporary? The look of the title and author, with the drawing, paired with the blurb declaring this a fun read and the tagline noting that it contains spells gives no real great indication of the genre. It’s confused, even if it’s a nice looking image.

The paperback of Madly will be retitled as The Potion Diaries and has an entirely different look. Aside from the unflattering pink circle blurb from Zoella (and the obnoxious proclamation inside it that the book is “so cool!”), the redesign is a winner. This cover knows what it’s doing — this is a bit of magic and fantasy. The reason, I think, that the quote feels so out of place and obnoxious is that the cover itself says the book is fun and cool. The fonts are winning here, as is the use of a crown to cap off that potion bottle.

This redesign will follow into the second book of this series, too:

The other thing that’s interesting about this redesign is what it suggests about the book’s audience. The original hardcover looks really mature, like it’s aimed at an older teen readership. Perhaps it’s the bottle and the illustration and sort of the symbolism behind how they’re presented. It might also be the use of rich colors.

The redesigns, both of the first book and of the sequel, certainly aim at a much younger YA readers, and perhaps they’re even aiming for those middle grade readers who are ready for YA. Not having read the book, I can’t suggest which one might be more fitting in terms of readership.

Paperback, hands down. You can pick up The Potion Diaries in paperback October 18 — the same day as the sequel will hit in hardcover.

Last but not least, Tim Floreen’s technology-themed YA title Willful Machines is also getting a makeover. This one is interesting to me for a number of reasons, but in particular, the original hardcover of the book reminds me a lot of so many other YA titles. It has hints of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, as well as hints of Leah Bobet’s An Inheritance of Ashes, even though all three of the books came out around the same time. So it was likely unintentional and perhaps made it challenging to make this book stand out since it’s not like either of those.

The redesign in paperback, though also not stunningly original, does stand out a lot more, in part because of the nice interplay between the white cover and dark, mysterious face, as well as because of the use of circuitry on the face. More, it appears to be a male face on the cover, and with the mystery behind it, has a real appealing quality. Who is this guy? What’s his story? Why’s he being compared to a machine?

I’d go with the paperback here, if for no other reason than it stands out a little bit more and the mystery surrounding the image on it would offer up mega reader appeal. It’ll also help the book not be unfairly compared to others which feature a similar hardcover design.

You can pick up the paperback edition of Willful Machines on October 18.

Teenage Spies: A (2016) Booklist

July 13, 2016 |

Books featuring teenage spies were always among my favorites when I was a teen myself. I loved the idea of someone my age delving into a profession (let’s call it that) that was restricted to adults as well as highly dangerous. It’s one of the best kinds of literary escapism that doesn’t require magic or dragons or a dashing hero (though there are certainly some great spy novels that do include those things). A spy was something I could actually become! Why yes, I did read Harriet the Spy as a child and then follow members of my family around the house taking notes in a tiny notebook.

2016 is shaping up to be a great year for teenage spies. Here’s a roundup of eleven titles being published this year, plus one for early 2017. I expect there will be more to add as pre-publication information and catalogs for the fall season start making their way to us. Which ones are you looking forward to?

Descriptions are via Worldcat unless indicated otherwise.

Zero Day by Jan Gangsei (January 12)

Eight years after being kidnapped Addie Webster, now sixteen, resurfaces under mysterious circumstances, significantly changed, and her childhood best friend, Darrow Fergusson, is asked by a national security advisor to spy on her to uncover whether she is a threat to her father’s Presidency or the nation.

Assassin’s Masque by Sarah Zettel (January 12)

In 1716 England, with the Jacobite uprising stalking ever closer to the throne, it’s imperative that seventeen-year-old Peggy discover whom she can really trust. Can she save herself and the royal family, or is she doomed as a pawn in this most deadly game?

Desert Dark by Sonja Stone (January 30)

At Desert Mountain Academy, sixteen-year-old Nadia Riley begins a punishing routine to become an undercover CIA agent, but when a double-agent is reported on campus, she is the top suspect.

Dawn of Spies by Andrew Lane (March 29)

Rescued from a deserted Caribbean island, 17-year-old Robinson Crusoe and his female friend, Friday, find themselves in late 1600s London, a bustling city that proves as treacherous for them to navigate as the remote island they just left behind. Thanks to their honed survival skills, Crusoe and Friday are recruited by a young writer named Daniel Defoe to work as agents for Segment W, a covert spy group that reports directly to the Crown. Crusoe, Friday, and Defoe must rescue the Countess of Lichfield from a kidnapping plot. They are shocked to discover that a mystical and mysterious organization known as the Circle of Thirteen is behind the kidnapping. – Goodreads

Crossing the Line by Meghan Rogers (April 12)

Jocelyn Steely was kidnapped as a child and trained as a North Korean spy, but the tables turn when she becomes a double agent for the very American spy organization she has been sent to destroy.

Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April 19)

In the early 1800s, when her father sends her to London for a season, eighteen-year-old Juliana Telford, who prefers researching ladybugs to marriage, meets handsome Spencer Northam, a spy posing as a young gentleman of leisure.

Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin (May 24)

Tess Aubreyson is being haunted by prophetic dreams of death and grief. She discovers that her dreams can help Lord Ravencross, the man she loves, and her fellow students at Stranje House. Which is good, because the traitorous Lady Daneska and the Ghost have returned to England to help make way for Napoleon’s invasion, and the young ladies at Stranje House might be the only ones who can save England from a power-mad dictator.

City of Spies by Nina Berry (May 31)

Celebrating her escape from East Germany and the success of her new film, teen starlet Pagan Jones returns to Hollywood to reclaim her place among the rich and the famous. She’s thrilled to be back, but memories of her time in Berlin–and elusively handsome secret agent Devin Black–continue to haunt her daydreams. The whirlwind of parties and celebrities just isn’t enough to distract Pagan from the excitement of being a spy or dampen her curiosity about her late mother’s mysterious past. When Devin reappears with an opportunity for Pagan to get back into the spy game, she is eager to embrace the role once again–all she has to do is identify a potential Nazi war criminal.

Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel (May 31)

Callie Sinclair is seventeen years old, lives in San Francisco, and works for a secret governmental agency as a psychic spy.

Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan (June 7)

Julia has the unusual ability to be . . . unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people’s senses.
It’s a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it’s a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned–crime pays.
Her latest job is paying very well indeed. Julia is posing as a housemaid in the grand house of Mrs. Och, where an odd assortment of characters live and work: A disgraced professor who sends her to fetch parcels containing bullets, spiders, and poison. An aristocratic houseguest who is locked in the basement each night. And a mysterious young woman who is clearly in hiding–though from what or whom?
Worse, Julia suspects that there’s a connection between these people and the killer leaving a trail of bodies across the frozen city. – Goodreads

The Darkest Hour by Caroline Tung Richmond (July 26)

In 1943 sixteen-year-old Lucie Blaise is the newest recruit of Covert Ops, a secret espionage and sabotage organization of girls, and her mission in German occupied France is to track down information about a weapon that could wipe out all of Western Europe–and then dismantle it before it can be used.

You Don’t Know My Name by Kristen Orlando (January 10, 2017)

Sixteen-year-old Reagan, raised to be an elite spy, is torn between honoring her family’s legacy and living a normal life with the boy she loves.

Backlist July & Read Along Fun

June 13, 2016 |

I can point to exactly the things that are keeping my books-read numbers down this year. I’ve found and been really engaged in some new hobbies, and I’ve really invested a lot of time and effort into writing for myself. I love these things, and as much as it’s a little sad not to be reading as much as I once did, I feel like I’m doing way better with choosing my books because I know I want to spend time with things I’ll enjoy and want to talk about.

During the first week of April, I had minor oral surgery, and I used the recovery time to read a lot. Since I didn’t want to leave the house, laying about and reading was nice. I picked up a couple of new and forthcoming titles, and I picked up Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. I’d never read it before, which surprised me, given it was set in Chicago and the exact kind of book I’d have loved in school. Lucky for me, I got to fall in love with it now, as an adult, and after I finished it, I knew immediately I needed to clear at least one month this year to do nothing but read backlist titles I’ve always meant to read but hadn’t yet.

July — the long, lazy, hot month where there are few new releases and the cooler days of fall aren’t yet in sight — felt like the right month to do it.

I’m really excited to dedicate an entire month to reading backlist titles. The publishing industry defines that as a book published 6 months ago or longer. So, books published in 2015 or before are fair game. I plan to pick up a number of classic/backlist YA titles I haven’t yet read — I’ve got, for example, Hard Love and Black Girl in Paris that I picked up in a used bookstore earlier this year, and I know there are some backlist titles of favorite authors I need to still read. I’m also going to read some more Atwood, perhaps A Tale for the Time Being, and the copy of Americanah I’ve had sitting on my shelf for two years now. I’m going to pull a few classics by women out, too, to sort of discover things I have always meant to, but haven’t yet.

As I was thinking about this, I thought it would be really fun to ask others to take part in a backlist July, too. But I dislike formalities or structures for these kinds of things because at the end of the day, reading is about having fun, about learning for yourself, and about the impact a book has on you. Instead, I thought it might be fun to host a read/blog along in the same sort of style that I’ve done with others before (like for The Chocolate War and Jane-Emily).

I debated for a long time what backlist book would be a great choice. Since I am reading only women, of course it would be a female-identifying author, and I realized that choosing an easy-to-get paperback would be a smart bet for those who want to buy it or who want to track it down at a library.

So here’s the winner:

Norma Klein’s Domestic Arrangements. You can snag a copy of the Lizzie Skurnick reissue anywhere you want to online, and it’s quite likely you could track down a library copy. Klein is a classic YA author who I’ve never read, and the book’s description hit everything that interests me in YA lit:

Originally published in 1982, Domestic Arrangements is the story of a fourteen-year-old New York teen named Tatiana, an unintentional ingénue who becomes notorious for filming a nude scene for a major movie. Tatiana’s newfound fame—which includes interviews, magazine covers, and publicists—is set against the backdrop of an increasingly adult personal life, as her parents file for divorce, her sister becomes increasingly jealous of her sibling’s success, and she must choose between her teenage boyfriend and new, older loves. A stunning example of Norma Klein’s fearless take on the complexities of adolescence, Domestic Arrangements is an indelible portrait of a girl on the cusp of adulthood, learning to balance the challenges of life in the spotlight with love, family, and friendship. This edition features a brand new introduction by Norma’s long-time friend, renowned children’s author Judy Blume.

Norma Klein was best known for young adult works that dealt with family problems, childhood and adolescent sexuality, as well as social issues like racism, sexism, and contraception. Her first novel, Mom, the Wolf Man and Me (1972), was about the daughter of an unmarried, sexually active woman. Her subsequent works included Sunshine, It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me, Breaking Up, and Family Secrets. Because of their subject matter, many of her books sparked considerable controversy, and a 1986 American Library Association survey found that nine of her novels had been removed from libraries. In an interview that same year with the New York Times, Klein said: “I’m not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative. I’m doing it because I feel like writing about real life.” She died in 1989 at the age of fifty.

For those who pick up the Skurnick reissue, there is an introduction by Judy Blume, too.

Taking part in the read/blog along is easy. Pick up the book, read it in July, and then write about whatever you want to relating to the book, if you want to. You can take photos, you can write a review, you can write on the topics in the book, anything goes. I don’t care where or how you do it, and STACKED is, as usual, open for those who want to write a guest post on the book or something relating to it. Just shoot an email to stacked.books //@ gmail.com.

If you do choose to write or create anything relating to the book in the month of July, shoot a link to whatever it is to that same email address, and at the end of July, I’ll put together a big round-up to share. It’s low-pressure, completely voluntary fun, so if you don’t want to do anything more than read the book, that is 100% OKAY. Be inspired however you choose and share it wherever you want. This is about reading a classic and seeing where YA was then and where it is now.

Because, believe it or not, YA has been around longer than just most of our life times.

Round-up Reviews: YA Edition

May 16, 2016 |

I’ve purposefully not been writing reviews since the beginning of the year and I’ve noticed a couple of things. First, I’m really enjoying reading a lot more, perhaps in part because I feel no pressure to talk about what I’m reading unless I really want to (either because it was a great read or because it wasn’t a great read). But second, I’m reading far less than I have in previous years. At least some of that can be attributed to tackling edits and copyedits for Here We Are and working on a couple of additional side projects, but not all of it. I do think by not writing reviews, I don’t feel the pressure to always be reading something so I have something to write about. It’s sort of liberating, even though it’s also sort of weird to “only” have read about 50 books so far this year. I recognize that most people don’t read 50 books in a year, let along 50 books in five months, but that is still a slow reading year for me.

Since I know a lot of readers still love book reviews, both for their own reading purposes and for talking about books with young readers, I thought I’d offer up a periodic round-up of reads with short reviews covering the salient points of the story and what the verdict of it might be. Book Riot does a weekly series, “Buy, Borrow, Bypass,” which has really made me think about the way I recommend books and I think it’s a worthwhile way to give a quick talk about a book’s merits and whether it’s worth your money, worth your trip to the library, or worth skipping all together.

Here’s a look at some YA reads I’ve picked up recently and have thought about for a while. Most are available now, and if not now, in the very near future.

Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup (May 31)

This is a quiet book about a quiet girl named Frannie whose cousin Tru is sent to live with her family for the summer. Frannie believes his coming has to do with his conservative, Catholic parents being bothered by his being gay. There’s something else at stake, though, which Frannie learns far later in the book, and unfortunately, it’s a bit of a let-down in terms of plot and lead-up what that “big secret” really is.

What works in this book is that it explores racism from the point of view of a privileged white girl realizing these very things. Her parents are going through a hard time financially, so she’s going from a private Catholic school to a public magnet, where she’ll be one of the only white people there. Tru introduces her to some of his friends, many of whom are black, which opens Frannie’s eyes to challenges she’s never seen.

These elements are really solid, but it was impossible not to think about the greater context of the story and setting: this is set in modern-day Baltimore, and not once are racial tensions throughout the city explored. Periodically, one of the black side characters will say something, but it’s not in a bigger capacity. It felt like a really huge missed opportunity in a book about racism and race, and one where the fact that this family is up on the news (that’s a thing mentioned more than once, since the family cut off internet and cable for the summer). The book is good, but it could have been great were those aspects explored further and pushed harder. It was all right there. For a debut though, a pretty good read, and the quiet girl story will likely resonate with “quiet” readers. Borrow this one, unless you’re seeking more books on race and prejudice from a white point of view (that’s in sincerity, not in snideness!) and quiet, literary YA, then go for the buy.

Keep Me in Mind by Jaime Reed

Told through alternating points of view, Reed’s romantic YA novel explores an interracial relationship that’s been made tense because of an accident that occurred while the couple was together. Ellia, a black girl, is struggling with amnesia, following a fall after a run. She doesn’t recognize the boy who has been coming around, who keeps talking with her, who keeps wanting to relate to her.

Liam, a white boy, doesn’t necessarily feel responsible for the accident that turned Ellia’s life, as well as his, completely upside down. In part because it wasn’t his fault — as readers, we know he struggles with guilt, but it’s far less about what happened and far more about losing Ellia’s love and the challenge that exists now that he’s The White Boy who hurt her in the eyes of Ellia’s parents. Likewise, Ellia begins to fall for another boy, one she’s meeting at therapy.

What makes this book really strong, though, is Liam’s dedication to Ellia. The book begins and weaves throughout the story of their romance, as written by him. It’s a way to sort of “relive” that romance for Liam, as well as a way for him to tell her what happened and to help her remember what they’d once had.

This is an easier read, despite the heavy topics of amnesia and interracial romance explored. Reed balances this nicely and all of the characters are wonderfully fleshed: they’re real, they’re flawed, and the romance that you want as a reader is kept just far enough away to make you want to keep reading. The ending of this book is a great one, too. If you like love stories or are seeking books that feature interracial couples, this is a buy.

On a superficial note, that cover is so great. Not only does it feature the interracial couple, but they look like teenagers, and the black girl in the image has wonderfully natural hair. I see black girls picking up this book on that cover alone.

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

In technicalities, this isn’t a YA book; the story is set post-high school, and it came from a small press that doesn’t publish YA-specific titles. That said, this book has tremendous teen appeal and I think could be easily included in a YA collection. And it should be.

Juliet is an asthmatic Puerto Rican college student from the Bronx who chooses to spend the summer in Portland, Oregon, living with and working as an assistant to her favorite writer, Harlow Brisbane. Juliet came out to her family recently, and she’s decided to leave home for a while, not sure how her family is going to handle the big news.

Brisbane is Juliet’s idol, in part because she’s so open and honest about feminism, the female body, and other things that appeal to Juliet’s budding acknowledgement of her sexuality. But as the story unfolds and Juliet begins learning more about her idol, as well as she begins learning more about her own identities, things aren’t going to be as smooth this summer as Juliet anticipates.

Even though it at times the book becomes a little too on-the-nose with feminism, intersectionality, race and queer theory, these are things so many readers, especially young feminists, are so hungry for. They will love Juliet’s coming to learn things, question things, find herself hurt intentionally and not. That final anthem to herself is the kind of thing you read and want to punch your fist in the air. The writing can be a little stilted when the passages exploring these big topics appear, but it’s okay. This isn’t a textbook and Juliet’s voice and desire to be a sponge, picking these things up, makes these small stumbles in the writing easy enough to overlook.

This isn’t a perfect read alike to Isabel Quintero’s Gabi, a Girl in Pieces but readers who loved that book will absolutely eat this one up. It’s got tremendous appeal in that it’s told through the eyes of a college student, but the eagerness she feels for learning and discovering herself really captures the YA perspective. Juliet Takes a Breath deserves your shelf space, hands down.

Hitting the Road: YA Roadtrips in 2016

May 2, 2016 |

Since I’ve started doing those huge round-up/previews of YA titles each quarter at Book Riot, I can’t help but notice themes and topics that show up again and again. 2016 is undoubtedly the year of romance in YA. They aren’t all the same, of course, but romance at the core of YA seems to be bigger this year than in recent memory recalls.

Another interesting observation so far this year, though, has been the road trip. Road trips are perennially popular in YA, though they go through lulls and resurgences. This year, we’re in a pretty big upswing.

Road trips offer the chance for teens to be free, to have an adventure, and to literally follow an arc from start to finish. It’s a journey of discovery and growth. But, it is worth noting that teens who pursue road trips tend to be white more than anything else. It’s rare to find teens of color on the road; this is, of course, not surprising given that the challenges of being a person of color on a road trip when you’re 17 or 18 are much more life-threatening than if you’re a white teen on a road. I’ve started a list somewhere in my drafts of books that offer this in YA and I’ll have to revisit it here in the near future.

In the mean time, why don’t we take a look at the 2016 YA books where road trips play a part in the story? If you can think of others hitting shelves this year, drop the title in the comments. I have included epic quests in this list, so those are welcome additions, too. Get ready to hit the road.

All descriptions are from Goodreads.

Catacomb by Madeleine Roux (technically this came out at the end of 2015, but go with it here)

Sometimes the past is better off buried.

Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.

As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.

Drag Teen by Jeffery Self

Jeffery Self takes us on a road trip with an insecure high school senior who has one goal: to be the first in his family to leave Clearwater, Florida, and go to college. The problem is, he has zero means of paying for school — until his friends convince him to compete in a drag teen competition for a college scholarship.

The Haters by Jesse Andrews

For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It’s pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It’s three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they’re in Ash’s SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.

How Not to Disappear by Clare Furniss (Hit shelves at the tail end of 2015)

Hattie’s summer isn’t going as planned. Her two best friends have abandoned her: Reuben has run off to Europe to “find himself” and Kat’s in Edinburgh with her new girlfriend. Meanwhile Hattie is stuck babysitting her twin siblings and dealing with endless drama around her mum’s wedding.

Oh, and she’s also just discovered that she’s pregnant with Reuben’s baby…

Then Gloria, Hattie’s great-aunt who no one previously knew even existed comes crashing into her life. Gloria’s fiercely independent, rather too fond of a gin sling and is in the early stages of dementia.

Together the two of them set out on a road trip of self-discovery – Gloria to finally confront the secrets of her past before they are wiped from her memory forever and Hattie to face the hard choices that will determine her future.

In Real Life by Jessica Love

Hannah Cho and Nick Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade. They talk for hours on the phone, regularly shower each other with presents, and know everything there is to know about one another.

There’s just one problem: Hannah and Nick have never actually met.

Hannah has spent her entire life doing what she’s supposed to, but when her senior year spring break plans get ruined by a rule-breaker, she decides to break a rule or two herself. She impulsively decides to road trip to Las Vegas, her older sister and BFF in tow, to surprise Nick and finally declare her more-than-friend feelings for him.

Hannah’s surprise romantic gesture backfires when she gets to Vegas and finds out that Nick has been keeping some major secrets. Hannah knows the real Nick can’t be that different from the online Nick she knows and loves, but now she only has night in Sin City to figure out what her feelings for Nick really are, all while discovering how life can change when you break the rules every now and then.

Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark (November 8)

The last time Jess saw her father, she was a boy. Now she’s a high school graduate, soon to be on her way to art school. But first she has some unfinished business with her dad. So she’s driving halfway across the country to his wedding. He happens to be marrying her mom’s ex-best friend. It’s not like Jess wasn’t invited; she was. She just never told anyone she was coming. Surprise!

Luckily, Jess isn’t making this trip alone. Her best friend, Christophe-nicknamed Chunk-is joining her.

Along the way, Jess and Chunk learn a few things about themselves-and each other-which call their feelings about their relationship into question.

Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattemer (less a road trip and more a backpacking trip)

Five teens backpack through Europe to fulfill the mysterious dying wish of their friend.

Jesse lives with his history professor dad in a house covered with postcards of images of the Madonna from all over the world. They’re gotten used to this life: two motherless dudes living among thousands of Madonnas. But Jesse has a heart condition that will ultimately cut his life tragically short. Before he dies, he arranges a mysterious trip to Europe for his three cousins, his best friend, and his girlfriend to take after he passes away. It’s a trip that will forever change the lives of these young teens and one that will help them come to terms with Jesse’s death.

The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely (September 13)

The point of living is learning how to love.

That’s what Gpa says. To Hendrix and Corrina, both seventeen but otherwise alike only in their loneliness, that sounds like another line from a pop song that tries to promise kids that life doesn’t actually suck. Okay, so: love. Sure.

The thing about Corrina—her adoptive parents are suffocating, trying to mold her into someone acceptable, predictable, like them. She’s a musician, itching for any chance to escape, become the person she really wants to be. Whoever that is.

And Hendrix, he’s cool. Kind of a poet. But also kind of lost. His dad is dead and his mom is married to her job. Gpa is his only real family, but he’s fading fast from Alzheimer’s. Looking for any way to help the man who raised him, Hendrix has made Gpa an impossible promise—that he’ll get him back east to the hill where he first kissed his wife, before his illness wipes away all memory of her.

One hot July night, Hendrix and Corrina decide to risk everything. They steal a car, spring Gpa from his assisted living facility, stuff Old Humper the dog into the back seat, and take off on a cross-country odyssey from LA to NY. With their parents, Gpa’s doctors, and the police all hot on their heels, Hendrix and Corrina set off to discover for themselves if what Gpa says is true—that the only stories that last are love stories.

Life Before by Michele Bacon (June 7)

Seventeen years is a long time to keep secrets, so Xander Fife is very good at it: everyone believes he has a normal family. If he can just get through this summer, he’ll start his real life in college with a clean slate–no risk, no drama, no fear.

Xander’s summer plans include pick-up soccer, regular hijinks with friends, an epic road trip, and—quite possibly— the company of his ideal girlfriend, the amazing Gretchen Taylor.

Instead of kicking off what had promised to be an amazing summer, however, graduation day brings terror. His family’s secrets are thrust out into the open, forcing Xander to confront his greatest fear. Or run from it.

Armed with a fake ID, cash, and a knife, Xander skips town and assumes a new identity. In danger hundreds of miles from home, one thing is clear: Xander’s real life is already in progress and just getting through it isn’t enough.

The Lost & Found by Katrina Leno (July 5)

LOST:
Frannie and Louis met in an online support group when they were both younger. They have never met face-to-face. They don’t even know each other’s real names. All they know is that they both have a mysterious tendency to lose things. Well, not lose them, exactly. Things just seem to…disappear.

FOUND:
They each receive news in the mail that sets them off on a road trip to Austin, Texas, looking for answers—and each other. Along the way, each one begins to find, as if by magic, important things the other has lost. And by the time they finally meet in person, they realize that the things you lose might be things you weren’t meant to have at all, and that you never know what you might find if you just take a chance.

A Million Times Goodnight by Kristina McBride (July 5)

One night. Two paths. Infinite danger.

On the night of the big spring break party, seventeen-year-old Hadley “borrows” her boyfriend Ben’s car without telling him. As payback, he posts a naked picture of her online for the entire senior class to see.

Now Hadley has a choice: go back to the party and force Ben to delete the picture or raise the stakes and take his beloved car on a road trip as far away from their hometown of Oak Grove, Ohio, as she can get.

Chapters alternate to reveal each possible future as Hadley, her ex-boyfriend, Josh, and her best friends embark on a night of reckless adventure where old feelings are rekindled, friendships are tested, and secrets are uncovered that are so much worse than a scandalous photo.

The Swan Riders by Erin Bow (September 20)

Greta Stuart had always known her future: die young. She was her country’s crown princess, and also its hostage, destined to be the first casualty in an inevitable war. But when the war came it broke all the rules, and Greta forged a different path.

She is no longer princess. No longer hostage. No longer human. Greta Stuart has become an AI.

If she can survive the transition, Greta will earn a place alongside Talis, the AI who rules the world. Talis is a big believer in peace through superior firepower. But some problems are too personal to obliterate from orbit, and for those there are the Swan Riders: a small band of humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.

Now two of the Swan Riders are escorting Talis and Greta across post-apocalyptic Saskatchewan. But Greta’s fate has stirred her nation into open rebellion, and the dry grassland may hide insurgents who want to rescue her – or see her killed. Including Elian, the boy she saved—the boy who wants to change the world, with a knife if necessary. Even the infinitely loyal Swan Riders may not be everything they seem.

Greta’s fate—and the fate of her world—are balanced on the edge of a knife in this smart, sly, electrifying adventure.

The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott (May 3)

Six months ago, Ashlyn Montiel died in a bike accident.

Her best friend Cloudy is keeping it together, at least on the outside. Cloudy’s insides are a different story: tangled, confused, heartbroken.

Kyle is falling apart, and everyone can tell. Ashlyn was his girlfriend, and when she died, a part of him went with her. Maybe the only part he cares about anymore.

As the two people who loved Ashlyn best, Cloudy and Kyle should be able to lean on each other. But after a terrible mistake last year, they’re barely speaking. So when Cloudy discovers that Ashlyn’s organs were donated after her death and the Montiel family has been in touch with three of the recipients, she does something a little bit crazy and a lot of out character: she steals the letters and convinces Kyle to go on a winter break road trip with her, from Oregon to California to Arizona to Nevada. Maybe if they see the recipients—the people whose lives were saved by Ashlyn’s death—the world will open up again. Or maybe it will be a huge mistake.

With hundreds of miles in front of them, a stowaway kitten, and a list of people who are alive because of Ashlyn, Cloudy and Kyle just may find their way to back to her…and to each other.